Mike Rickard
Rickard's Ramblings: Greatest Wrestlemania of all Time, Idiot Fans, and a Flawed Hall of Fame?
By Mike Rickard II
Apr 1, 2007, 16:08

After a long week in court, there’s nothing like rambling on about the latest happenings in the wild and wacky world of professional wrestling.  Help me wind down from lawyer mode to smark mode as I ask a few questions of you, the intelligent wrestling fan. 

1. What type of injury will Ashley sustain in her Women’s title match?
   
2. Will William Shatner share the name of his toupee maker with the loser of the Battle of the Billionaires Match?
   
3. Do you think Nick Bockwinkel is being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame just so Bobby Heenan can do the induction speech?
   
4. With the WWE abandoning its brand only PPV’s; is there any reason why there should be a brand split?
   
5. Doesn’t Eugene look like Bill Goldberg if Goldberg let himself go?

GREATEST WRESTLEMANIA OF ALL TIME:  Thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts on which Wrestlemania deserves being called “The Greatest Wrestlemania of All Time”.  Opinions varied quite a bit but here are the top vote getters:

Wrestlemania X

BlackFrancisFan:  I'd say Wrestlemania XVII was probably the most well-rounded, but my vote for greatest Wrestlemania of all-time has to go to Wrestlemania X. Bret vs. Owen and HBK vs. Razor are 2 of the greatest matches of all time. That they both took place on the same night makes up for some of the weaknesses on the card (like M.O.M. vs. the Quebecers). The Main Event was also really good and I think Crush vs. Savage is really underrated.

Wrestlemania XVII

TheGreatWhiteDope: I think its a pretty easy consensus that XVII is easily the best of all time.From the Hardcore triple threat to Austin/Rock everything on the card was solid and at the least decent. The only real exception is Test's foot-slip during the Eddie match...but other than that...one of the best shows i've ever witnessed...and can easily go back and watch again and again.

Wrestlemania XIX

fireman718239: I’m gonna have to go with XIX. There was only 1 bad match on the card in The Undertaker vs Big Show & A-Train mess. I wouldn't count the pillowfight as a match but rather just a shit segment. The opener between Rey and Matt Hardy was good but really short. The Triple Threat Womens Title match was pretty good. The Triple Threat tag match was pretty good. Jericho-HBK was classic. HHH-Booker T was good. Hogan-Vince was good. Stone Cold-Rock was great. Lesnar-Angle was classic. Overall I think it had the least crap and best balance of any card.

2.  Wrestlemania XX

UndeadBen: The one Wrestlemania that I think had the best overall show for my PPV dollars was XX. Not all the matches were spectacular, I don't even think the majority would qualify, but most were passable and it had some incredible ones as well. And it was easy to overlook the Playboy Evening Gown Match and Rikishi and Scotty retaining tag team gold when I consider I had a chance to see two of the greatest Mania matches of all time.

Personally, there have been some great Wrestlemania matches in every Wrestlemania but when you compare each show match by match, nothing comes as close as Wrestlemania XVII in terms of overall quality from start to finish.  Even the “Legends” Battle Royal was fun for what it was worth. 

Regardless of which Wrestlemania was the most regarded, you can’t escape the feeling that Wrestlemania really has become the SuperBowl of professional wrestling.  No other show on the WWE lineup comes close to bringing in fans from around the world.  As with the SuperBowl, Wrestlemania brings in lots of people who normally don’t watch wrestling (granted, nowhere near the levels of people who tune in to the SuperBowl) and it’s become an annual tradition for anyone who calls themselves a wrestling fan. 

 IT'S A GOOD THING THERE WERE METAL DETECTORS AT THE HALL OF FAME CEREMONY

Sometimes it's embarassing to be a wrestling fan.  Usually, it's due to something stupid happening on TV (Rosey vs. Trump from RAW comes to mind)  but last night it was because of the behavior of some of my fellow fans.  They should be lucky that there were metal detectors at the Hall of Fame or there would have been a few less "fans" for Wrestlemania due to lead poisoning.  While the majority of the fans on hand for the Hall of Fame ceremony were very respectful to the wrestlers, there were a few who needed to be reminded that this was a ceremony and not a wrestling match.  Granted, wrestling ceremonies are usually set-ups for an award winner to get blasted over the head with their award but you'd think people are smart enough to realize that this isn't a storyline but a special night for the WWE to honor the men and women who distinguished themselves during their careers.  Too many times, one loudmouth or another would make a stupid comment during someone's induction speech or acceptance speech; ruining the moment.  When you attend an event like this it's about the wrestlers; not about you.  It's one thing when you pay for your ticket to a match.  It's an entirely different situation when you're attending a ceremony like the Hall of Fame.  Try and show some respect when you're there.  The life you save could be your own.

IS THE WWE HALL OF FAME FLAWED? The debate rages on.  Last night's ceremony saw nine individuals inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and yet so many men and women who preceded them remain unacknowledged; legends like the Funk Brothers, Jack Brisco, the Crusher, Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund, and many others.  Vince McMahon has made it clear that he intends to honor workers from outside the WWE and yet there are some major gaps that need to be filled if the Hall of Fame is to have any credibility.  Granted, the criteria for getting into the Hall of Fame is as ethereal as it gets but you can't help but cry that politics are being played when guys like Mr. Fuji (which isn't to say Fuj the Stooge shouldn't be in the HOF) get in before guys like Bob Backlund and Bruno Sammartino do.  Even though Sammartino has washed his hands of the WWE, there's no reason he can't be inducted into the Hall of Fame with or without his endorsement.  Even if you decide that's not the route to take, there should be a better effort to get other legends in such as the aforementioned Funk Brothers and Jack Brisco, three of the all-time greats when it comes to world champions.

AND THIS WEEK’S MAGNIFICENT BASTARD AWARD GOES TO….

Nobody!  Unfortunately I was too busy to select someone.  However tune in next week for the latest MBA and don’t forget to email your votes to me, private message me, or better yet; drop by Rickard’s House of Old School in the WWI Message Boards to discuss your pick.