When the stage is set, the lights are on bright and the eyes of the wrestling world are fixated on the biggest matches on the biggest show of the year, sometimes a bout must become more than a bout, regardless of its bell-to-bell quality.
Sometimes a WrestleMania match must become, if you’ll excuse the descent into east London PR agency speak, ‘an experience’.
The bells and whistles of excessive presentation are sometimes necessary in order to elevate a marquee match into the stratosphere of ‘all time great’. They become part of the story. They are the cherry on the icing on the cake. Sometimes, they are actually a tactical application of smoke and mirrors to distract from what is about to be a thoroughly underwhelming spectacle when the bell rings.
Across 40 years of WrestleMania, we have been blessed with everything from the ridiculous to the sublime. From the raw, visceral marches down the aisle to the flambouyant ziplines and cinematic cosplay theatrics. There was also a ‘box like structure’ once, but the less said about that the better.
As WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas brings with it the potential for more unforgettable entrances (togas and camels all round, please, if we’re indulging WrestleMania IX nostalgia) it felt like an appropriate idea to cast an eye backwards across the past four decades to compile a list of some of the greatest walks/runs/dances/ziplines down the aisle at the show of shows…
Andre The Giant – WrestleMania 3
It’s impossible to overstate just how much Andre meant to the world of professional wrestling throughout the ’70s and ’80s. Or how much his influence still resonates over 30 years since his death. While the giant from Grenoble never needed to be The Man to command respect and adulation from the masses in the arenas, watching at home and in the locker room, it still would never have felt right had he never been given the opportunity to headline WrestleMania.
And in front of COUGHnotquiteCOUGH 93,000 people at the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan, Andre was able to do just that, standing across the ring from Hulk Hogan. And while Andre – significantly struggling with his health and mobility in 1987 – may not have had much in the way of presentation or pyrotechnics as he made his way to the squared circle, he did have a motorised mini-ring alongside Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan, with both men conitnuously pelted with garbage the entire way down the aisle. Heel Andre alongside the most loathed (and brilliant) manager the business has ever seen was a match made in heaven and a visual that has stood the test of time for almost 40 years.
Ultimate Warrior – WrestleMania 6
In all honesty, there isn’t much about this entrance in its execution that is much different from any other Warrior sprint and rope tremor combo. However, throw in the enormity of the match he’s about to have with WWF Champion Hulk Hogan, in which (in theory, at least) he will be anointed as the new face of the company and suddenly the aura of the spectacle is elevated tenfold. A superhero to take the company out of the 1980’s and into the 1990’s and doing so by handing the Hulkster his first WrestleMania pinfall loss. The Toronto Skydome crowd predictably lose their minds as the technicolor psychopath from Parts Unknown hurtles down the aisle as if he’s angry at the ground. He’s been bossing the Intercontinental division for long enough and now the WWF faithful are ready for a new hero, away from red and yellow Terry. Or at least they think they are.
‘Macho King’ Randy Savage – WrestleMania 7
As much as Hulk-a-Mania is credited with being the focal point of the inaugural eight WrestleManias, the MVP of the show of shows was really Macho Man Randy Savage. From his classic with Ricky Steamboat over the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania III, to being coronated as WWF Champion at IV and then being one half of the Mega Powers imploding and dropping the title to Hogan at V, Savage was really running point, putting together a legendary body of work that actually outshone the Hulkster’s.
At ‘Mania VII, Savage saw what Hogan had done the previous year, in managing to pull together an actually excellent match out of the Ultimate Warrior by having an even better one with big Jim Hellwig. And while the Macho King’s long awaited reunion with Ms. Elizabeth has stolen the headlines ever since, there are flowers that need to be given for the King’s entrance with Sensational Sherri, atop a royal platform, carried aloft to the ring like the wrestling royalty he was. It’s enough to make you want to tearfully snap into a Slim Jim.
Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan – WrestleMania 9
Around 04:10 is when the magic happens. There will never, ever be another one like Bobby Heenan, and his entrance at WrestleMania IX is further proof of this. A genius at work.
The Undertaker – WrestleMania 14
The first of two ‘Taker appearances on the list and, truthfully, it could have been among at least five or six, such is the Deadman’s commitment to putting on a show before he’s even stepped between the ropes. As if the hype video which had preceded the entrances wasn’t spellbinding enough, Taker summoned the Druids and his most satanic pre-Ministry finery to make a statement towards his younger brother Kane at WrestleMania XIV. For all Kane’s crimson light bathed fire, brimstone and poorly tuned church organ dramatics, big brother really knew how to steal the show. The Prince of Darkness was never one to be upstaged and he ascended to a new level in Boston, Massachusetts in late March of 1998.
Ric Flair – WrestleMania 24
Walking that aisle one last time. The robe, the pageantry, the grandeur. It was all so undeniably The Nature Boy. The emotion on Naitch’s face said it all. Even if he did lace ’em up a few more times in Australia with the Hulkster, then in TNA and finally in Nashville alongside Andrade, none of that can denigrate the odyssey Flair took us on at WrestleMania XXIV, waltzing down to the ring, looking and wrestling like he was back in the NWA in ’85.
Shawn Michaels – WrestleMania 25
Yeah, could have gone for the Ironman zipwire, but it felt too obvious and, besides, HBK’s Righteous Gemstones-esque entry also came ahead of a far superior outing. Perhaps the greatest WrestleMania match of all time, in fact. HBK as the light, attempting to overcome the Prince of Darkness’ 16-0 streak, was pure theatre. Just the right side of pantomime villain, in fact. The zipline may be more iconic, but the preacherman platform was HBK doing what HBK has always done best – Get under the Undertaker’s skin. Up until this point, Michaels was actually undefeated against the Undertaker, but he realised that even with that record, defeating the Deadman at WrestleMania was going to require a lot more cunning and mind games. And he couldn’t even rely on Kane to turn up and help him out, like he did at Badd Blood ’97 and the ’98 Royal Rumble. So Shawn leans into religious iconography and the result is one of the greatest entrances ahead of one of the greatest matches of all time.
The Undertaker – WrestleMania 27
How do you top one of the most iconic entrances in the business? Add Johnny Cash, of course. When two old gunslingers enter a duel, only one leaves. And nothing says Wild West more than the Undertaker being played to the ring by The Man In Black. For all the punishment he had to wishstand during this bout, Taker was never losing after this entrance. For Triple H, the man came around and it was back to the DX drawing board for another year of figuring out how to end The Streak. A masterclass in haunting simplicity.
Triple H – WrestleMania 30
“Ladies and gentlemen, I am honored to introduce the most powerful man in WWE. The COO, the next WWE World Heavyweight Champion, the Cerebral Assassin, The Game, the King of Kings, Triple H.” Stephanie McMahon’s introduction of her husband may have been deliberately hyperbolic to rankle the fans inside the New Orleans Superdome even further as they anticipated their underdog hero Daniel Bryan’s entrance at WrestleMania XXX, but it was an introduction that set the stage perfectly for one of the most iconic entrances of all time, WrestleMania or otherwise.
Triple H may have channeled his inner berserker God King on numerous occasions, most notably ahead of his WWE Title main event against John Cena at WrestleMania 22, but never did it fit more astutely than it did here. Flanked by masked versions of Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss and Sasha Banks, Triple H exuded dominance, ego and control – all the powers he was looking to assert over “B+ Player” Daniel Bryan before going onto capture another World Heavyweight Championship at the expense of his former Evolution proteges, Randy Orton and Batista. Of course, things wouldn’t turn out as rosily for The Game as that, but as the King of Kings rose from his throne, surveying all before him and adorned in gold battle armour, it felt as if Goliath had arrived for another showdown with David. Mesmeric.
Rusev – WrestleMania 31
The Cold War may have been over for almost a quarter of a century in 2015. Rusev may have been from Bulgaria and not Russia. But goddamnit, American pride and freedom was on the line and it was being fought for by John Cena, and what’s more American than a buzzcut and jean shorts trying to take down Communism? Not a damn thing. So when you’re coming up against that level of unbridled U S of A patriotism, you better come in a goddamn tank and look like every baddie from every major action film of the 1980’s. Even in defeat, Rusev was a winner.
Seth Rollins – WrestleMania 31
The Heist of the Century. And one of the most deafening roars ever heard during a WrestleMania main event. The energy levels that erupted out of Levis Stadium during the barnstorming classic between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns was a sight to behold. Around 70,000 fans, enraptured by Reigns’ ability to withstand Lesnar breaking ground on the opening of Suplex City, collectively lost their freakin’ (pun very much intended) minds when they realised it was not to be Reigns who would be coronated that night, but his former Shield brother-in-arms. Still the most shocking end to a WrestleMania ever and the most perfectly executed Money In The Bank cash-in of all time.
Bianca Belair – WrestleMania 38 and 39
WWE have gone to great lengths to ensure Bianca Belair is positioned as one of their generational stars of the current era. And one of the ways in which they’ve implemented this profile upon Belair is to consistently showcase her fandom and connection to her community through her WrestleMania entrances. At WrestleMania 38 she challenged Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Title, backed immaculately by the Texas Southern University marching band, and then at 39 she defended her title against Asuka after being accompanied by the Divas of Compton – all with matching hair whips and all – in as heart warming a scene as you’re ever likely to see at any sporting or entertainment extravaganza. Era defining work.
Roman Reigns – WrestleMania 40
XL felt like an appropriate Roman numeral to bestow upon last year’s WrestleMania, given that it was officially the biggest ‘Mania of all time. And nowhere was that felt more than in the pair of main events across both nights. On night two, however, Roman Reigns took the Bloodline melodrama to new levels with an entrance honoring his Samoan legacy and culture, while also providing a suitably grandiose backdrop for what was about to become the culmination of an almost four-year-long sit atop the mountain.
Yes, yes, so there’s a few John Cena entrances that could have made the cut (hello prohibition era gangster CM Punk at WrestleMania 22 in Chicago). I would also be remiss not to mention some of Charlotte Flair’s pull ups at Mania, such as her helicopter assisted arrival to the main event of WrestleMania 35 – an ode to her own father’s arrival to the Great American Bash in 1985. Yes, Limp Bizkit playing The Undertaker to the ring will forever be ingrained on my nu-metal loving memory, as will Lemmy forgetting the words to his own song as his gravel-rough vocals belted Triple H to the ring at WrestleMania 17 and 21. But then again, that’s the most wondrous thing about putting together a list such as this. You can reminisce about the chosen ones and still dig out your own deep cuts to create your own list. Here’s hoping a few new candidates for future lists are created this weekend in Las Vegas.
