Image via Complex Original
9.
We’re only hours away from WrestleMania, the Grandest Stage Of Them All, the Showcase of the Immortals. Only hours from seeing Shane O’Mac locked in a Cell with the Deadman. Hours from Sasha Banks winning the Divas title (we hope). And although the Triple H vs. Roman Reigns match could be a letdown, there is one thing about the match that we can’t wait to see—Triple H’s entrance, which is likely going to be epic.
The WWE sells us a fantasy, and they do a damn good job at it; it isn’t easy to make these elaborate entrances happen on a live broadcast. The best entrances stand head-to-head with the best matches, and they can often be the most memorable part of the evening. Here are eight of the greatest entrances in WrestleMania history, along with some backstage trivia that’ll make you appreciate them even more.
8.The Bushwhackers Bring It All The Way Back
Versus: A Mob Of WWE Legends
Event: WrestleMania XVII
Date: April 1, 2001
Arena: Reliant Astrodome
Attendance: 67,925
A crucial part to any WrestleMania is flow—if you stack all of the epic matches at the very end of the card, then the fans are going to be bored for the first half of the show, and exhausted for the second half. You need to space out your longer matches, and separate them with "filler matches" that let the fans catch their breath. At WrestleMania XVII, one of the highlights of the night was one of these filler matches. The Gimmick Battle Royal, featured cameos by The Bushwhackers, Hillbilly Jim, Sgt. Slaughter, The Gobbledy Gooker, and many others. It was a full-on nostalgia fest, and the fans loved the multiple entrances most of all.
Legendary manager and booker Jim Cornette had a brief cameo, and in one of his podcasts, he discussed being invited to the Battle Royal by manager Bruce Pritchard (better known as Brother Love). Pritchard was in the Royal, and he wanted another non-wrestler to fight against so that he wouldn’t get hurt in the ring. Cornette was paid $3,000 for his time—not a bad haul, at all, for a couple of minutes of work.
7.Ric Flair Says Farewell
Versus: Shawn Michaels
Event: WrestleMania XXIV
Date: March 30, 2008
Arena: Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium
Attendance: 74,635
There was a lot of emotion in the air for WrestleMania XXIV. Everyone knew that the Nature Boy was going to have his last match (we’re going to pretend that his TNA run never happened), and that Shawn Michaels was going to send him into retirement. From a technical standpoint, the match was average, at best. But from an emotional, storytelling standpoint, it was the best match of the evening.
Flair was decked out for the occasion. During his entrance, he wore beautiful, blue robe, comprised of velvet, satin, sequins, and feathers. It seemed like the natural, flamboyant culmination of a decades long career. And now, it will live on forever; the WWE donated both the boots and the robe to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
6.Shawn Michaels Descends From The Ceiling
Versus: Bret Hart
Event: WrestleMania XII
Date: March 31, 1996
Arena: Arrowhead Pond
Attendance: 18,853
Ever since Owen Hart’s tragic accident, ceiling shenanigans have almost completely fallen out of favor in the WWE. But thankfully, this iconic entrance remains completely in tact, and it features the Heartbreak Kid descending to the ring via zipline. It was the prelude to one of the greatest main event matches of all time: Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart in an Iron Man Match for the WWE title.
What a lot of people don’t know is that Michaels realized, right before descending from the ceiling, that he needed to pee. And since he was going to be wrestling for 60 straight minutes, he wasn’t about to hold it. So he went into to corner of the catwalk and did his business; the rest is history, with no one being the wiser. Mr. WrestleMania, indeed.
5.Andre the Giant Gets Heckled
Versus: Hulk Hogan
Event: WrestleMania III
Date: March 29, 1987
Arena: Pontiac Silverdome
Attendance: 93,173
It’s probably, pound-for-pound, the most famous moment in WrestleMania history; Hulk Hogan body slammed Andre the Giant in front of of over 90,000 fans at the Pontiac Silverdome, and the world tilted on its axis. But that was a single moment amongst many iconic moments from the main event. No one will ever forget the image of Andre the Giant being carted to the ring. He looked massive and frightening, and in that moment, the fans hated him; they pelted the Giant with garbage for his entire entrance.
Andre was probably thankful for the ride—after years of wear and tear, and after years of carrying so much weight on his massive frame, Andre could barely move. In the lead-up to WrestleMania, Andre actually crashed at CEO Vince McMahon’s house to recuperate and get healthy. And we’re glad he did, because thanks to Andre, Hulkamania was born.
4.Randy Savage Gets The Caligula Treatment
Versus: N/A
Event: Wrestlemania IX
Date: April 4, 1993
Arena: Caesars Palace
Attendance: 16,891
WrestleMania IX catches a lot of hell from a lot of fans, who disliked Hogan’s last minute theatrics during the main event, and really disliked the Caesars Palace toga theme. But Macho Man was exempt from all criticism He was pulled to the ring by horses, while being fed grapes by a group of vestal virgins. It was glorious excess, which made it perfect for WrestleMania.
Savage looked laid back on his way to the ring, but according to Jim Ross, who called that evening’s matches with Savage, he was anything but relaxed. WrestleMania IX was J.R.’s debut as an announcer in the WWE, and according to Ross, Savage was on his guard the whole time, both during rehearsal and during the broadcast itself. Ross also got a sense that Savage was never comfortable behind the announcer’s table. He would have rather been in the ring; he main-evented WrestleMania the prior year, after all.
3.All Hail Triple H, The King Of Kings
Versus: Daniel Bryan
Event: WrestleMania XXX
Date: April 6, 2014
Arena: Mercedes-Benz Superdome
Attendance: 75,167
Triple H’s viking warrior, Game of Thrones shtick has been going on for a few years now, and it never fails to impress. Trips usually heads into WrestleMania as the villain, and his grand entrances serve as shock and awe. Whenever Triple H loses (the guy is 9-10 at Mania), it makes the hero look super strong. His entrance plays no small part in hyping the importance of his defeat, and his opponent’s ability to ‘overcome the odds.’
Triple H’s WrestleMania XXX entrance framed the Game as a literal “King of Kings,” with a goblet, a throne, and a gleaming, golden crown. The King’s attendants were three future Diva stars: Sasha Banks, Alexa Bliss, and Charlotte Flair, all of whom were still in developmental at the time. The golden skull mask that Triple H wore is a variation of his WrestleMania XXVII mask. It was designed by horror make-up legend Tom Savini (Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead), who met Triple H through mutual friend Jerry "The King" Lawler.
2.Will The Real John Cena Please Stand Up?
Versus: Edge & The Big Show
Event: WrestleMania XXV
Date: April 5, 2009
Arena: Reliant Stadium
Attendance: 72,744
Cena’s entrances are an automatic highlight to any WrestleMania. There was his marching band entrance at WrestleMania XXIV. There was his WrestleMania XXII Al Capone entrance in Chicago (starring CM Punk in a "blink and you’ll miss it" cameo). But his entrance at WrestleMania XXV was the best of the lot. It featured scores of Cena lookalikes, who marched to ringside to the tune of “Basic Thuganomics.”
The entrance was inspired by Eminem’s performance of “The Real Slim Shady” at the MTV Video Music Awards, where Eminem had an army of 100 lookalikes escort him into Radio City Music Hall. During rehearsals, Dr. Dre allegedly joked, “Oh my God! It’s my worst nightmare!” Cena was probably hoping for a similar impact, and he achieved that. The clip of him running down the ramp makes every single WrestleMania highlight reel that the WWE produces.
1.The Return Of The Undertaker
Versus: Kane
Event: WrestleMania XX
Date: March 14, 2004
Arena: Madison Square Garden
Attendance: 18,000
By 2004, we were all sick of the Undertaker’s biker gimmick. It was fun for a minute, but most fans wanted him to finish out his career as the supernatural, undead zombie that we knew and loved. So, the fans went absolutely crazy at WrestleMania XX, when Taker came out in his Deadman costume, flanked by torch bearing druids, and led by his old manager Paul Bearer, urn and all.
Bearer, however, almost wasn’t a part of the festivities. In his time away from the WWE, he had ballooned to over 500 pounds, and was barely mobile. Eventually, Jim Ross reached out, and the WWE helped pay for Bearer’s gastric bypass surgery. Bearer had a quick recovery time, and he was able to participate in the Undertaker’s now iconic entrance. When Bearer walked into Madison Square Garden that evening, he was 100 lbs. lighter than he was at his worst. Bearer would continue losing weight in the proceeding years, and the surgery probably extended his life; he died of heart failure in 2013.