10 Former WWE Champions and their biggest WrestleMania Moments
WrestleMania has been, undoubtedly, the biggest annual event of the pro wrestling industry for the last 37 years. The show debuted in 1985 and has produced countless larger-than-life moments in WWE history.
It is the stage that has given us many legendary encounters, like the WrestleMania 3 match between Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant. It is the same platform where we witnessed Daniel Bryan defying the odds to become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. It is due to these magical moments that WrestleMania is famously called The Showcase of the Immortals.
Other wrestling promotions like AEW and NJPW also have their grand yearly pay-per-views like Revolution and Wrestle Kingdom. However, none of those events match the legacy of WWE's WrestleMania.
So far, thousands of wrestlers have showcased their talent on the Grandest Stage Of Them All. But only a few of those WWE Superstars were able to create their iconic WrestleMania moments. In this article, let's take a look at 10 former WWE Champions and their biggest all-time WrestleMania moments.
#10 AJ Styles: Facing The Undertaker in a Boneyard Match, WrestleMania 36
AJ Styles has wrestled all over the world during his long and remarkable career. From NJPW to TNA, The Phenomenal One has tasted success everywhere. After finally making his WWE debut in 2016, Styles quickly became a dependable main event star.
At WrestleMania 32, Styles went toe-to-toe with Chris Jericho in a high-profile match. He had a pretty strong showing against the former multi-time World Champion but was surprisingly defeated by the Y2J.
In the next three editions of WrestleMania, AJ Styles collided with Shane Mcmahon, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Randy Orton. These were some highly-anticipated matchups, and The Phenomenal One came out victorious in all of them. However, the best WrestleMania moment of his career has to be his Boneyard Match with The Undertaker, which took place at Night 1 of WrestleMania 36.
It was a Boneyard match, which was a modified version of the well-known buried alive match. The storytelling in this match was amazing. AJ Styles and The OC felt the wrath of The Undertaker's Unholy Trinity.
After battling throughout the graveyard, AJ Styles threw the Undertaker in an open grave. He was ready to bury The Phenom alive before The Undertaker mysteriously appeared behind him. After thanking AJ for giving him a good fight, 'Taker pushed Styles into the pit and dumped the sand to bury Styles alive.
It was one of the most iconic WrestleMania contests of all time, and also the final match for The Undertaker. Styles got the honor of retiring probably the biggest wrestling legend of all time, and also became an official WrestleMania main eventer in the process.
#9. The Undertaker: Career vs. Streak, WrestleMania 26
It might not be wrong to say that WrestleMania is the Undertaker's playground. The Phenom is the most decorated Superstar in WrestleMania history. He remained undefeated in the biggest battleground for 21 years. It was almost impossible to take down The Undertaker at WrestleMania. That's the reason why there are just two men in wrestling history who somehow managed to beat 'Taker clean at WrestleMania.
Although it's quite difficult to pick the most special moment from The Undertaker's WrestleMania journey, his encounter with Shawn Michaels could be considered his biggest 'Mania victory. This match was special in many ways, as The Heartbreak Kid put his career on the line against The Undertaker's streak.
After trading blows for 20-plus minutes, Undertaker spiked Shawn Michaels with a Tombstone Piledriver. This time, Shawn Michaels failed to kick out and lost his second consecutive match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania. It marked the end of Shawn Michaels' legendary career, while the sacred streak of the Undertaker remained alive.