As the WWE travels down the road to WrestleMania 31, it is a time to reflect on how the biggest event on the WWE calendar has shaped careers, provided memories that will last a lifetime and has been a showcase for the greatest matches in the history of the company.
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Over the next month, Sports World News will delve into each of the first 30 WrestleMania events and reflect on the best moments in each edition of the historic "Showcase of the Immortals."
WrestleMania VII rolled around at the height of America's involvement in the Gulf War and had a very patriotic theme throughout the event as the arena was decked out in red, white and blue.
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For disputed reasons that range from poor ticket sales to fear of sabotage due to the nature of the event, it was moved from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to the adjacent L.A. Sports Arena. 16,158 fans witnessed the event on March 24, 1991, and a main event that pitted American hero Hulk Hogan against Iraqi turncoat Sgt. Slaughter for the WWE Championship.
Here are our three best moments from WWE WrestleMania VII:
3) Deadman Debuts, The Streak is Born: After making his debut at the Survivor Series in November 1990, The Undertaker fought his first WrestleMania bout at this event against Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka.
The crowd was in awe of the Deadman's presence as he dominated Snuka in the match, finally finishing him off with the Tombstone.
The Undertaker would go on to win his next 20 WrestleMania bouts, setting up his legendary 21-0 undefeated streak, which of course was ended in shocking fashion by current WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XXX.
2) Real American: The WWE had a controversial angle running in 1991 as Sgt. Slaughter turned heel and became an Iraqi-sympathizer at the height of the Gulf War.
Slaughter defeated The Ultimate Warrior, dubbed by him as The Ultimate Puke, to capture the WWE Championship at the 1991Royal Rumble, much to the chagrin of wrestling fans across America.
Hogan, looking to prove himself after losing to The Ultimate Warrior the year before, was booked to come in as the American hero and try to take down Slaughter in the main event.
Hogan and Slaughter clashed in a battle of national pride that lasted over 20 minutes, and in the end a bloody Hogan stood tall, bringing the title back home to America after defeating the tyrant to capture the WWE Championship with guts and glory.
1) A Reunion of the Madness: The Ultimate Warrior and "Macho King" Randy Savage put on a five-star classic at WrestleMania VII in a match that set the stage for one of the grandest reunions in WWE history.
Savage had been a heel for three years and cost The Warrior the WWE Championship to Sgt. Slaughter at the 1991 Royal Rumble.
Warrior didn't want to just get revenge for this, he wanted to end Savage's career. This set up a career ending match between the two as the loser of their WrestleMania VII bout would have to retire from the WWE.
Savage and Warrior waged war in a back-and-forth classic that was easily the Match of the Night and saw The Warrior gain a dramatic victory in a match that lasted over 20 minutes.
Following the match, Savage's manager Sensational Sherri turned on him for losing and left the ring, leading to Miss Elizabeth running out and helping Savage. The two, who had been at odds since Savage's feud with Hulk Hogan in 1989, hugged and reunited, turning Savage face.
They would have a wedding angle at SummerSlam 1991 and Savage would eventually return to the ring as the "Macho Man" again in November of that year.
Looking Ahead: After a patriotic edition of WrestleMania 31, the calendar would flip to 1992 and The Man would be on his way forWrestleMania VIII, which we'll look at on Wednesday.
Rank-O-Mania: As we go through each year, we will rank each WrestleMania as it comes along. WrestleMania VII was a solid edition of the event and benefitted from the patriotic theme while it's notable for 'Taker's first match at the show, Hogan winning the WWE Championship for the third time and the classic match of Warrior vs. Savage. It isn't as strong as WrestleMania VI or III, but it is ahead of everything else.
1) WrestleMania VI
2) WrestleMania III
3) WrestleMania VII
4) WrestleMania V
5) WrestleMania IV
6) WrestleMania I
7) WrestleMania 2
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