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.
Countdown to WrestleMania 31: 3 Best Moments From WrestleMania IX (9)
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."
Following a resurgence and new direction at WrestleMania X, things started to go downhill for the WWE as WrestleMania XI rolled around. Cartoonish gimmicks and over-the-top characters reached the forefront while the talent pool was depleted.
Countdown to WrestleMania 31: 3 Best Moments From WrestleMania X (10)
With the WWE struggling in early 1995, the WWE turned to an NFL star to help drive interest in WrestleMania XI, which took place in front of 16,305 fans at the Hartford Civic Center in Connecticut on April, 2, 1995.
This was another rough year for the WWE, but here are our three best moments from WrestleMania XI:
3) Taylor Made: With the WWE in need of a big jolt for WrestleMania XI, the company turned to legendary New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor to trade in his agility on the gridiron for a match inside the squared circle.
This move on the part of the WWE has been met with mixed reactions, with many people believing it helped lead the company out of its financial struggle while others believe a football player in the main event of the biggest show of the year was a questionable decision.
Taylor took on Bam Bam Bigelow in the main event with NFL players seconding L.T. to the ring and Bigelow being flanked by Ted Dibiase's Million Dollar Corporation.
While an issue could be made of a midcarder taking on a football player in the main event of WrestleMania, it garnered main stream attention for the WWE and Taylor held his own shockingly well in the squared circle.
In the end, Taylor defeated Bigelow in just over 11 minutes in a match that surpassed most people's expectations.
2) Mystery Partner: Owen Hart challenged Billy and Bart, collectively known as The Smoking Gunns to a Tag Team Championship bout at WrestleMania XI and teased that he would have a mystery partner on his side.
Hart revealed at the event that the returning Yokozuna would team with him to take on the Gunns for the gold.
Yokozuna then dominated the Gunns during the match, allowing Hart to take advantage by getting the pinfall for his team after Yokozuna did all the work.
This marked Hart's first championship victory in the WWE and was made better by his classic heel over-the-top celebration.
1) Stealing the Show: While Shawn Michaels vs. Diesel for the WWE Championship didn't go on last, the two Superstars turned in a Match of the Night effort anyway in a very solid back-and-forth encounter that won Match of the Year from Pro Wrestling Illustrated in 1995.
Michaels was fresh off of becoming the first person to ever win the Royal Rumble Match from the No. 1 draw while Diesel was in the midst of what would be a lengthy reign on top.
Michaels and Diesel were tag team partners up until the WWE opted to turn Diesel face at the 1994 Survivor Series. Michaels was supposed to be led to the ring by Pamela Anderson for winning the Rumble, but she ended up coming out with Diesel while "HBK" had Jenny McCarthy by his side.
The match lasted over 20 minutes and had several great moments in it, but when all was said and done Diesel hit Michaels with the Jackknife to retain his championship.
This was the lone above average match on an all-around uneventful card.
Looking Ahead: While WrestleMania XI wasn't without its difficulties, things would start to improve in the WWE work-rate wise as two of its biggest stars -- Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart -- were about to become iron men at WrestleMania XII in 1996. We'll look into that more on Tuesday.
Rank-O-Mania: As we go through each year, we will rank each WrestleMania as it comes along. WrestleMania XI may have done the WWE wonders from a main stream coverage standpoint, but it was really one of the worst editions of the marquee event in history. While it's not as bad as WrestleManias 2 and IX, it is right behind them as far as a lack of entertainment value goes.
1) WrestleMania X
2) WrestleMania VI
3) WrestleMania III
4) WrestleMania VIII
5) WrestleMania VII
6) WrestleMania V
7) WrestleMania IV
8) WrestleMania I
9) WrestleMania XI
10) WrestleMania IX
11) WrestleMania 2
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