For over three decades, the WWE's cornerstone event, WrestleMania, has provided the WWE Universe with some of the greatest matches, moments and memories in the history of the company.
Countdown to WrestleMania 31: 3 Best Moments From WrestleMania 21
In an ongoing countdown to WrestleMania 31 next Sunday, March 29 live from Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. Sports World News has continued to look at the three best moments from each edition of the iconic spectacle.
In 2007, things were changing in WWE as a third brand was created in homage to the old ECW promotion, and the new sector of the WWE was set to be represented at WrestleMania 23. The WWE took WrestleMania back to Detroit, the same city where the biggest main event in history took place - Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant -- at WrestleMania III.
Countdown to WrestleMania 31: 3 Best Moments From WrestleMania 22
WrestleMania 23 took place live from Ford Field in Detroit in front of 80,103 fans with the tagline "WrestleMania: All Grown Up" on April 1, 2007.
Here are our three best moments from WrestleMania 23:
Honorable Mentions: WrestleMania went extreme at this event as the ECW brand was represented for the first time with ECW Originals Rob Van Dam, Sabu, The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer winning an eight-man tag match against the New Breed. Elsewhere, the Money in the Bank tradition continued as Mr. Kennedy won the contract, though he wouldn't go on to keep the briefcase as he lost it to Edge months later.
3) The Battle of the Billionaires: Donald Trump is known for two things, his money and his ridiculous hair. Vince McMahon is known as a sports entertainment mogul, but there were also jokes in his past that he donned a toupee and that his hair wasn't real.
Heading into WrestleMania 23, the two deep-pocketed men put their luscious locks on the line in a match deemed "The Battle of the Billionaires."
The stakes saw each billionaire pick a Superstar to represent them in a match at WrestleMania and whoever's charge lost would have to get their head shaved.
McMahon chose reigning Intercontinental Champion Umaga while Trump turned to ECW Champion Bobby Lashley.
It was an entertaining premise, but it over-shadowed the event at times. Still, the match was fun as the drama of which billionaire would get his head shaved (though there was never really any doubt) added an extra wrinkle to the midcard bout.
Adding to the fun, McMahon's chief rival "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was named the special guest referee.
The match, as usual with McMahon storylines, had many twists and turns and some outside interference from Shane McMahon, but in the end the heels got their comeuppance.
Austin, after being attacked by Umaga earlier in the match, hit him with a Stone Cold Stunner and Lashley then speared the Samoan to pin him and win the match.
Austin, Lashley and Trump reveled in it as they shaved McMahon bald while the Chairman sold his disdain in tremendous fashion.
2) The Deadman Reigns Again: The Undertaker became the first man to win the Royal Rumble Match from the No. 30 draw in 2007 and he immediately set his sights on World Heavyweight Champion Batista.
This set the stage for the two behemoths to go toe-to-toe at the biggest event of the year in WrestleMania 23.
The match was a vicious war as both men were able to avoid each other's finishers through the beginning portion and then were able to kickout of the best moves in one another's arsenal throughout the rest of the clash.
The spot of the match saw Batista run across one of the announce tables and powerslam The Undertaker through another one, but once again the "Deadman" was able to forge a comeback.
Finally, after over 15 minutes of tremendous action, The Undertaker hit "The Animal" with a Tombstone and got the pinfall victory to win the World Heavyweight Championship in an epic match and become 15-0 at WrestleMania.
1) The Heartbreak Kid vs. The Champ: It doesn't quite have the nostalgia behind it as Hogan-Andre, but after an injury to Triple H caused the WWE to scrap its original Cena-HHH II match, the face of its past, Shawn Michaels, took on the face of its present and future in John Cena.
The clash between the two legendary Superstars in the main event at Ford Field told a great story as each man tried to hit their go-to moves and weren't able to throughout the match.
Michaels was unable to land the Sweet Chin Music throughout the contest while Cena failed to secure the F-U despite many attempts.
A notable spot in the encounter saw Michaels execute a devastating piledriver onto Cena on the steel steps.
As both men struggled to land their signature moves, Cena was finally able to land the STFU on Michaels and after a few minutes, Michaels was able to get to the ropes to end his agony and cause a break.
Cena was able to place Michaels in the hold once again and after a dramatic ending segment, Michaels tapped out and Cena retained the WWE Championship in a star-studded main event.
Looking Ahead: The WWE was set to return outdoors for WrestleMania XXIV in 2008 for the first time since 1993 (WrestleMania IX) as a legend prepared to say goodbye and the "Rated 'R' Superstar" went after The Deadman's Streak.
Rank-O-Mania: As we go through each year, we will rank each WrestleMania as it comes along. WrestleMania 23 had some good main events in Cena-Michaels and Batista-Undertaker despite Cena's act starting to wear thin. The Battle of the Billionaires was also fun, if often frustrating for overshadowing a lot of the rest of the card in the buildup. The Money in the Bank match was another entertaining affair, but this event had some low points in Kane vs. Khali and Melina vs. Ashley. WrestleMania 23 finds its way between X-8 and V in 13th place.
1) WrestleMania X-7
2) WrestleMania XIX
3) WrestleMania X
4) WrestleMania VI
5) WrestleMania III
6) WrestleMania 21
7) WrestleMania XIV
8) WrestleMania VIII
9) WrestleMania XX
10) WrestleMania 22
11) WrestleMania VII
12) WrestleMania X-8
13) WrestleMania 23
14) WrestleMania V
15) WrestleMania XV
16) WrestleMania 2000
17) WrestleMania XII
18) WrestleMania IV
19) WrestleMania 13
20) WrestleMania I
21) WrestleMania XI
22) WrestleMania IX
23) WrestleMania 2
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