For over three decades, WrestleMania has been the most prestigious event in wrestling lore as it has shaped careers and provided the WWE Universe with some of the most memorable matches and moments in the history of sports entertainment that will stand up through the annuls of time.
Countdown to WrestleMania 31: 3 Best Moments From WrestleMania XXIV (24)
With WrestleMania 31 emanating in just five days from Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. the countdown to the biggest show of the year is winding down.
In 2010, the WWE prepared to say goodbye to one of its most influential Superstars in Shawn Michaels while Bret "Hitman" Hart returned to the active competition for the first time in years.
Countdown to WrestleMania 31: 3 Best Moments From WrestleMania XXV (25)
WrestleMania XXVI emanated from University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona as 72,219 people packed the place on March 28, 2010. The event had the tagline "Get All Fired Up."
Here are our three best moments from WWE WrestleMania XXVI:
Honorable Mentions: It's worth noting, this edition of the show held the sixth and final Money in the Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania, which was won by Jack Swagger.
3) Hart and Soul: Bret "Hitman" Hart hadn't appeared at a WrestleMania event since 1997 when he took on "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in an infamous submission match at WrestleMania 13.
Just a few months after that event, Hart was involved in another infamous event -- the Montreal Screwjob -- at Survivor Series 1997.
Though Hart eventually made amends with the WWE in 2006 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame on the eve of WrestleMania 22, he distanced himself from the company until returning to television in 2010.
This led to a Street Fight between Hart and WWE CEO and Chairman Vince McMahon, who organized the Montreal Screwjob all those years ago, at WrestleMania XXVI.
McMahon entered the stadium and said he paid Hart's family to screw him over, but Hart revealed that his family told him about it beforehand and they were there to screw McMahon over.
The match itself wasn't a classic, as Hart was very limited and all the Hart family members took turns beating on McMahon.
In the end, Hart go the win with a Sharpshooter after the Hart family punished the chairman for over 11 minutes.
Though the match wasn't great, this was a nice moment as Hart finally returned to WrestleMania -- an event he thrived at many years earlier -- and got some fitting revenge on McMahon.
2) Title Fights: The WWE had two solid matches for its two most prestigious titles as Chris Jericho defended his World Heavyweight Championship against Edge while Batista put his WWE Championship on the line against John Cena.
Edge and Jericho, who had been partners prior to Edge getting injured, were at each other's throats as "Y2J" blamed the "Rated 'R' Superstar" for getting hurt and causing their team to disperse.
It led to an epic clash between the two Canadians at WrestleMania XXVI. The back-and-forth match ended when Jericho hit Edge with the title and then nailed a Codebreaker for the win. After the bout, Edge speared Jericho through the barricade to get some vengeance.
Batista and Cena are two of the biggest Superstars in the industry, and their rivalry came to a head at the University of Phoenix Stadium.
The match was a hard-hitting seesaw affair as neither man would back down. Batista was able to kick out of the Attitude Adjustment while Cena also powered out of a Batista Bomb.
In the end, the "Cenation" leader reversed "The Animal's" attempt at another Batista Bomb into an STF and the heel Batista eventually tapped, leading to Cena winning his eighth WWE Championship.
1) The Show Stops for the Show Stopper: Shawn Michaels was hell-bent on getting another match with The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI after coming so close to ending The Streak the previous year.
The Undertaker was unwilling to accept until Michaels offered collateral of his own -- putting his career on the line against The Streak.
Learning from the previous year, the WWE opted to give the two huge legends the main event slot at WrestleMania XXVI setting up one of the biggest rematches in WrestleMania history and one of the most compelling main events ever.
Both men threw everything they had at one another, which Michaels kicking out of multiple Tombstones -- including one on the floor, -- a chokeslam, a Last Ride and thwarting off the Hell's Gate.
'Taker was also able to get out of several submission holds Michaels put him in, while he also kicked out of the Sweet Chin Music on several occasions.
After an unbelievably dramatic encounter, The Undertaker was finally able to put Michaels away with a jumping Tombstone, ending "The Heart Break Kid's" career while improving The Streak to 18-0 in a contest that spanned nearly 24 minutes.
The two legends then embraced and 'Taker walked off, allowing Michaels to soak in the glory and emotion of what was his final WrestleMania Moment and the last match in his Hall of Fame career.
"Mr. WrestleMania's" career was over, but the epic matches and moments he gave the WWE Universe -- especially at WrestleMania -- were never forgotten.
Looking Ahead: As 2011 came around, the WWE would go to Atlanta and "The Great One" was set to return while John Cena had a new heel to deal with in The Miz.
Rank-O-Mania: As we go through each year, we will rank each WrestleMania as it comes along. WrestleMania XXVI will always be remembered as being the end of Shawn Michaels' historic career, which went out with a bang in another amazing match with The Undertaker. The World Championship matches were also good and MITB was entertaining, while it was also nice to see Bret Hart back at the marquee event, even if it was in a disappointing match. Some of the undercard stuff knocks this one down a peg, however, and it finds its place between WrestleManias 22 and VII in 12th 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 XXIV
10) WrestleMania XX
11) WrestleMania 22
12) WrestleMania XXVI
13) WrestleMania VII
14) WrestleMania X-8
15) WrestleMania XXV
16) WrestleMania 23
17) WrestleMania V
18) WrestleMania XV
19) WrestleMania 2000
20) WrestleMania XII
21) WrestleMania IV
22) WrestleMania 13
23) WrestleMania I
24) WrestleMania XI
25) WrestleMania IX
26) WrestleMania 2
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