For the last three decades, WrestleMania has provided the WWE Universe with some of the most memorable moments and matches in the history of sports entertainment.
Countdown to WWE WrestleMania 31: 3 Best Moments From WrestleMania XXVII (27)
With just two days until WrestleMania 31 this Sunday night at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., our countdown of the three best moments in each WrestleMania event is beginning to wind down.
In 2013, the WWE went back to the New York-New Jersey area for the first time in nine years and two top stars prepared to go at it on the grandest stage for the second straight year in The Rock and John Cena.
Countdown to WWE WrestleMania 31: 3 Best Moments From WrestleMania XXVIII (28)
WrestleMania XXIX emanated live from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. in front of 80,676 fans in an event dubbed as "Greatness vs. Redemption" on April 7, 2013.
Here are our three best moments from WWE WrestleMania XXIX
3) 'The Beast' Returns: Brock Lesnar fought in his first WrestleMania match in nine years, battling Triple H in what marked his first contest at the WWE's cornerstone event since his infamous clash with Bill Goldberg as WrestleMania XX in 2004.
This was a rematch from SummerSlam 2012, where Lesnar defeated Triple H by submission. The stipulation was that if Triple H lost, he'd have to retire and it was to be contested under No Holds Barred rules.
The match itself was decent if not anti-climactic, but the two did whale away on each other with everything they could find.
Shawn Michaels was in Triple H's corner while Lesnar was seconded by Paul Heyman. There was a spot in the match where "The Beast" hit Michaels with an F-5 and another interesting portion of the clash saw Michaels hit Heyman with the Sweet Chin Music.
In the end, Triple H hit a Pedigree on Lesnar onto the steel steps to win the match.
2) Twice in a Lifetime: After the WWE dubbed the first encounter between John Cena and The Rock as "Once in a Lifetime" they opted to scrap that idea and have a rematch between the two wrestling icons at WrestleMania XXIX.
The stakes were higher this time around, as The Rock had defeated CM Punk for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble -- ending his historic 434-day reign -- and was bringing it into MetLife Stadium to defend it against the "Cenation" leader.
The match played on similar beats to the prior clash between these two Superstars, with each man hitting their signature moves and the other kicking out.
There was an interesting nod to their first clash when The Rock mocked Cena's "You Can't See Me" move and was trapped, just like when Cena got caught mocking the People's Elbow and was pinned as a result the year before.
Cena then tried to trick Rock into falling into an Attitude Adjustment by pretending to go for the People's Elbow again, proving he learned from their last encounter.
In the end, it took three different Attitude Adjustments and a series of reversals in a flurried finish, but Cena was able to pin The Rock and become WWE Champion for the 11th time and the two embraced to close the show.
3) 'The Best in the World' vs. The Streak: CM Punk was the latest person to go after The Undertaker's streak at WrestleMania XXIX and the real-life death of 'Taker's former manager Paul Bearer played a significant role in the feud. Punk and Paul Heyman were gold on the microphone leading up to this bout.
When the match came around, Punk and 'Taker stole the show by putting on a WrestleMania classic in front of the full house at MetLife Stadium.
The match saw Punk play a cocky heel throughout it, saving Heyman from a beat down at the hands of the "Deadman" and also trying to steal The Undertaker's Old School move at various stages.
The match had plenty of action and drama with the two Superstars countering each other's moves and escaping near-fall after near-fall.
One notable spot saw Punk hit the flying elbow off the top rope onto The Undertaker through the announce table on the outside. The "Deadman" was a second away from losing The Streak, but made it back into the ring.
Punk was able to kick out from a Tombstone and escape the Hell's Gate while 'Taker was able to thwart off the Anaconda Vice during the contest.
Punk seemed to have the match won when 'Taker picked him up for the Last Ride, and the "Best in the World" received the urn from Heyman and crushed him over the head with it, adding insult to injury by mocking 'Taker's pinning style. The Undertaker narrowly managed to kick out.
The two continued to trade near-falls adding drama to the proceedings, but in the end The Undertaker nailed Punk with the Tombstone to improve to 21-0 at WrestleMania while Punk looked amazing in almost ending The Streak.
This match is notable for two reasons, it was the final time 'Taker successfully defended The Streak as he'd lose it to Brock Lesnar the following year and it marked Punk's final WrestleMania match as he walked away from the WWE in January 2014.
Many people thought the "Best in the World" should end The Streak, but after what happened the following year perhaps the WWE was wise to keep the tally of the Deadman intact.
Either way, this was the Match of the Night and a great five-star classic to add to the list of WrestleMania's must-see matches.
Looking Ahead: The WWE was getting set to celebrate 30 years of WrestleMania in 2014 as Daniel Bryan had his defining moment. We'll look at that and wrap up this series on Saturday.
Rank-O-Mania: As we go through each year, we will rank each WrestleMania as it comes along. WrestleMania XXIX was a mediocre edition of the event as Punk-Undertaker saved the show. Lesnar-HHH and Cena-Rock all had their moments, but they were all matches that had already been seen in the WWE up to that point and had predictable conclusions. Add in Chris Jericho jobbing to Fandango and a mediocre Jack Swagger vs. Alberto Del Rio bout for the World Heavyweight Championship and this isn't one of the better events. WrestleMania XXIX slots between WrestleManias IV and XXVII in 23rd place in our rankings.
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 XXVIII
13) WrestleMania XXVI
14) WrestleMania VII
15) WrestleMania X-8
16) WrestleMania XXV
17) WrestleMania 23
18) WrestleMania V
19) WrestleMania XV
20) WrestleMania 2000
21) WrestleMania XII
22) WrestleMania IV
23) WrestleMania XXIX
24) WrestleMania XXVII
25) WrestleMania 13
26) WrestleMania I
27) WrestleMania XI
28) WrestleMania IX
29) WrestleMania 2
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