You only get 38 chances to make a first impression. These are the 10 greatest WrestleMania Opening Matches of all time.
00:00 - Start
00:51 - 10
01:38 - 9
02:32 - 8
03:26 - 7
04:29 - 6
05:27 - 5
06:18 - 4
07:16 - 3
08:10 - 2
09:12 - 1
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00:00 - Start
00:51 - 10
01:38 - 9
02:32 - 8
03:26 - 7
04:29 - 6
05:27 - 5
06:18 - 4
07:16 - 3
08:10 - 2
09:12 - 1
SUBSCRIBE TO partsFUNknown: https://bit.ly/2J2Hl6q
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/partsfunknown
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/partsfunknown/
Buy wrestling merchandise here: https://www.wrestleshop.com/
Read more Feature content here on WrestleTalk.com: https://wrestletalk.com/features/
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SportsTranscript
00:00 "You only get one chance at making a first impression."
00:03 Or to quote the great Paul Heyman, "If my client is not on last, we're not hanging around
00:09 here all night to wait."
00:11 A blistering opening match has become something of a sleeper WrestleMania tradition.
00:14 It didn't always used to be this way.
00:15 Spoiler alert, there aren't a lot of old WrestleMania matches on this list.
00:19 After all, the opening match of Mania 1 is Tito Santana vs. The Executioner.
00:23 The opening match wasn't exactly a vaunted spot on the card back then.
00:27 However, especially in the last decade or so, WWE have started putting stonking matchups
00:31 on our screens straight out the gate, and it's time to give the curtain-jerkers their
00:35 due.
00:36 Notar bene for this list.
00:37 Kickoff matches absolutely do not count.
00:40 Get out of here with that pre-firework bollocks.
00:44 I'm Adam Hailing from PartsFunknown, and here are 10 Greatest WrestleMania Opening Matches
00:49 Ever.
00:50 10.
00:51 RK-Bro vs. Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy - WrestleMania 38
00:56 We demand more Chad Gable on WrestleMania.
00:58 The man who should have retired Kurt Angle at Mania 35 is apparently long overdue a singles
01:02 push and that's wonderful news.
01:04 But don't get us wrong, Alpha Academy have been a best-kept raw secret for a while now,
01:07 especially when mixing it up with much-beloved replacement Broza Waite's rated RKO.
01:11 The opening tag match of Night 1 of last year's WrestleMania was sadly blighted by the impossible-to-cover
01:16 injury of Rick Boogs.
01:17 Night 2 began much more successfully.
01:19 It's just a lot of fun in a way that multi-team tags have been in WWE since NXT lads started
01:24 bouncing up to the main roster.
01:26 Montez Ford and Chad Gable, two major guys to watch in hopefully the near future, spring
01:30 all over the place in this one.
01:32 Everyone gets a little something fun to do, ending with an RKO out of nowhere.
01:36 Familiar, fast, and fun.
01:38 9.
01:39 Intercontinental Title Ladder Match - WrestleMania 32
01:42 Not gonna lie to you, there are quite a few ladder matches on this list because throwing
01:44 a bunch of athletic and passionate mid-carders into a spotfest with something on the line
01:48 is the closest thing WWE has to an open goal.
01:51 Roll up WrestleMania 32 and KO Mania 1.
01:53 A bunch of good flippy lads, or at least the ones who hadn't had their body parts explode
01:58 in the lead up to this mania.
01:59 Sorry Cesaro, sorry Neville.
02:00 Put out all the stops that go hell for balls for our entertainment.
02:04 The match is so good that it briefly convinced everyone that WrestleMania 32 might have been
02:07 alright.
02:08 AJ Styles losing his first Mania match immediately put paid to that though.
02:11 Not only did Zack Ryder win this match in a briefly wonderful dad cuddling surprise,
02:17 but Sami's dive through the ladder, Kevin Owens' soul leaving his body in that horrific
02:21 spot stardust big dumb ladder.
02:23 Lots of fun, even though Zack Ryder's dreams were then shot through the head 24 hours later
02:28 when the Mrs. Beautiful Wife made her proper main roster return.
02:31 8.
02:32 AJ Styles vs Shane McMahon - WrestleMania 33
02:36 As we briefly talked about, AJ Styles' first Mania match… let's not talk about it.
02:41 The moment he lost to Chris Jericho, you could feel the air being sucked out harder than a
02:45 Kurt Angle-branded vacuum cleaner.
02:47 The night never really recovered, no matter how many part-timers they threw at us.
02:50 AJ's next Mania match, though?
02:52 Much better.
02:53 Even if it did take place inside a wind tunnel for the majority of it, AJ's soccer mom hair
02:57 is not built for wind, god damn it.
02:59 Back in 2017, the idea of a lengthy AJ Styles WWE title run still filled people with joy,
03:04 so fighting Adidas' grandpa at Mania wasn't anyone's idea of a suitable matchup for the
03:09 Phenomenal One, but Tickle Me Elmo, the two lads, pulled it off.
03:12 A legit, great matchup, given time to build with some typically silly Shane-O-Mac spots,
03:18 and a dominant win for Styles.
03:19 Don't think anyone expected to hear "This is Awesome" chants during this one, but they
03:23 were there.
03:24 Trust me, 'cause I were there.
03:26 7.
03:27 Charlotte Flair vs Rhea Ripley - WrestleMania 36
03:29 Night 2
03:30 I'm not entirely sure why some people aren't jazzed for Rhea vs Charlotte at this year's
03:33 Mania.
03:34 Their last singles match ruled, and this time it won't happen in deafening silence.
03:38 Hooray!
03:39 Maybe I expectedly that match that ended in that weird DQ was bad.
03:43 Maybe I do understand.
03:45 Despite my great hatred for the pandemic era of wrestling, especially the early years where
03:49 you could actually hear Michael Cole f*cking breathing at ringside, I can't deny that this
03:54 match ruled, probably the best actual wrestling match of the entire event.
03:57 I do very much wish that the gronk hadn't been vibing on the balcony during the entrances,
04:02 but we can't have everything in this life.
04:04 A fun, occasionally brutal contest for Ripley's NXT Championship, and gosh people were very
04:08 cross when Charlotte won.
04:10 I thought it might have worked if Charlotte had then made a new star in NXT.
04:14 That kinda happened with Io Shirai, but not really.
04:19 Either way though, this match was great.
04:20 It's technical, it's vicious, Charlotte working the knee for the entire match in prep for
04:24 the figure eight, Rhea looking strong in defeat after 20 minutes.
04:26 Here's hoping the rematch will be half as good.
04:29 6.
04:30 The Intercontinental Title Ladder Match - WrestleMania 31
04:32 Ah yes, Daniel Bryan's "consolation prize".
04:35 To be fair, if Bryan had not been forced to relinquish the IC title belt after yet another
04:39 injury, 2015 being the year that Cena had the US title and Bryan had the IC title, could
04:44 have been a beautiful time for WWE's midcard.
04:47 The story leading into this match can charitably be described as "Looney Tunes Bulls*t" with
04:51 all the challenges becoming "Waskily Wabbit" and half-inching Bad News Barrett's title
04:55 in an endless parade of comedy segments featuring guys like D-Bry Luke Harper and Dean Ambrose
05:00 who were far too good for this sh*t.
05:03 However, as was the story of WrestleMania 31, despite a crap build, the match over-delivered
05:08 with a series of wonderful spots including Dean Ambrose getting fatality'd with a powerbomb
05:13 through a ladder on the outside and a closing sequence of headbutts that makes me wince
05:17 in hindsight.
05:18 Fun, painful and an admittedly compromised "feel good" moment makes sense why WWE go
05:23 back to the multi-man ladder match for an opener time and time again.
05:25 It just feels like a party.
05:27 5.
05:28 The Money in the Bank Ladder Match - WrestleMania 23
05:30 Party, party, party, party.
05:32 As much as I like Money in the Bank having its own pay-per-view, pretty much the only
05:35 gimmick match that suits having its own show, I do miss it being on the WrestleMania card.
05:39 Almost like a consolation prize for people who did good in the Royal Rumble and a huge
05:42 stage to spotlight a guy the company had big plans for.
05:45 Always a laugh and this ladder match is one of my favorites because it's so goddamn violent.
05:49 I mean, everyone remembers the Jeff Hardy edge spot.
05:52 That's a classic diving from a ladder in the ring through edge and another ladder on the
05:56 outside mutually assuring both men's destruction.
05:58 But there's a host of other silliness in this near 20 minute epic punk gang bustin'
06:03 open hardware with a ladder.
06:04 A beautiful RKO from the top of the ladder on Matt Hardy who spends a lot of this match
06:08 actually being quite heel to Booker T's wife.
06:11 That's a bit weird.
06:13 Mr. Kennedy murdering Hornswoggle for the crime of existing.
06:16 It's a party, party, party.
06:18 4.
06:19 Seth Rollins vs Brock Lesnar - WrestleMania 35
06:21 WWE have opened a bunch of WrestleManias with a world title match and honestly, I'm all
06:25 for it.
06:26 First match should feel big.
06:27 Why not?
06:28 It's probably a curmudgeon purist to think a world title is too good for a spot on the
06:31 card where the audience are most fresh and excitable.
06:34 Now some of these world title matches have been a bit naff.
06:36 18 seconds, I'm looking your direction, but what a trademark moment, trademark pattern
06:40 pending.
06:41 Edge vs Del Rio was alright, but the best of the bunch happened at Mania 35.
06:46 Seth Rollins slaying the beast for his universal title in under 3 minutes after a protracted
06:50 action movie beatdown.
06:52 All killer, no filler in this one.
06:53 Pretty much Brock Lesnar's MO for the past few years.
06:56 The bookers have realized he doesn't need a prolonged match in order to wear his opponents
06:59 down for hope spots to feel substantially so deadly that his opponents start with all
07:03 purple body parts on 2K anyway.
07:05 Similar to 18 seconds in terms of feeling like a huge deal and a huge moment, but played
07:10 out long enough to feel like a substantial match.
07:12 Seth is very good at Wrestlemania.
07:15 And speaking of.
07:16 3.
07:17 Seth Rollins vs The Miz vs Finn Balor - WrestleMania 34
07:20 Always with Seth Rollins for participating in the best triple threats in company history.
07:23 In between this, the Raw Rumble 2015 won the really good US title 3-way at Survivor Series
07:28 last year, the Shield Triple Threat.
07:30 He really is an architect of matches with lots of moving parts.
07:33 As became a bit of a 2018 tradition, the IC title opened the pay-per-view and was up there
07:37 for being the best match on the card, with Balor, Rollins, and The Miz leaving it all
07:40 in the ring.
07:41 It was a really good dynamic.
07:43 Two of the best worker babyfaces in the company, Finn being especially pure at heart and his
07:47 entrance handpicked by the LGBT+ community to be their version of Captain Planet, and
07:52 one chicken s--- heel in between him desperately trying to pick his spot.
07:56 Excellent story, that.
07:57 15 minutes of sheer mid-card wonder, great near-falls, electric pace, strong character
08:02 dynamics, that frog splash from Rollins out of nowhere while Miz had Balor in the figure
08:06 four.
08:07 That right there.
08:08 That is my jam.
08:09 That is my jam right there.
08:10 2.
08:11 Bret Hart vs Owen Hart - WrestleMania 10
08:14 Honestly, I went back and forward between my top two, so in the end, I went with my
08:17 precious little feelings.
08:19 Bret vs Owen is a prestige match.
08:21 Yes we know, especially canonised since Owen's tragic passing, but it does live up to the
08:26 hype.
08:27 It's a definitive match for technical wrestling fans.
08:30 A perfect marriage of smart, believable combat psychology with the soap opera silliness of
08:35 pro wrestling.
08:36 But this time, the story serves the wrestling rather than the other way around.
08:40 Both men are desperate to lock in the sharpshooter because it's the Hart family move and this
08:44 is f---ing personal.
08:46 However, neither man can lock it in for ages because both men have studied it inside and
08:50 out.
08:51 Also, Owen's gone to the dark side and isn't afraid to cheat.
08:54 Bret won't put up with Owen's bollocks, but even though his brother has strayed to the
08:58 dark side, is Bret really willing to actually hurt his brother?
09:02 All of these little story beats play out really well between the ropes and even though some
09:06 could see it as a little dry for their taste, it's required viewing for fans of WWE's second
09:11 W.
09:12 1.
09:13 Daniel Bryan vs Triple H - WrestleMania 30
09:16 Why?
09:17 Because the monster video made me cry, still makes me cry, and it provides the perfect
09:22 emotional framework for this wonderful match.
09:25 Bret and Owen is all well and good and probably speaks to a certain generation of fan much
09:29 more than this match.
09:30 But man, I was invested in Daniel Bryan.
09:33 This storyline came at the point where I was most interested not only in some of these
09:37 characters - Bryan, Punk, The Shield - but also in the behind the scenes office politicking
09:42 of the wrestling business.
09:44 The company not giving the main event to the hottest thing on its roster in real life and
09:50 in kayfabe.
09:51 A wrestler whose mat style and character I loved was completely absorbing and watching
09:57 this night long story play out over the course of WrestleMania was a f*cking treat.
10:03 Monster then this match, this brilliant match, Bryan wrestling her against the game, those
10:08 people behind him, wrestling a main event quality match in the first match of the night.
10:14 A f*cking treat.
10:16 And one of the best matches on one of the most creatively satisfying nights I've ever
10:20 had as a modern wrestling fan.
10:23 Yay, WrestleMania.
10:24 Wrestling is a dangerous game.
10:27 Injuries can strike at any moment, which must make booking a WrestleMania card stressful
10:31 as balls knowing that the capricious gods of fate could KO your best laid plans with
10:36 an errant twist of a joint or a pull of a muscle.
10:39 And naturally, as you'd expect from a show that's been around for 38 years, injuries
10:43 have ruined a great many WrestleMania.