I guess since I have asked all of you to send in your Wrestlemania thoughts, it is only fair that I share some of mine with you.

March 31, 1985. Nearly fifteen years ago, Vince McMahon watched his dream, his vision, come to life in Madison Square Garden. Wrestlemania was born, and so was a new era of the World Wrestling Federation. Since then, he and the WWF have pulled off fourteen more Wrestlemania spectaculars, and are about to embark on another. It is March. It's Wrestlemania Time. And Wrestlemania Fever is sweeping wrestling fans everywhere.

Now more than ever, as we approach Wrestlemania, I get people asking me, "Kayfabe, what is your favorite Wrestlemania?" It's a good question. And you know what, I can't answer it. Each Wrestlemania was great in its own way, and there are many different ways to gage a Wrestlemania. Wrestlemania has so many different aspects; there's something for everyone. There's the hype of Wrestlemania, the magnitude of the Main Event. There's the venue. There's the celebrities. There's the card itself. So much to consider. But when speaking about your favorite Wrestlemania, it goes much more beyond this. When watching Wrestlemanias on tape, we often lose are perspective. Things change in retrospect. If I were to show a new wrestling fan a tape of Wrestlemania III, what do you think their reaction would be? Maybe they'd like it, maybe they wouldn't, but either way, they would not be able to relate to it the way someone who has been a wrestling fan for twenty years. Do you know why? Because that fan has lived through Wrestlemania III. He can remember how big a deal, how much of a spectacle Wrestlemania III was in 1987, not how it looks in retrospect in 2000. I'm not trying to compare new fans to old fans here. This isn't about fans. This is about time. Time changes and so does wrestling. What I am saying is this: It's easy to look back and judge cards years later, but Wrestlemania isn't made for the future; it's made for the present. It's all about impact. Wrestlemania III had a tremendous impact on the business. Somebody watching it thirteen years later may not realize this, but many consider Wrestlemania III to be the best Wrestlemania ever because of the impact it had at the time. That is why I would find it hard to believe that a wrestling fan who started watching the WWF in 1996 will site Wrestlemania VII as their favorite, or list Wrestlemania V as the worst Wrestlemania ever. It is not fair to judge any Wrestlemania completely in retrospect. You have to have known what was going on at the time , and only then, can you fully realize what each specific event, Wrestlemania, brought to the table.

And Wrestlemania is just that: An event. Even in 1985, it was much more than a wrestling card. It was a show. And it remains a show. Celebrities aren't involved in wrestling cards. They are involved in shows. Wrestlemania has always been an extravaganza of sorts. A spectacle, like I said. It's all about getting the most celebrities, the most national attention, and the most viewers possible. And it is that, not the cards themselves, that make Wrestlemania the biggest event of the year.

Now having said all that, and having experienced most of the Wrestlemanias as a fan at the time, I still find it difficult to choose a favorite. But there are certain Wrestlemanias I do characterize above others. Wrestlemania IX will always be high up on my list. When Bret Hart pulled off the impossible and won the WWF Heavyweight Title in the fall of 1992, it really opened my eyes. I had always been a WWF fan until that point, but when Bret won the Title, it sent me over the edge. Now I wasn't a fan; I was obsessed. I became a superfan. Suddenly, Wrestlemania IX was becoming the most anticipated Wrestlemania ever, for me personally. And it didn't disappoint. To this day, I still feel Wrestlemania IX in Caesers Palace was the best venue for any Wrestlemania. The whole outdoor set-up was terrific. The Caeser gimmick? OK, maybe a bit lame, but those were different times. It was fun. It was easy to get into Wrestlemania IX because the venue just looked cool.

Here we had Hulk Hogan returning to action for the first time in a year to team with good friend Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake to challenge the evil Money Inc. for the Tag Team Titles. In the other half of the Double Main Event, Bret Hart was defending the WWF Title against the 505 lb. Yokozuna. Unbelievable interest surrounded these two matches. Those were good for hype, but then the event itself actually surpassed the hype. Shawn Michaels and Tatanka opened the show with a terrificly wrestled Intercontinental Title Match that set the stage for the rest of the card. Every match on the card was interesting and wrestled to perfection.

But the thing that impressed me the most about Wrestlemania IX was that it had more storyline advancement than any other Wrestlemania prior to it. Wrestlemanias had been used to end all major angles. Wrestlemania IX not only did that, but created new ones as well. Luna Vachon made her Wrestlemania debut and proceeded to visciously attack Sensational Sherri, not once, but twice. In Las Vegas that day, we saw the greatest "illusion" ever when Doink defeated Crush with the assistance of. Doink. There were two Doinks! What the hell? Then we were informed about Lex Luger knocking out WWF Champion Bret Hart earlier in the day at the Wrestlemania brunch. Suspicion about Luger's controversial forearm rose. Then, at Wrestlemania, we saw an irate Mr. Perfect, who had just been a victim of the forearm search for Luger in the back, only to be jumped by Shawn Michaels. Another new storyline. Next up, a shocking moment, as the Undertaker seemingly rises from the dead, and then, the greatest ending to any Wrestle mania.

Bret loses the Title to Yokozuna who immediately challenges Hogan. The Hulkster comes in and defeats Yoko to become an unprecedented five time champion. In the span of two minutes, three men have held the Title. This was bar none the greatest swerve in Wrestlemania history. What would Yoko and Mr. Fuji have to say about this? Where did this leave Bret Hart? So many questions left to be answered, Wrestlemania IX not only capped off some tremendous angles, but started new ones as well. And that's why I liked Wrestlemania IX so much. It had it all. It had the best venue of any Wrestlemania, and the most unpredictibility of any Wrestlemania. It had hype, well wrestled matches, a huge swerve at the end, and a tremendous impact on the goings on in the WWF in 1993. It was a huge success.

Now I could ramble on in detail about every Wrestlemania, but you don't want to hear me do that. For the sake of brevity, my other top Wrestlemanias are Wrestlemania III, VIII, X, and, for obvious reasons, the original Wrestlemania, the one that started it all.

To sum it up, these Wrestlemanias each had their own strong points. Wrestlemania III was the most unbelievable thing many have witnessed. The WWF shattered an indoor attendance record as over 90,000 screaming fans packed the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit, Michigan for Wrestlemania III. The monstrous dome and legions of fans only added to the auora of Wrestlemania. The huge aisle, the little mechanical rings that led wrestlers to the real ring, section after section of fans. The dome was the perfect place for the event. Never before had there been such a venue for a wrestling card, and that alone made for an exciting Wrestlemania. Bob Uecker and Aretha Franklin were on hand to add to the glamour. But when it came down to it, the wrestlers took over and put on a hell of a performance. The matches were well wrestled, and the better the show got, the more the fans got into it. And the more the fans got into it, the better the show got. In the massive dome environment, the wrestlers and fans were feedin g off each other and everything was clicking. The incredibly hyped Main Event was approaching. The Immortal Hulk Hogan was set to defend his WWF Title against Andre the Giant, the biggest man in professional wrestling, who to date, had not been defeated. As evening came and the tension grew, and the sun began to set, and the sky beyond the dome began to darken, one match stole the show. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and "Macho Man" Randy Savage gave it their all for nearly twenty minutes and gave us one of the best wrestling matches of all time. Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse "The Body" Ventura knew it in the broadcast booth. The appreciative 90,000 + in the Silverdome knew it, and the people watching on closed-circuit TV around the world knew it. We watched that night, as Savage would eventually fall victim to a small package and drop his Intercontinental Title to the Dragon. To this day, that match is considered by many the best of all time, whereas the Hogan/Andre bout a half hour later is probably the m ost important. That night in 1987, Andre the Giant passed the torch to Hulk Hogan. After fifteen minutes of battling, Hogan came back, body-slammed Andre in the single most famous moment in pro-wrestling history, and followed him up with the Leg Drop for the 1-2-3. We may never see a match of this magnitude again. Hogan and Andre capped off a great night of wrestling at Wrestlemania III, an event that truly rocked the world of wrestling at the time.

Wrestlemania VIII, another Domed Wrestlemania, was special as well. The Dome environment was back, which made it special, and we saw some great matches as well. Bret Hart became a two time Intercontinental Titlist, defeating good friend Rowdy Roddy Piper in what turned out to be a brutal, bloody contest. Their pre-match interview is perhaps one of the best of all time. Several young wrestlers were being pushed over veterans as Tatanka defeated Rick Martel, Owen Hart was victorious over Steve Keirn (Skinner), and Shawn Michaels continued his push for the Intercontinental Title with a win over Tito Santana. But more than establishing stars for the new year, Wrestlemania VIII featured a terrific double Main Event. Hulk Hogan was to wrestle Sid Vicious in what was to possibly be the Hulkster's last match. Many think Hogan finally met his match in this one, as Sid kicked out of Hogan's leg drop before being disqualified. What followed was the most historic run-in/return in Wrestlemania, or maybe even WWF history. As Sid and Papa Shango beat down Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior's music hit, and the Warrior rushed down to the ring. After vanishing months earlier, the Warrior was back. The Hoosierdome erupted, as the Warrior and Hogan took care of Shango and Sid and celebrated with the crowd. At that point it was the most exciting Wrestlemania finish ever, and may have ultimately caused the WWF to do what they did a year later at Wrestlemania IX in an effort to top the finish of the previous year. Also at Wrestlemania VIII, Ric Flair lost the WWF Title to the "Macho Man" Randy Savage in what was a truly terrific match. This was solely a heat match, meaning that they were hot at each other from the start after months of feuding. It was an entertaining angle, as Flair spread false things about Savage's wife, Elizabeth, as a way to get under his skin and provoke him. At Wrestlemania, they went right after each other, and despite Mr. Perfect's tricks, Savage was able to roll up a bloody Flair, with a handful of trunks, I might add, and become Champion again. In the minutes that followed, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, with Gorilla Monsoon made my Wrestlemania. Heenan stormed out of the announcers booth and went down into Flair's locker room. He and Perfect were irate, while a crimson Flair remained strangely calm. When Heenan returned to his broadcasting position, he had somewhat calmed down, but Gorilla kept giving him a hard time about the loss, interupting his explanation on why everything would be alright, and The Brain snapped. For the next couple of matches, Bobby was completely exasperated, and he and Gorilla played it off to perfection. There were some great wrestlers that were stars of Wrestlemania VIII. The Undertaker, Bret Hart, Roddy Piper, Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Sid, Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, and more. But to me, the MVP's were Gorilla and The Brain.

Wrestlemania X was yet another great. For the tenth Wrestlemania, Vince took the grandaddy of 'em all back home to the World's Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden. Not only was the venue historic, not only were there the celebrities, but Wrestlemania X was comprised of perhaps the greatest card in Wrestlemania history. It was stacked. With two World Title Matches (Special Guest Referees in both), an Intercontinental Title Ladder Match, a Tag Team Title Match, a Women's Title Match, a Mixed Tag Match, and a years ahead of its time, Falls Count Anywhere Match, Wrestlemania X was destined to be great. And it was. Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon wrestled the first ever high profile Ladder Match, and took it to each other for twenty minutes in a performance nothing short of amazing. It was one of the most exciting wrestling matches to watch live that I have ever seen. Back and forth, huge bumps, so much at stake. These guys did it all. Then there was the World Title scenario that saw Yokozuna retain his Title against Lex Luger, only to later lose it to Bret Hart. These matches also helped reintroduce Rowdy Roddy Piper and Mr. Perfect into storylines. Watching Bret and his friends celebrate after winning the Title was a great feeling. After a year, Bret Hart had finally snatched the Title back from Yokozuna, and there was nothing better than seeing my favorite wrestler, The Hit Man on top of everyone's shoulders with the gold at the end of the biggest Pay-Per-View of all time. But on Bret Hart's best day, his brother Owen had defeated him; pinned him in the center of the ring fair and square. In a twenty minute plus classic, Owen had literally shocked the world and beaten his older brother. Everyone watching was shocked. In living rooms across the world, and in the Garden itself, at 4:30 PM on that Sunday evening, there was a collective silence. Owen Hart had just jump started his way into super stardom. That night, on March 20th, 1994, the first match of the night was the best.

I'm sure everyone has their favorite Wrestlemania matches. I know I have mine. Throughout the years there have been many, many classics. Each year there are a few matches that make you say wow, and some that go down as all-time classics. I can say this about eight matches that I am very partial to:

Wrestlemania III, Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat: What else can I say about that hasn't already been said? This is a true classic. Back and forth, non-stop action, perfection execution and precision. Had everyone on the edge of their seats.

Wrestlemania VI, The Ultimate Warrior vs. Hulk Hogan: This being the Main Event between the two biggest names in the industry, the hype was unbelievable. But would the match be anything to write home about? It was. It wasn't the most technically sound of matches, but the tension was crazy. They matched each other move for move, the crowd was split 50/50, nobody knew who was going to win. And the unthinkable happened. Hogan lost. This was the Warrior's finest moment.

Wrestlemania VII, Randy Savage vs. The Ultimate Warrior: It was a Career Match. The stakes couldn't get any higher. After twenty minutes of battle in which we saw the Warrior kick out of five Macho Flying Elbows, the Ultimate one was victorious and Savage's career was over. What followed was his reunion with Elizabeth, the most emotional scene ever witnessed in a wrestling ring.

Wrestlemania VIII, Bret Hart vs. Rowdy Roddy Piper: Two friends fighting for the Intercontinental Title, this one turned into a slugfest quick. There was some great action, combined with timely commentary by Gorilla and Heenan. Gorilla asked the Brain how he would approach wrestling Bret Hart in this match if he were Piper, to which the Brain responded, "Well if I were him I'd waffle him with a tire iron out back." The Brain's philosiphy was to win at all costs. During the pre-match staredown, he commented, "Two ugly people looking at each other, that's fun." Bobby wasn't very enthusiastic about the match, since it pitted two fan favorites, and he didn't like either one. He strayed from the action and spoke about the local Indiana University's college basketball team, knocking Indiana's "high school basketball team". When Gorilla informed him that it was a college team, Heenan said, "Big deal. Who cares about college sports? Four years difference and you still don't get paid." He has a point. But as the match progressed, so did Heenan. When Bret played possum and nailed Piper with a sucker punch, Heenan really started to get into the match. "I love it!" the Brain proclaimed. As Hart and Piper got more and more physical and began to tear into each other, the ref was knocked down. Piper, fuming at Bret, grabbed the ring bell, and was about to crack Bret over the head with it. Heenan was ecstatic. "Ding, ding, ding. Ring the bell! You know the old saying; what the hell, use the bell. Hit him! Hit him!!" With Bret at Roddy's feet, Piper thought better of cheating and instead applied his pattened sleeper hold. Bret countered it into a pinning combination as the ref came to, and Bret Hart was once again Intercontinental Champion. Afterwards, Hart and Piper made up and hugged, and Rowdy strapped the Title around Bret's waist. Heenan thought this was disgraceful. "They're both losers after all," he whined. The point of the story is this: As Bret and Roddy's tempers flared and the intensity in the match increased, Heenan got into it as well and it made it a lot more fun for the fan to watch. It was easy to get excited now. Another prime example of how excellent a commentator Bobby Heenan was. He effected the way you watch a match and really tapped into your emotions.

Wrestlemania VIII, Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage: The angle was great and the match was even better. These guys gave it their all, and this match helped define Wrestlemania VIII.

Wrestlemania X, Owen Hart vs. Bret Hart: Take two of the greatest technical wrestlers of our time, build up a great angle around them, but don't hype it as much as you normally would since Bret is involved with other things, and what do you get? One hell of a wrestling match. Not only was it performed to perfection, but the ending was spectacular. Owen Hart leaped out of his brothers' shadow, and into his own greatness. Bret's Title win later that night saw Owen make the transition from obscurity to top WWF Title contender within a few short hours.

Wrestlemania X, Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon: There was an especially creative angle leading up to this one that sparked interest, but the show these guys put on was more incredible than one could ever imagine. This set the standard for all ladder matches.

Wrestlemania XIII, Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart: The top two stars of the decade battled it out for over sixty minutes, more than twice as long as the next longest Wrestlemania match. Nobody would have come close to putting on a match like this as well Bret and Shawn did in Anaheim.

With events like Wrestlemania, some moments just tend to stick in your mind forever. There are just some unforgettable moments that become a part of you. Hulk Hogan reigning supreme, and bodyslamming Andre at Wrestlemania III. Savage, newly crowned WWF Champion, with Miss Elizabeth on his shoulder as Hogan cheers them on. Andre retaliating to a Bobby Heenan slap in the face. Savage and Elizabeth reuniting. The Warrior rescuing a beaten Hulk Hogan. The Hulkster making his return and winning the WWF Title. Bret being held high on the shoulders of his friends and allies. Lawrence Taylor defeating Bam Bam Bigelow (well, that's unforgettable for a different reason). Shawn Michaels realizing his boyhood dream. Stone Cold taking the WWF into a new era. The memories are endless. All of these images are permanently etched into the minds of wrestling fans all around the world.

This year there has been much talk of the main event. Let's look at some of the wrestlers who have main-evented the big show in the past. Hulk Hogan, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Mr. T, Paul Orndorf, King Kong Bundy, Andre the Giant, Randy Savage, The Ultimate Warrior, Sgt. Slaughter, Ric Flair, Sid Justice, Bret Hart, Yokozuna, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Steve Austin, The Rock. There are some pretty prestigious names on that list. This year, Triple H and The Big Show look to add themselves on.

What do all the main events have in common? They were all backed by huge angles. From Wrestlemania V on, it's always been about having the two top stars in the company go at it. It seems as if each year, the WWF tried to outdo the previous one. In 1989, the Mega Powers exploded, so in 1990, Hogan took on the Ultimate Challenge. In 1991, every person in America got behind Hulk as he was faced with US turncoat Sgt. Slaughter. Talk about cashing in on the time frame. Wrestlemania VIII in 1992 provided for the best ending to any Wrestlemania. that is until 1993 when the WWF outdid themselves. My point is this: Each year the stakes get higher and higher and this year is no different than the others; the top stars in the company are fighting it out for the Title. Every year gets more and more exciting, so if the past is any indication of things to come, Wrestlemania XVI will be one hell of a thrill ride.

Other than Vince McMahon, who made Wrestlemania in the first place, there is one man who I associate with Wrestlemania more than anyone. Not Hulk Hogan. Not Bret Hart. Not Randy Savge. No, not Gene Okerlund. The man I speak of is Howard Finkel. Shawn Michaels once said that you can't have a Wrestlemania without the Heartbreak Kid. Well I say you can't have a Wrestlemania without the Fink.