The NCAA doesn’t have aВ monopoly on huge tournaments in March, and because WrestleMania week is one of the greatest weeks of the year, I took both concepts and put them together into one big, awesome tournament. Though the first couple rounds are done, the epic matches of The Elite Eight deserve your attention.
The Seeding
After hours of research, I listed out all the men who either main evented a WrestleMania, had a title match at a WrestleMania, or had a hugely memorable match at The Grand Daddy Of Them All. I dug through the details, I weighed different factors, and at the end of the day, I narrowed it down to 64.
The Deciders
For each match, I let wrestling fans pick who they thought should win. 32 matches in the first round. 16 in the second. Now after eight matches in the third round, we have eight superstars left standing, and the matches arguably can’t get bigger than the ones we’ve got.
The Brackets
Batista went into his match with Hulk Hogan with too much bravado. The one main time he got the advantage in the match, he didn't capitalize fast enough, and Hulkamania ran wild. The Hulkster kept Batista on his heels, hit the Big Boot, then the Leg Drop and got the three count.
The battle between The Hitman and The Beast was far closer than the other match in its bracket. It came down to the wire, with Bret Hart escaping the F-5 on numerous occasions, each time attacking Brock's lower back right after he escaped. The final F-5 attempt wasn't blocked or evaded, but Lesnar couldn't directly follow up with the pinfall. Returning to his feet, Lesnar tried to pick up The Hitman in hopes of finishing him off, but Hart locked his opponent into a small package and got the pinfall victory.
The West Coast Bracket Elite Eight Match
Hulk Hogan vs Bret “Hitman” Hart
Though the match was fast-paced and featured quite a few reversals and counter-moves, Chris Jericho never really held a strong advantage against The Heartbreak Kid. After flipping out of a side suplex attempt from Shawn, Jericho looked confident that he'd get back on the offensive, but as he played up to the crowd, Shawn popped up and hit the Sweet Chin Music for the victory.
Before his match with CM Punk, the crowd got to hear from Triple H about how his match in the Elite Eight against Shawn Michaels was going to be one for the ages. CM Punk must have taken umbridge with the comments, because he seemed extra motivated for their match. A couple times it looked like Triple H was going to win, but he couldn't put Punk away… and got hit by the Go 2 Sleep to ruin his plans.
The ConnecticutВ Bracket Elite Eight Match
CM PunkВ vs Shawn Michaels
It's his time of year, and although he's not completely unbeatable at WrestleMania, it's still one of the hardest things in the world to accomplish, and Daniel Bryan learned that first hand as The Undertaker took the man who looks like a lumberjack to the woodshed.
In the closest match of the round, the battle between Macho Man and The Great One lasted until the very last moment, going back and forth the entire way. With The Rock on the mat, Randy Savage went to the top rope, lifting his arms into the air to signal for his elbow drop, but The Rock forced himself back to his feet. Savage spotted his opponent recovering and switched gameplans, instead going for his double axhandle. The Rock side-stepped, grabbed Savage and hit The Rock Bottom for the victory.
The Death ValleyВ Bracket Elite Eight Match
The UndertakerВ vs The Rock
The Ultimate Warrior held the advantage during the first half of the match, but John Cena didn't let himself get pinned, and when Warrior started wearing down due to his naturally frantic pace, that's when Cena took over. It took a couple Attitude Adjustments, but John Cena was able to get the pinfall victory.
Edge tried everything he could think of, but the frustration he was feeling was very apparent on his face, as Stone Cold held court. When it was all said and done, the Stone Cold Stunner put Edge out, and Austin advanced to yet anotherВ battle of two cornerstones in WWE history.
The Armed ForcesВ Elite Eight Match
John CenaВ vs Stone Cold Steve Austin
Does it get any bigger than those four matches? I couldn’t have planned it better if I had tried… and I didn’t.
Hogan vs Hart will test how your Old SchoolВ loyalties fare. They are extremely different competitors, and for many of us, it’s a dream match for the ages.
CM Punk vs Shawn Michaels would be a match with golden promos leading up to the opening bell. Neither man is willing to give an inch of respect, and it sets up perfectly with Punk getting what some would consider to be an upset victory over HBK’s fellow DX member Triple H the round before, ruining a match HBK and HHH undoubtedly would’ve wanted to have in this tournament.
The Undertaker vs The Rock takes two guys who have both had epic moments on the biggest pay per view event of the year… but never once did they square off against one another at WrestleMania despite their careers overlapping the entire time The Rock was in the business.
John Cena vs Stone Cold Steve Austin takes two guys who each singlehandedly took the WWE to new heights with runs atop the card which lasted years. They serve very different fan bases, so this vote could be dependent on who shows up at the polls.
To vote in the Elite Eight , follow this link to the article on GuysNation .
