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Welcome back to the Road to WrestleMania 31. Hundreds of men and women have performed on the grandest stage over the course of its rich history. For the next few months, we will celebrate them all…from worst to best. Anyone who has ever had the honor of competing on a Mania card has joined an elite group of pro wrestlers. I salute them all. These rankings are meant to be purely fun and not taken too seriously, especially right now. All the same, we are moving into a part of the list that separated themselves from their peers in the 200s and 300s. So, we're going to spend a little bit more time on each, breaking down their contributions and getting a little bit more serious. Enjoy!  Snowman is a genius QUESTION OF THE DAY (14): What is your favorite Ladder match in WrestleMania history? 149. Test 148. Santino 147. Beth Phoenix 146. Matt “Doink the Clown” Bourne 145. Bob Orton 144. Val Venis 143. Torrie Wilson 142. Marty Jannetty 141. “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan 140. Tatanka 139. Too Cool 138. The Nasty Boys 137. The Godfather / Kama 136. The S.H.I.E.L.D. 142. Marty Jannetty For three years, The Rockers added to WrestleMania an entertaining and innovative young tag team influence. Their high-flying style was ready-made for a time when WWE packed so many matches onto their PPV cards that it was almost impossible for anything but the main and semi-main-events to shine. The 1980s were a different beast. Most wrestlers were brought up on making all of the little things count. When there were a ton of territories for which to apply your trade, wrestlers could maximize what they’d been taught. Suddenly, as WWE became this massive body of water absorbing all of the small ponds, the little fish found themselves struggling to have 15-minute matches in 7-minutes or less. The Rockers came in and said, “Who cares?” They were given a total of 28-minutes for their three matches at Manias V, VI, and VII, but delivered in each one of them. The last of the lot was the only bout that was worthy of multiple viewings (probably because it was the only one where they weren’t hungover), but they were exciting every time out. Remember this about Jannetty – he may not have been the guy that broke out of the Rockers to become one of the greatest, but they were essentially “Marty’s team.” He ran the show, in the ring and behind the scenes, until Shawn Michaels was confident and ready enough to branch off. 141. “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan True story… Every year, I go on a little “College Football Tour” so that I can experience the various atmospheres around the country. In 2011, just months after being there live to see Jim Duggan get inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in Atlanta, I went to Virginia Tech to see the HOKIES play Clemson. Throughout the game, I found it absolutely hilarious that one of the chants that VA Tech fans use to intimidate their opponents is “HOOOOOOOOOO!” (As in, “HOKIE”). The guy that I went to the game with was actually someone that I had befriended through LOP back in the day (shout out to The Sandman!). So, as I got into the experience and started doing the old Hacksaw, thumbs up version of HOOOOOOO, he got a big kick out of the reference. I got home and tweeted about it and was, within minutes, being “followed” by Hacksaw Jim Duggan. As it would turn out, I learned through that early Twitter situation that a lot of people have fake accounts and that it really was just some dude that followed me and not Duggan, himself. However, for that few minutes, I thought Twitter was awesome. As for Duggan at Mania, he made a lot of appearances. He debuted at Mania III, actually, waving Old Glory in the face of Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff. He lost in the first round of the WWE title tournament a year later in, perhaps, his most prominent match. He then wrestled short matches at Manias VI and VIII, respectively, while making an appearances at Mania VII (with the theme of “Stars and Stripes Forever”). Not bad for the old tough guy, huh? HOOOOOOO!!! USA! USA! USA! HOOOOO!! 140. Tatanka Here is where kayfabe accolades, such as a lengthy undefeated streak, can come into play in helping determine a wrestler’s placement. Tatanka debuted in 1992 and went on what is actually one of the longest runs without a televised loss in modern wrestling history. He actually did not lose until the fall of 1993. He literally ran over Rick Martel in his Mania debut in 1992 at the Hoosier Dome and, though his match for the Intercontinental Championship a year later in Vegas against Shawn Michaels was not given much in the way of TV hype, the historical status of a long-reigning titleholder facing a guy who had yet to lose in over a year of action has not been lost on this particular chronicler of pro wrestling lore. Tatanka did not win the title that night, but he did win the match. His streak continued onward. He would have had four total appearances at Mania if it were not for time constraints. His multi-man tag match was cut from Mania X. His last appearance on the grand stage was during the main-event of Mania XI, where he was a prominent member of Ted Dibiase’s Million Dollar Corporation that backed the play of their top gun, Bam Bam Bigelow, against NFL Hall of Famer, Lawrence Taylor. 139. Too Cool Scotty 2 Hotty and Grand Master Sexay were examples that anyone could get over and be given the chance to shine in the Attitude Era. Neither was overly talented, but they found something that worked and they ran hard with it for a few years. It was a fun time, that era, in part because you had such depth on the card. To me, depth is not always about talent. It can just as much be about the number of wrestlers on the roster that garner a considerable crowd response. Too Cool got a reaction. Scotty’s Worm had crowds going bananas for a decade. Jerry Lawler’s kid didn’t do too bad for himself either. At Mania, they found success long after their debut. Scott Taylor and Brian Christopher competed in the Boston Battle Royal as Too Much, but later changed their name when they got over. At Mania 2000, they teamed with Chyna to defeat The Radicalz. Though they took a Mania hiatus until Mania XX, Scotty was back in action with sometimes-Too Cool member, Rikishi, for a successful Tag Team Championship retention at Madison Square Garden. 138. The Nasty Boys This has been a day full of wrestlers that only had a few Mania appearances, but whose matches and accomplishments in limited outings were memorable enough to move them higher up the list than their more heavily-tenured peers. The Nasty Boys now join the pack. I laugh every time I think about their match with the Hart Foundation at Mania VII – their greatest night in WWE. What brings about the chuckles is the interview with Jim Neidhart before the Tag Team Championship match. He was so intense, the Anvil. I vividly recall his yelling at the camera, “NOBS! SAGS!” Former Foundation manager, Jimmy Hart, proved to be the deciding factor in Los Angeles, as he tossed the Nasties the megaphone to help dethrone his former clients. It was quite a match – pretty much the end of the golden age of tag wrestling in WWE. Bret Hart knew it was his last hurrah with his brother-in-law and long-time partner and he performed like it. Nobs and Sags were not great, generally, but they looked great at Mania VII. A year later, they were on the losing end of an 8-man tag match. 137. The Godfather / Kama / Papa Shango Let’s take a quick ride on the HOOOOOOOO TRAIN! Charles Wright had a Kane-lite kind of a career, only he never found a gimmick that gave him staying power throughout the generations. He started out as the voodoo witch doctor, Papa Shango, famously contributing to the botched finish of the Mania VIII main-event. That was just plain weird; an example of wrestling becoming too cartoonish to take seriously anymore. Then, he became Kama, “The Supreme Fighting Machine,” who as a prominent member of Ted Dibiase’s Million Dollar Corporation got the chance to feud with Undertaker. At Mania XI, he was with the rest of the Corporation for Bam Bam Bigelow’s main-event. He continued the Kama role through the Gang Wars of 1997 and was a member of the Nation of Domination. His most notable role, though, was The Godfather – the pimp/escort that became a smash hit personality during the Attitude Era. I think he proved that anything involving sexual innuendo could get over back then. He got two Mania appearances out of that gimmick…and a rock solid hip hop tune by Ice T (hey, “Pimpin’ ain’t easy,” mane). 136. Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins (The S.H.I.E.L.D.) Enjoy this group being on the list as a unit for this year and this year alone. Soon enough, all three members will likely move up the list. Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins will go down in history as one of the rare upper mid-card factions in modern WWE history to have a dominant multi-year run of Mania victories. They came, they conquered, and then they split up. Their collective profile was so substantial heading into Mania 29 two years ago that they earned a spot this late in the countdown. Pushed hard from their debut, the Hounds of Justice took down a star-studded cast of characters in Sheamus, Randy Orton, and Big Show in their Mania debut, making it look relatively easy in the midst of their revolutionizing of 6-man tag team matches. I’m guessing that we’ll remember that win as the one that well-established their credibility with the broader audience and helped make possible the run that they continue on to date and beyond. Last year, of course, they made quick work of another memorable three-man team, The New Age Outlaws and Kane. 149. Test I think I must be one of the biggest Test fans on the internet. When I showed up on the LOP Forums in 2003, I was proudly waving the Test flag and quickly established myself as, and I quote, “a mark that didn’t know anything.” I wonder if the person that said that is still around here (2TX). I wish Test was still around. I really did enjoy his work. He was an ultra-athletic and skilled quasi-big man who had many a memorable performance during the Attitude Era and beyond. He helped Shane McMahon retain the European title at Mania XV, a night in which he made his Mania debut in a losing Tag Team title effort. He was accompanied to the ring by the incomparable Trish Stratus at Mania 2000. Then, in 2001, he had a mid-carder’s delight of a match against Eddie Guerrero at Mania X-Seven, losing the European title in a bout that enhanced what many believe is the greatest Mania of all-time. Though his Mania resume was not overtly sparkling, he made his presence felt during Mania season on numerous occasions beyond just the WM card, itself. RIP. 148. Santino Would it be fair to state that the biggest moment of Santino’s Mania career was winning the Miss WrestleMania Battle Royal at the 25th Anniversary? Honestly, can you come up with something better? Would it be getting dissed by Snoop Dogg at Mania 24 and being made to watch his ex, Maria, make out with the rapper? Or maybe it was his 90 seconds of air time at Mania 27? Was it being on the losing team of the Mania 28 cluster you-know-what? I really think it was winning the ladies’ battle royal dressed in drag. It’s befitting, though, right? Santino was always a guy who made the most of his screen time, nudging your funny bone along the way either in the ring or in backstage segments. The whole “Santina” thing was just hilarious, making a mockery of something that was very easy to mock. Quietly, Santino had not a great career, but definitely a relevant one. 147. Beth Phoenix The Glamazon had an interesting WWE career. I, personally, doubt that said career is truly over. She was (and still is) not the type of Diva that relied on her looks to be a consistent presence at the top of the Diva’s division. Not that she is unattractive by any stretch, but she brought a more professional aura that was practically begging for a Trish Stratus or Lita-caliber woman to foil her during her tenure. As such, that never happened. Yet, all the while, she maintained a level of persistent quality in the ring that nobody in her era could rival. By WrestleMania XXIV in Orlando, she was firmly entrenched as the dominant personality of the division. Her stance against her “ditzier” counterparts was established against Playboy cover girl, Maria. It produced a partnership with Santino Marella that would lead to an entertaining duo that was the catalyst for the climax of the only relevant part of the 25th Anniversary Diva Battle Royal a year later in Houston. Santina eliminated Phoenix in WWE’s attempt to poke fun at itself and its misuse of its female roster. Phoenix transitioned to an less comfortable role as a babyface in 2009 that led to her inclusion in a 10-Diva tag match at Mania XXVI, but she got back to being a dominant heel in 2011, allowing her back to the peak of her powers in the only featured Diva match at the critically and financially acclaimed WrestleMania XXVIII. 146. Matt “Doink the Clown” Borne Some of these choices will not be without controversy. The main point of contention for Borne will be that he had just two Mania appearances and, therefore, he should not be placed this highly. That Borne had just two Manias was true, but Doink had a match with a portrayal of the character from someone else. Frankly, I’ve linked Borne and Doink together in my memory. Without the Mania X portrayer of Doink on this list, I decided to officially add Doink’s additional accomplishment to Borne’s overall resume. Borne was memorable to me. He had a really good match on a relatively weak card at the original Mania with Ricky Steamboat. If you do not remember it, it’s probably because the original broadcasts for Mania were often cut because of how little could be included on video tapes. Go back and watch the match using the DVD version or on WWE Network and it’s not cut short (and is, thus, much better). I found Doink, meanwhile, to be very memorable. His match with Crush at Mania IX remains vivid in my mind. That was my first Mania watched live on PPV. 145. Bob Orton Adding to the list of WWE Hall of Famers that did their most significant work in the ring before the Mania Era began is Bob Orton. He was most famous at Mania for his role as Roddy Piper’s right hand man. At the original Mania, Orton played a key role in the main-event. He was prominently featured as a ringside nuisance and had a (casted) hand in the finish, accidentally hitting Paul Orndorff. At Mania 2, he repeated his ringside role for Piper in Roddy’s Boxing match with Mr. T. Two decades later, he nearly helped his son end the Streak at Mania 21. His only match was a Mania III curtain-jerker alongside Don Muraco against the Can-Am Connection. So, why is he here? If you study the original Mania, everyone involved in that main-event was presented as a big deal. To be featured in the tag team match – even as just an involved party - was much more significant than being in an undercard match. The world was watching Hogan and T vs. Piper and Orndorff and, as a byproduct, everyone else that contributed to it. That’s not to be understated. 144. Val Venis Venis was one of my favorite mid-card acts of the Attitude Era. Some of the things done in the ‘Tude were a little silly to me, but I was undoubtedly the target audience as a teenager and Val’s schtick was exactly the kind of thing that I would hear on Monday and say to my friends at school all week. “The Big Valbowski is like a custom Harley…powerful between the legs” was one of my favorite sayings. Ha. The Wrestling porn star. That still makes me laugh to this day. Val could work, though, brother. He was a very good performer and made the most of his gimmick. He wrestled for the IC title at Mania XV. I’d say that was probably his best physical year – 1998 when he debuted through 1999. He was a fixture. The Four Corners IC title bout was pretty standard fare, but it was a bright spot on a relatively weak card. His role in 2000 was to referee a match between two women who bordered on being porn stars in their own right with their tendency to bare all (or nearly all). Then, he joined the Right to Censor, effectively ending the Val Venis run (despite the fact that it did eventually come back to much less success). RTC wrestled in the second match at Mania 17. He narrowly missed Mania 19, as his match got bumped to Heat. 143. Torrie Wilson With five WrestleMania appearances, Torrie basically sneaks onto the list in fairly prominent position. For about four years, it could be argued that Torrie was the most well-known WWE Diva. She did only a fraction of the pro wrestling-specific work that did many of her peers, but she was given chances to be in the spotlight because of what she did as a gorgeous blonde with eventual Playboy credentials. Though she did not have what I consider to be an official match at Mania XIX, she was given a lot of screen time with Stacy Kiebler and the Miller Lite Cat Fight girls. The foursome were featured backstage on multiple occasions before getting into an era-specific scrap on the stage that involved her showing off her assets. In a more official capacity, she did the same thing a year later at Mania XX after gracing the Playboy cover for a second time and, then, two years later repeated her strip down role in Chicago at Mania 22 with that year’s cover model, Candice Michelle. Add two additional appearances at Manias 23 and 25, respectively, and Torrie got around. The Playboy model role at Mania for five years was basically spearheaded by Wilson.
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