My apologies if you recently posted a similar thread, but the "Best Austin/Rock Moment" discussion (which linked to Austin helping Foley win the title for the first time) definitely got me wondering what the biggest pops ever were.
#1 has GOT to be the Harts at "Canadian Stampede", right? Probably followed by the aforementioned Austin run-in. Where does Punk at last year's "Money In The Bank" fall? Jericho's WWE debut? Trips' return in 2002? Sting finally declaring his allegiance to WCW against the nWo? And what about Hogan-era ovations? I mean, I've been a wrestling fan for over twenty-five years, but I really don't remember audiences being quite as "rowdy" back then. They'd cheer, sure, but they didn't really go nuts in their seats like they did during the late-90's.
One that always stuck out to me, odd as it may seem, was Shane McMahon's return at "No Way Out, 2000". The audience went almost as crazy for him as they did for Austin's run-in during the Rock/Foley match.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XekaAu0xamw
Looking forward to the Youtube-links that follow. Take care.
- Stu
Yeah, the Harts were HUGE in Calgary for that show. Luger and Windham winning the tag titles at the first Clash was a GIGANTIC reaction, too. Hogan winning the belt originally in 84 was a nutso reaction, although they don't usually show that part. Or Hogan "winning" the AWA belt from Bockwinkel the year before, that was a batshit crazy crowd reaction and I'm still shocked they didn't actually riot. I recall the crowd jumping up and down and going insane when Brock superplexed Big Show through the ring.
See, now THIS is a topic that WWE should make a DVD out of!
I was at Wrestlemania 25 and the crowd reactions to HBK- Taker were phenomenal. I've watched it on DVD many times since and as well as it comes across it still falls short of conveying the emotional resonance they had with the crowd and the way we reacted to every thing they did. I've been to a handful of house shows, RAW broadcasts, and a couple other PPVs and nothing touched that. It was closer in emotional experience to attending a college (American) football game when you are attending one of the schools and fanatically loyal to them
ReplyDeleteRegarding pops and reactions I've watched instead of experiencing live I think Punk at Money in the Bank was the loudest and the interplay between Punk, Cena, and the crowd was what made the match so awesome and the moment of Punk winning and then kissing WWE goodbye a true Hall of Fame moment for him. But I am a bit of a Punk mark. In the same vein I loved RVD Cena at the second ECW One Night Stand. Cena really should get respect for how he handles such vitriolically hostile crowds.
I watched the Clash DVD and I popped for Luger and Windham's victory and I knew the outcome and have seen the match a few times beforehand. Just amazing. One that a lot of people wouldn't think of is when Hogan came out at WM 18 in Toronto. While everyone remembers the crowd being electric, but the DVD doesn't do the entrance justice. I was at the show, in quite expensive but pretty crappy seats to the right of the stage. The Heat match, with Mr. Perfect and some other people in a 6 man (I think it was a 6 man) got a good pop, but then the show sucked so much that the crowd was dead. Going from nothing to Hogan's entrance was amazing. Disappointing that my WM experience was at one of the worst ever, but being in that crowd for Rock v. Hogan is something that I love to share.
ReplyDeleteThere's a ton of them to mention; one that I stick with is the episode of Raw in 2000 (I believe it was 2000) that Earl Hebner fast-counted Triple H during a WWF Title match against Chris Jericho. The reaction from the crowd when Jericho 'won' the title was freaking crazy.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely biased a little bit because I was there, but Goldberg beating Hogan in Georgia Dome for the belt was a HUGE pop.
ReplyDeleteGranted it was Wrestlemania and nostalgia moment, but Hogan coming out to save Eugene from Hassan got an ungodly pop, to say nothing of the Rock/Hogan Wrestlemania match.
ReplyDeleteI have gained a lot of respect for Cena. I know that a lot of fans want him to turn heel, but I think this would be a terrible idea because of his reactions. We are not the fans that need to be made. We watch and/or follow wrestling when it sucks, analyze the crap out of it, and complain like crazy. But, we order shows (the big ones at least), buy tickets, and honestly the WWE only needs to throw us a bone occasionally (like the Punk and Bryan pushes) to keep us coming back for more. For us, Cena is a heel and we boo him out of the building. He is too "good" for a cynical crowd who longs for characters like Stone Cold and the Rock.
ReplyDeleteBut again, we don't matter. Making new fans is what is good for business, and kids are the key to this. Most kids love Cena, beg their parents to take them to shows, to buy merchandise, and to maybe even over PPVs. These kids will eventually turn into the next generation of smarks, and will bitch about the next super face who is getting over with the kids.
I was 7 when my dad ordered WM 2. It was my first exposure to the sport, and was a bonding thing with my dad (I have little in common with him to this day). Hogan's larger than life persona hooked me on it. To kids now Cena is that larger than life star.
Sorry for ranting, and for making a lot of assumptions and generalizations.
I still believe the Canadian Stampede main event entrance was the loudest and most admirable pop I've heard. Those SOB's went absolutely nuts for Pillman, and then somehow managed to get louder with every new guy that came out. By the time Bret came out, it looked as if the building was shaking. How they sustained that noise was admirable.
ReplyDeleteHow about The Rock's February 2011 return? The people just went bananas. It was a like a combination of: 1. Enormous surprise (for about half the fans) 2. Absolute relief that there was a real pro coming back. 3. Sheer joy for the Rock and his Rockness. I'm still pissed off that I fell asleep earlier in the show and missed that moment live.
And Stu the e-mailer is right in mentioning the CM Punk MitB entrance as well. The people at ESPN and Grantland were going nuts over the entrance alone. The cult of CM Punk and that moment were so impressive that they crossed over to the mainstream.
Unfortunately, moments like that and Backlash 2000 probably played a factor in HHH thinking there HAD to be a heel champion from 2002-2005 because of the chase and payoff.
ReplyDeleteHogan winning the belt from the Iron Sheik at MSG in 1984 was insane.
ReplyDeleteJeez, how could I forget Rock/Hogan?
ReplyDeleteProbably the most insane "match-length" reaction ever. Cena/RVD was up there, as well.
The night Foley won the title for the first time - the sound the crowd makes when Austin's music hits is the loudest Ive ever heard a wrestling crowd.
ReplyDeleteClose 2nd would have to be Hogan slamming Andre. I still think the WrestleMania 3 crowd was the hottest in history. They popped for EVERYTHING.
I thought most people put WM18 in the middle of the pack as far as Wrestlemanias go. The opener, Edge, Flair-Taker (that Arn spinebuster, along with this year's Superkick/Pedigree combo were the only times I thought the streak was over...oh, that spinebuster), and Rock-Hogan were all highspots, in my opinion. Stone Cold and Hall was decent, too.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Cena/Punk and Cena/RVD, I think WWE made a HUGE mistake by having Cena and Rock played down to the ring at "WM28" - Cena/Rock could have easily been even more loud and raucous than the other two matches mentioned, but those musical acts just killed the crowd dead.
ReplyDeleteStupid WWE and their attempts to show how "hip" they are.
"Ciclope" unmasks as Dean Malenko and proceeds to beat the hell out of Chris Jericho
ReplyDeleteSting swoops down at the end of Uncensored 1997 and finally starts attacking the NWO. "All hell's broke loose, and hell brought with him a baseball bat!" is probably Dusty's greatest call on the mic
Put a roof on Wrestlemania 25 and the audio probably would've done it justice. Unfortunately, it's a little harder to convey in a huge stadium.
ReplyDelete"These kids will eventually turn into the next generation of smarks, and
ReplyDeletewill bitch about the next super face who is getting over with the kids."
I think that what a lot of us that grew up with "Hulkamania" forget is that Hogan was actually a pretty controversial choice with older fans - yeah, he was popular with kids and went on to be the biggest thing ever, but many adult fans were pretty resentful of having to suddenly share seating with all these "dumb kids" and didn't appreciate the big, cartoony stuff of the 80's. Remember, it used to be about sitting in dark, smoke-filled auditoriums, watching guys like Bruno Sammartino and Killer Kowalski, not "Hulking Up" and selling childrens' bed-sheets.
Yeah, Rock's return last year was huge, and I have to agree that some of that was due to being relieved that it wasn't (as was heavily rumored) Justin Beiber.
ReplyDelete"WM18" was definitely a one-match show. What a match, though.
ReplyDeleteYes! The Malenko thing was awesome. The crowd went absolutely nuts.
ReplyDeleteI totally forgot about Arn's spinebuster at WM X-8. I thought that was going to be my mark out moment of the night, until Rock/Hogan blew everything away. I have to say the span of Hogan hulking up and hitting his finisher was the most impressive crowd response to something that didn't include hometown heroes. Canadian Stampede wins that category, obviously. The whole stadium looked to be shaking. That's damn impressive.
ReplyDeleteYeah that is a big one. Goldberg fighting off interference and spearing Raven in their match is insanity as well.
ReplyDeleteExcept there was no huge babyface chasing him for the title that people wanted to see win it, except for Goldberg at Summerslam, and Benoit when he want to Raw.
ReplyDeleteIn 2000, you had Foley and Rock as a constant presence.
Here we go... I mentioned this in an earlier post. I'd put this somewhere in the top 10.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8ejiG5-BtA
The pop Austin received when his music hits is one of my favorite moments ever.
ReplyDelete16 and 27 aren't that bad. Not great but I wouldn't put either on any worst ever list. 15 meanwhile isn't even a maybe for me, that is by far the worst WM. If Rock/Austin hadn't been done 2 more times at WM (and better), maybe not, but that was the only good part of the show. It wasn't just bad matches like other WMs, it was actively insulting booking.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm much more partial to the Raven match, probably because Goldberg was still ascending at the time. That crowd was rabid for him to destroy Raven. Building up the whole show to that match was tremendous.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first one that comes to mind. I think the crowd would've loved to handed hogan weapons to beat up on the Sheik.
ReplyDeleteThinking about this, Sting and Cena as uberfaces are actually underrated when it comes to pops. Cena's got the move to Raw on the Highlight Reel (which Jericho even attests to in his book), and the comeback at the Royal Rumble in MSG.Every Sting run in during the nWo era was huge. He was getting massive pops at run-ins in HOUSE SHOWS.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't matter to the Cerebral Assassin King of Kings, The Game Triple H, Hunter Hearst Helmsley Paul Levesque...that doesn't matter one bit. The WWE needed him to be the champ, in his mind.
ReplyDeleteAnd Raven took a really great ass kicking too. Really did make Goldberg look like such an unstoppable beast.
ReplyDeleteQuestion about how WWE booked PPV locations back in the day: was it just dumb luck that Canadian Stampede happened to be in Calgary, or did they scramble like crazy once they saw how big the angle was getting? A lot of times PPV tickets don't actually go on sale until a month to 6 weeks before a show, and WWE was already running the angle in April, so in that sense they had plenty of time to allow for people to buy tickets. And we've seen them scramble before on changing venues (Denver Debacle, though that says nothing about any costs that might be incurred for cancelling venues "just because").
ReplyDeletePhew, I'm glad someone agrees with me on 15. I was trying to be a little diplomatic in the earlier post. 16 and 27 aren't that bad for wrestling shows, but they're measured against the other WMs. 27 played things way too safe with the undercard (serviceable matches but nothing memorable), misused the Rock, and had that abomination that was the main event. And while 16 had the triple ladder match and a solid main event, wasn't that the PPV without a one-on-one singles match? It was hard to invest in any of the matches because things seemed so thrown together. I also think that was the one with the all day pre-show where I wanted to choke the life out of the previously likeable Ivory.
ReplyDeleteSo, should we go with 9, 2, 15, 13, 5, and then 27 and 16? Or do we throw 11 or 22 in there, too?... Poor Chicago--while 2, 13, and 22 had their moments and a couple of classics, they were crappy shows overall.
I hadn't really thought about that, but you're right. The fans were rabid for this match and the musical acts steered us to a more anticlimactic territory.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't even so much the volume as it was the longevity. We were in line for MARTA an hour and a half after the show and over 3/4 of the crowd were STILL chanting "Goooooooldberg". I actually started worrying that he might be the antichrist.
ReplyDeleteJericho 'winning' the title in 2000 from HHH has got to be up there. The crowd fucking EXPLODED.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, didn't that pop lead to Michael Hayes running to McMahon and saying they should keep the belt on Jericho?
Please see attached -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0Su_XnbpDM
I know Punk likes Cult of Personality, but This Fire Burns is much, much better for a crowd pop...That part where the music dies down and allows for the secondary pop during the MiTB entrance kills me every time.
ReplyDeleteI just re-watched it. That reaction was HUGE. Of course they hardly show him with the belt, the camera is on Triple H losing his shit the whole time....but it was a still a fun moment. They really missed the boat on Jericho in 2000.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about the Calgary show, but they were alternating between the US and Canada during that summer, so they must have been booking the events to go along with the storyline.
ReplyDeleteThey built the anticipation SO WELL. The lights slowly go out piece by piece, the sound gets really quiet, and then it waits just a little bit longer and then...IF YOU SMELL...!!
ReplyDeleteVery true. I hate most Nu Metal stuff, but the song had its charm and could incite pops as you stated.
ReplyDeleteA few from off the top of my head...
ReplyDeleteSting over Flair at GAB '90
Hogan entering Orlando Arena at BATB '94 - I couldn't hear for two hours afterwards
Sting leaping over the top rope and splashing Arn Anderson - GAB '88
Freebirds winning US tag titles from Taylor and Valentine at WW '92 (for some reason)
Luger (almost) beating Flair at GAB '88
Nearly every Hogan entrance in Toronto, NYC, Boston, and Philly between '84 & '89
Hogan slamming Andre at WW III
Steamboat beating Savage at WW III
Triple H's return at MSG in '02
Dusty Rhodes entrances at MSG versus Superstar Billy Graham late 70's
Part of me wishes they did leave the belt on Jericho, but then you lose out on the greatness that was the Backlash main event.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if they'd ever go international for a Mania. That stadium they had the World Cup in in South Africa was designed to keep crowd noise in for the sake of the neighborhood surrounding it. Unfortunately that meant those fucking Vuvuzealas were deafening. But I think a Mania there could be pretty wild, although they'd have to maybe set up some kind of in-house group tourist deal for Americans who want to travel over there.
ReplyDeleteUnless I missed it, no one has mentioned Warrior winning the IC title from Honky Tonk Man.
ReplyDeleteI always thought that Shawn Michael's tease of Bret Hart's return to the WWF in 2005 when RAW was in Montreal drew a tremendous ROAR from the crowd... (at 5:43 of the video)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7DOcHRgQMo
Melzer talked about this recently. They booked Canada like 9 months before that and it was the perfect storm of luck that the story lines matched.
ReplyDeleteI've encountered that response a few times when debating the wisdom of keeping the belt on Jericho, and whilst that's totally true, and I don't think anything is worth sacrificing that main event for, I think you could've done a bit of fiddling and still kept the finish of Backlash.
ReplyDeleteQuite simply, why not make Backlash a three way (Jericho/Rock/HHH)? Same set up with Patterson/Brisco/Shane/Vince. You spend the weeks leading up to the show with HHH/McMahons blindsiding Jericho at every opportunity and trying to take him out due to anger over the fluke loss, and cowardice over HHH's inability to win in the three way. Jericho gets taken out for reals in the Backlash main event, a few minutes in (stretcher job, the works), then we revert to script. Jericho gets a massive rub and sympathy for being comprehensively screwed over, HHH looks like a complete cunt, Rock looks like a million dollars. Then, you can have the three feuding in 1 on 1 matches the whole year, Jericho pissed at both that he got screwed over and didn't actually lose his title, HHH pissed at Jericho for snatching the title illegally in the first place, etc. This fantasy feud is, of course, home to some of the greatest promo battles ever committed to imaginary tape, between Rocky and Y2J.
But then, that's fantasy booking, the most impotent endeavour known to man, so I'll just stand by my belief that the title should've been kept on Jericho.
It definitely was pretty peculiar how there seemed to be way more Raws and PPVs in Canada that year than usual. Just a couple weeks after IYH there was another one in Edmonton where HBK announced he'd be officiating the UT/Bret match at Summerslam. He was still a face at that point, but the crowd fucking DETSTED him, and HBK suitably played it up and went into obnoxious heel mode.
ReplyDeleteAustin does have many to choose from. My favorite was the night when he was announced as the new CO-GM of Raw with Bischoff. I was there in Boston and just remembering the pop he got that night still gives me goosebumps. I can't ever find the link to that show though.
ReplyDeleteAre you sure that was Edmonton? I think they started scheduling Raw's in Canada to fit the angle, I ended up going to a Raw in Halifax that seemed to come up out of the blue. I think we had one months notice...the thing you described with Shawn happened that night, or something similar to it. One of my friends had a bit of a breakdown the night of Survivor Series 1996 when he admitted that he hated Shawn Michaels and had hated him all along. It was like someone admitting a huge secret and being relieved to stop living the lie - he openly hated Shawn after that...so Shawn came out in Halifax while I was in the restroom and while I'm walking to my seat I can heat someone just screaming "faggot" over and over...turns out it was my friend. He lost his voice by the end of the segment. The rest of the crowd felt the same and they were just hammering him with "Shawn is gay" chants. Shawn did the same thing there - went from usual babyface Shawn to complete dickhead in seconds.
ReplyDeleteIt didn't hurt that Justin Beiber and Bob Barker were being mentioned as the likely candidates.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, it was Halifax. I got my dates mixed up. I just know that the show ended with a flag match.
ReplyDeleteYeah when it comes down to it, there aren't that many differences between Hogan and Cena in terms of character and crowd reaction.
ReplyDeleteLooking back at the old Observer awards, Hogan "won" or was a runner up for the readers least favorite wrestler and most overrated wrestler multiple times over his entire time in the WWF from 1985 to 1992. Lots of people couldn't stand him, even in his heyday.
Crowds are different today in that they won't simply boo a heel and cheer a babyface because of the roles alone, but I bet the sentiments towards both guys were similar.
I agree that 15 is far and away the worst of the shows I've seen, although to be fair I've seen very few of the shows after WrestleMania 20 more than once and they sort of blend in together, but I don't feel any of them were particularly awful the way 15 was.
ReplyDeleteThe loudest pop is when Hogan comes out at Wrestlemania 6.
ReplyDeleteUm... how is 4 and the 14-day (sorry, 14-man) tournament not in it?
ReplyDeleteNot sure if it's been mentioned yet but Lesnar's pop earlier this year the night after Wrestlemania was absolutely insane.
ReplyDeleteWrestleMania still has 5 of the biggest pops I've ever heard. Tough to argue that wasn't the hottest crowd ever.
ReplyDeletePiper puts Adonis in the sleeper
Steamboat pins Savage
Fink Announces Steamboat as the winnerHogan's entranceHogan slams AndreOthers:Hogan entrance at WM 6 and 8Warrior-Honky SSlam 1988Fink announces Warrior as new IC champ over Rude at SSlam 1989Austin at WM 14. Austin music hits in Worcester during Rock-FoleyRock's music hits during the Austin walk-out RAWSting hits the ring at Uncensored 1997Goldberg beats Hogan in Atlanta 1998HHH returns at MSG 2002Austin returns at No Way Out 2003Punk at MITB 2011
Good call.
ReplyDeleteEasily my favorite promo ever. NOBODY could be an obnoxious ass the way Shawn could.
ReplyDeleteWM27 is easily the worst. The best match of the night was about a 3.5* (Rey/Cody), with the best thing about the event probably being the stage.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, that was a hell of a stage - clean and grandiose, without being busy or gaudy.
http://www.upstaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Special-Event-WM27_04032011ca_1223-copy.jpg
I think we've discussed this before, and I agree. I'm not much for an nu-metal/screamo shit, but that is a kickass intro and a great tune for a pop. i miss it.
ReplyDeleteAustin's return after the show at NWO 2003 was unbelievable. The pop was insane, and I remember the look on Vince's face was as if he was saying to the crowd, "you want him? you got him. you're welcome." as ridiculous as it sounds, I shed a tear. he was THE MAN for me, and still is.
ReplyDeleteOne word: Macho. If there's a Mt. Rushmore of modern wrestling, Flair, HBK, Bret, and Macho make the list. We refuse to poop on one of his biggest nights even if it is taxing to get through the show.
ReplyDeleteBasically your GOAT Austin moments:
ReplyDelete- Wrestlemania 17 entrance and win
- the zamboni incident
- Backlash 2000
Everything about the Jericho/Malenko feud was fantastic. Perfect example of how to use a guy that isn't strong on the mic - let the heel antagonize him, so that the audience is waiting for the face to beat him up (instead of just cutting a promo).
ReplyDeleteA seriously big pop in the ECW Arena was a tag team match (the teams esapes me) but if the face team won Joel Gertner got Cyrus the VIrus in the ring. THe faces won and Joel took off his jacket to reveal Kamala the Ugandan Giant paint. I'd never heard anything that loud in that arena.
ReplyDeletePunk in Chicago against Cena was one of the loudest. As was Canadian Stampede.
Austin interfering during the Foley/Rock match for Mankinds title win was the loudest I've ever heard. Also what needs a mention but rarely does when the Rock won the title off HHH at Backlash 2000 the pop was insane and the crowd were literally hugging each other as if their team had just won the Superbowl.
ReplyDeleteI can watch the Harts' entrance over and over again. Biggest pop Pillman or The Anvil has ever gotten. And it was a joy to see the pop get louder for each guy and see the pure look of bliss and joy on Pillman's face the whole time.
ReplyDeleteWrestlemania 19 should have totally been Brock vs. Austin main event (force Angle to get that surgery ASAP). Austin going out with that kind of heat, putting over the Next Big Thing would have been huge. Then maybe we could have had Rock vs. HBK on that same show instead. haha
ReplyDeleteBenoit/Jericho over HHH/Austin was a big one
ReplyDeleteI was at WM16 in Anaheim and honestly nothing about that show--the buildup, the arena, the card, or the results said "Wrestlemania" to me then. I still feel the same way. Regular RAW-sized arena (the Pond), a tepid crowd, uninspired stage, and forgettable card topped with a dilluted 4-way main event. The most memorable thing to me was the ladder match, but that was overshadowed by better TLC matches later. Great time, but hardly the Wrestlemania Experience.
ReplyDeleteYeah, 15 was hideous. Rock-Austin was very good, but they had better matches. Nothing else on that card was worth remembering.
ReplyDelete100% correct. Glad someone else got this right.
ReplyDeleteThere's no doubt on this one.
ReplyDeleteFor starters, I think it's pretty obvious that if you go on the basis of both loudness and length, the length criteria requires considering only entrance pops of faces near or at the top of the card (which always last longest because it's the crowd's first spurt of energy for the main event level match along with the moment of excitement that the main event has finally arrived - carried along by the first play of the babyface theme song, the wrestler's appearance, and the ring announcer saying their name - unlike shorter pops divided up during several match spots or an end of match pop curtailed by the tiredness of the crowd after cheering the entire main event to its conclusion).
At the end of the day, the three consistently biggest entrance popping wrestlers in history are from the WWF era during the peak years of their runs as faces: Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, and The Undertaker. They're the only ones you can youtube countless entrances where the loudness and duration of the entrance pop by itself gives you a rush every time, even eclipsing the sound of the massive Austin and Rock pops, probably because of the larger than life mystique of the characters in the older days, the era's production of the best entrance music themes in the history of wrestling, the infrequency and consequent specialness of PPV events, and the degree to which the crowd of that era was truly and passionately invested in the dichotomy of faces and heels.
That last item is probably most underrated of all. I love most of the stuff from the Attitude era and watched every minute of it, don't get me wrong, but the chipping away of the idea of only face wrestlers and heel wrestlers in the on-screen product itself began in late 95 and picked up a bit during the Attitude Era among many "wink at the camera" attempts to appeal to smart fans, and while generally very successful in those attempts, eventually came at a price of less investment in faces vs. heels by the audience. This ultimately revealed itself to be a hidden cancer which became painfully obvious after Austin's return with the momentarily funny but cursed "What?" catchphrase, and entire audiences virtually stopped reacting for years to wrestlers with cheers and boos entirely and became a crowd of drunk hecklers yelling "What?" after every line spoken and every spot delivered in every match.
The fact is, before anyone tried pandering the characters and storylines to smarts (a great idea on paper), the pops were way bigger because the faces were idolized as virtual real-life superheroes. If anyone here doesn't believe this, find Wrestlemania VI (an old Coliseum Video version with original commentary and sound quality if you can), and watch the crowd pop bigger even for most of the mid-card faces than you've heard for any of the main event superstars who debuted in the WWE era; watching it will make you long for the magical time when wrestlers were REALLY over. In fact, Hulk Hogan's entrance at the main event of Wrestlemania VI is likely the single biggest entrance pop ever, if I had to pick one (random observation: no one ever points out the fact that if Hogan had the sense to retire at the end of that match, everyone's nostalgic impression of him would have been so much higher as an overall superstar now that I don't think anyone could have ever eclipsed it; however, now you can credibly argue that wrestlers like The Undertaker have, as Hogan has been awful in the ring and as a character since his slide downhill gradually beginning in the early 90's - I know it's a meme to say he was always that bad in the ring and cheesy as a character but people forget how much better Hogan was as a character and in the ring before that period, when he actually had to build up the idea of Wrestling Superstar Hulk Hogan and not just exploit that idea after the fact, it's like night and day).