With WrestleMania 30 mere weeks away, we scoured the WWE Magazine archives to rediscover revealing Superstar memories from each and every edition of The Show of Shows.

Watch every WrestleMania on WWE Network | Look backstage at The Show of Shows

From WrestleMania mainstays such as “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and Bret “Hit Man” Hart to Attitude-Era icons such as “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and The Rock as well as current champions John Cena and Randy Orton, these 30 men and women all had something important to share about what it takes to perform on The Grandest Stage of Them All!





“Rowdy” Roddy Piper on the very first WrestleMania

“There has always been controversy over what drew the first WrestleMania. [Hulk] Hogan will tell you he did. Mr. McMahon will tell you he did. But they’re liars. [Laughs] I did. Let me give you simple facts: Leading into the event, I’d kicked the female vocalist of the year, Cyndi Lauper, in the head. I broke her platinum record over Capt. Lou Albano’s head at Madison Square Garden. I chased Dick Clark. I started a riot. I slapped Mr. T and beat him with a belt on “Saturday Night Live.” I said one of the lines that got me in the most trouble ever, and it was a dandy. All of this going into WrestleMania. What had Hogan done? What had Mr. T. done? What had Mr. McMahon done? Well?”

Mr. T enters Madison Square Garden before facing Roddy Piper in the tag main event





Hillbilly Jim on the Battle Royal minefield at WrestleMania 2

“When you’re grappling in a Battle Royal like that, in a contest with so many guys battling it out in the ring, you have to watch yourself because there is such a high-injury factor in that sort of thing. There’s just a lot of humans and a lot of beef running around. It was really no different at WrestleMania 2, and we had NFL guys in there, too, in Chicago, complicating things. It’s no surprise that Andre won that one. It was just a wild thing.”

See the celebrities of WrestleMania 2

Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat on setting records at WrestleMania III

“[WWE] were talking about 100,000 people being there, and we’re thinking, ‘Are they crazy??!?’ If they only get 20,000 people in there, it’ll look like there’d been a bomb scare … But then we’d hear these numbers. There’d been 50,000 tickets sold. Then 70,000. And it all made Randy [Savage] and myself more excited.”

Learn more about the Steamboat/Savage classic

The Million Dollar Man on pulling triple duty at WrestleMania IV

“How many guys do you know who can say they wrestled three matches at WrestleMania? And that’s what I did. I wrestled all day, culminating in the main event against Randy Savage. And I think that match was important in the legacy of The Million Dollar Man ... I remember the pressure of that day being pretty substantial. For one thing, it was my first WrestleMania, and I had to worry about the possibility of competing in multiple matches. I didn’t have a lot of time to panic.”

Randy Savage wins the vacant WWE Championship

Jake “The Snake” Roberts on battling Andre the Giant at WrestleMania V

“I would probably say being in the ring with the big man, Andre the Giant, at WrestleMania V is the most memorable moment for me. I mean, what business did I have being in there? That, to me, says more about where my career went than anything else. I never won a bunch of titles, which was OK. I didn’t want to carry them around in my bag. I was already carrying a giant snake! But I would have never, ever, in my wildest dreams have thought that I would’ve ended up in the ring with Andre.”

See these classic photos of WrestleMania V

Cody Rhodes on watching Dad at WrestleMania VI

“My youngest memory? I have two actually. One is of me in the pool when I believe I was four. But the first memory I actually have is when I went to WrestleMania in Toronto at the SkyDome. It’s the only WrestleMania that my father was part of. I don’t remember much about the event itself but I remember that was the day that he put his hands under my underarms and sat on the mat in the middle of the ring. I remember seeing the blue and yellow WWE logo in the corner on the turnbuckle pad and then he sent me back outside the ring. That was it.”

See Dusty Rhodes at The Show of Shows

Sgt. Slaughter on making it to WrestleMania VII

“Just to be in the main event itself was a big thing. But we had a lot of scary times just getting to WrestleMania, because I was an Iraqi sympathizer at the time. We received death threats.”

Watch Sgt. Slaughter become WWE Champion before WrestleMania

Ric Flair on facing “Macho Madness” at WrestleMania VIII

Randy Savage became only the third multi-time WWE Champion by dethroning Flair, but even in defeat, it was a special moment for The Nature Boy.

“When I was working with Randy Savage, he was going through a lot personally, so I probably didn’t get his best, but we definitely had a great time.”

See Flair make his Show of Shows debut

Shawn Michaels on kicking off the show at WrestleMania IX

“They’re putting a fair amount of trust in you to start off the show with a bang. You don’t get that position because they want the show to start out with a whimper. That’s not how it works. The opening match is a coveted position. I remember at WrestleMania IX being a little disappointed because I felt that I had moved past that point … I was a little unhappy about going on first, but now I see it as a compliment.”

Check out Shawn Michaels in action at WrestleMania IX

Bret Hart on battling his brother at WrestleMania X

“Wrestling Owen in Madison Square Garden, which we had both always wanted to do growing up together, has the most meaning to me. The truth is, I hadn’t wrestled Owen much. So just before WrestleMania, we met at my parents’ house and went down to The Dungeon just like the old days.”

See Bret Hart pull double-duty at MSG

Kevin Nash on his arm candy at WrestleMania XI

“I did get to walk out of the ring with Pamela Anderson when she was red hot. Jenny McCarthy was there that night, too. But I was out there with my friend Shawn Michaels. I think these WrestleMania matches have a tendency to be anti-climatic. I really do. I think there’s all this buildup and hype but by the time you get to the ring it’s just like, ‘Man, I just want to get this over with.’ ”

See photos of Diesel battling his closest friend

Goldust on defensive driving at WrestleMania XII

“Getting stripped down to my bare underwear in the middle of 25,000 screaming fans was my moment. I don’t know of any other ‘Backlot Brawls,’ but that match is always brought up to me on Twitter and by my fans in general. They remember that the most, and it was a big moment in my life. I almost ran [Roddy] Piper over. I mean, he was like a deer in the headlights. I thought he was going to move, and he didn’t. I heard his knees buckle on the front of the car. I thought, ‘Jeez, I just killed Hot Rod.’ ”

Watch the Hollywood Backlot Brawl

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin on becoming a hero at WrestleMania 13

“I had thought that match was going to be garbage. I’m a kicker and a stomper — not a submissions wrestler. But it had been such a badass ride, where the emotion and the story of that match grabbed everybody by the heart and the guts, and you understood it, and you believed it 100 percent.”

Austin and Hart take the brawl into the crowd

Road Dogg on dumpster-diving at WrestleMania XIV

“What do I remember from that match at WrestleMania XIV? Pain! It was a big match that no one had ever seen at a WrestleMania and I loved wrestling those guys, because Mick Foley is such a great guy and a tough guy as well. Terry Funk is the toughest old man I’ve ever been in the ring with throughout my career. The word I started out with was pain, and I’ll come back to it and close with it, that’s what I remember the most about that match.”

Relive this hardcore Attitude-Era classic

The Rock on the aftermath of WrestleMania XV

“Ironically, WrestleMania was supposed to be the beginning of The Rock-“Stone Cold” Steve Austin rivalry, as far as pay-per-view storylines, television, etc. was concerned. After WrestleMania, things just started to change. The fans were behind me…”

Read more about at WrestleMania XV

Chris Jericho on the advertising for WrestleMania 2000

“Originally, there were four guys on the official WrestleMania poster that year: Triple H, Big Show, The Rock and myself. Two months in, they took me off and put Mick Foley on it because he was in the main-event match. But on the Sunset Strip, there was a huge billboard and my face was still on it. It was really cool to be on that level.”

Check out these classic WrestleMania 2000 photos

William Regal on early revenge at WrestleMania X-Seven

“If you recall, the buildup stemmed from the time Chris Jericho urinated in my tea, which I’ve still not quite gotten over. The first match of the evening is an important slot. There’s pressure, and yet it’s very satisfying knowing that you’re trusted to open the show.”

Watch Regal face Jericho

Triple H on overcoming the odds at WrestleMania X8

“In 2002, when I came back after my first quad tear and beat Chris Jericho to become the Undisputed Champion, for me, that was a massive moment. A lot of people would look at it and think that it was overshadowed by The Rock vs. Hollywood Hogan, and I get that. But for me, it wasn’t. Because when I tore that quad, people told me I’d never wrestle again.”

See more of this epic championship match

Booker T on losing but winning at WrestleMania XIX

“For me its never been about winning or losing in the business, it’s about going out and giving a great performance that those fans can walk away from and have something they could hold on to. A lot of them still hold on to that moment today because they are still coming up and saying, ‘Man, you should have beat Triple H that night.’ ”

Watch Booker T challenge for the World Heavyweight Title

Molly Holly on getting a haircut at WrestleMania XX

“They told me there wasn’t going to be a Women’s Title Match, so I figured I could start slashing people’s tires or think of a way to get on the show. I’m not a Playboy Playmate and I can’t do a triple flip, so I had to come up with something that would make them put me on the show. If it were socially acceptable for someone with my personality to have a shaved head, I totally would’ve left it.”

Where is Molly Holly now?

JBL on crowning a new champion at WrestleMania 21

“I knew that John Cena was getting hot at the time, and that this match could be the crowning of the guy who was going to be the face of the company. And while I gave that match everything I had, it was pretty special to be part of that moment. I take no credit for Cena’s career; he did that on his own. Also, I had always wanted to headline a WrestleMania and walk in there as champion. I became a main-eventer late in my career, and I think I enjoyed it more than I would have if it had happened sooner. So the timing was right for everything.”

JBL squares off with John Cena

Mick Foley on rocking out to Tori Amos at WrestleMania 22

“My match with Edge was built on the very simple, and very real, premise that I had never had a true great WrestleMania moment. I remember I was getting ready for that match — listening to Tori Amos — when one Superstar, who shall remain nameless because it might betray his image — walked into my makeshift dressing room ... He admitted to me later that he was a little bit scared, and this is one of the biggest and toughest Superstars of all time. So you can understand that I was really getting in the zone, really intent on having that classic match that night.”

Edge gives Mick Foley his WrestleMania moment

John Cena on crashing through the glass at WrestleMania 23

“I didn’t necessarily have the idea of breaking through the glass. I wanted to drive the Mustang down the ramp. ...We consulted the production team and discussed limitations. The car couldn’t be driven down the ramp, so we entered through the glass, which ended up being much better … I came really close to totaling that car. It could have ended up like The Shockmaster’s entrance.”

Look back at WrestleMania 23

Edge on dealing with The Deadman at WrestleMania XXIV

The Undertaker laid 21 opponents to rest on The Grandest Stage of Them All, but The Rated-R Superstar wouldn’t go down easily.

“Kicking out of the Tombstone was big moment. I was waiting for that, waiting to hear the reaction from the crowd. And then to hear it when it happened, my ears were smiling.”

Watch The Undertaker capture the World Heavyweight Championship

Randy Orton on making mistakes at The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania

“I think main-eventing The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania could have been my moment. Undertaker and Shawn Michaels went on a few matches before us and it was their first go at WrestleMania. They stole the show. By the time Triple H and I got out there, the fans were just sitting on their hands. I think we made a mistake or two in the match and the audience didn’t go for it. That sort of sealed the deal. We were fighting uphill the whole time.”

Watch Randy Orton's Royal Rumble Match victory before The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania

Kofi Kingston on stilts walking at WrestleMania XXVI

“Kane had gone crazy and broke the ladder in half during the Money In The Bank Ladder Match. I saw two pieces of a ladder right there, so instead of rushing outside and grabbing another, I made stilts out of those two pieces. As the crowd figured out what was going on, you could hear a slow roar coming up as I started climbing. It’s not easy to walk on stilts.”

See Kofi Kingston's biggest booms

The Miz on (sort of) remembering WrestleMania XXVII

“I was knocked out during my match. Now that I’ve watched it a few times, I remember bits and pieces of the match. It’s still kind of blurry. I have no idea what happened backstage. I was so worried that I messed up everything. I was miserable that night. I think someone would have said something, but I don’t want that sympathy card.”

See The Miz defend the WWE Championship

Daniel Bryan on making the most of it at WrestleMania XXVIII

“I would have liked to have gotten a better opportunity at WrestleMania. That is when you want to showcase everything you can do and steal the show … It was a blessing and a curse. The blessing of it was that it really engaged the hardcore group of fans, who were really [ticked] off.”

Check out the best of WrestleMania XXVIII

Fandango on practicing his dance routine at WrestleMania 29

“We went down to Broadway in New York City with about eight to 10 girls and we rehearsed a few hours for a couple of days with a local ballroom dancing company. It was really cool because I got to meet a bunch of chicks. Russian girls are great.”

See Fandango in action at WrestleMania

Stephanie McMahon on why you can’t miss watching WrestleMania 30

“You’re guaranteed the greatest live-event spectacular in the world. WrestleMania 30 will have something for everyone, commemorating 30 years of epic entertainment. WWE Legends, the best Superstars of today and the brightest young talent of tomorrow will all join forces to create memories that will last a lifetime.”

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