WrestleMania 37 has come and gone, with stars like Roman Reigns and AJ Styles notching a further W to their impressive Mania win/loss records. Conversely, the wrestling Twittersphere was quick to point out Sasha Banks’ dismal 0-6 record at the Show of Shows following her loss to Bianca Belair.
Winning a match at WrestleMania is a special achievement and, whilst the records of The Undertaker and John Cena are widely recognised, there are some surprisingly impressive Mania records that you may not be aware of.
Let’s take a look at five wrestlers with surprisingly good WrestleMania win/loss records. *This list does not include pre-show matches*
Big Boss Man – 5-1
The late Ray Traylor aka The Big Boss Man was one of WWE’s most enduring performers. Whether it was as one half of the Twin Towers tag team, as the heroic and justice seeking officer of the early 90s or as the corrupt member of Mr McMahon’s Corporation stable, Boss Man got the job done at WrestleMania.
His very impressive 5-1 record at Mania is comprised of tag team and singles victories. Notable successes include his 1 minute 49 second squash of former partner Akeem at Mania VI, his DQ win over Mr Perfect the following year, culminating in a tag team title triumph with Bull Buchanan at WrestleMania 2000.
Boss Man only succumbed to defeat once, inside Hell in a Cell against The Undertaker at WrestleMania XV – best remembered for Taker hanging Boss Man after the match (no, seriously. He was literally hung by a noose and suspended from the ceiling). Nevertheless, even in defeat, Boss Man unknowingly became part of WrestleMania folklore – as the eighth victim of Undertaker’s legendary 21-0 WrestleMania winning streak.
Having passed away in 2004, Traylor was posthumously inducted into the 2016 WWE Hall of Fame and honoured the following night at WrestleMania 32 – another Mania moment for the Boss Man who was represented by his wife and two daughters.
Hardcore Holly – 2-1
During his impressive 15+ year tenure with WWE, Bob Holly was known by a few names. Thurman ‘Sparky’ Plugg, Bob ‘Spark Plugg’ Holly, Bombastic Bob and most famously, Hardcore Holly. One of the toughest men to grace a WWE ring, Holly was a firm fixture throughout the New Generation, Attitude and Ruthless Aggression eras.
Whilst he never achieved stardom, he did amass some WrestleMania notoriety – albeit by complete accident.
If you look at Holly’s record from a single’s perspective, omitting a tag team battle royal where he finished runner-up, the Alabama Slammer actually boasts a 2-0 score at WrestleMania. This, however, was never the plan.
At WrestleMania XV, Holly defeated Al Snow and Billy Gunn to win the Hardcore Championship in that year’s opening contest. Stellar job Bob. The very next year, Holly was part of a 13-man Hardcore Championship scramble match in which he was NOT scheduled to win. With the 15-minute time limit set the expire, the plan was for Hardcore to try and pin his cousin Crash before the timer maxed out. Sadly, a mix-up with the timer and the referee meant that Hardcore pinned Crash in time and accidentally won the title. Oops.
This hilarious balls-up does, however, mean that Hardcore Holly is one of very few wrestlers to win back-to-back title matches at WrestleMania. How do you like him now?