Every WWE WrestleMania Ranked

There is nothing bigger in the world of professional wrestling than WrestleMania. WWE's annual supershow is the grandest, most eagerly anticipated pay-per-view of the year, guaranteed to attract tens of thousands of fans to whichever city is hosting what WWE bill as the Showcase of the Immortals. 

WrestleMania brings with it a guarantee of memorable moments in title changes, grudge matches, celebrity involvement, and even a heel turn or two. The shows are always huge, but size doesn’t necessarily guarantee quality.

There has been a WrestleMania every year since 1985. Some have been truly amazing, others truly terrible - and everything in between. Interestingly, the state of WWE at the time doesn't seem to have too much of an effect on the quality of WrestleMania as there have been bad shows from the middle of the Attitude Era, and brilliant ones from quieter periods. 

This is every WWE WrestleMania Ranked. 

40. WrestleMania IX

WrestleMania 9 was memorable in a lot of ways. It was the first WrestleMania to ever be held outdoors, taking place at Las Vegas’ Caesar’s Palace, which also brought with it an Ancient Rome aesthetic to pay tribute to the venue. It was also memorable for all of the wrong reasons when it came to the in-ring action. 

WWE took a huge step back in the main event of the show as after Yokozuna defeated Bret Hart for the WWE Championship, the two stars of the New Generation were promptly pushed to the side as WWE booked a Hulk Hogan with majorly waning star power to face and defeat Yokozuna in an immediate WWE Title match. Hogan won in 22 seconds. 

WrestleMania IX also featured the worst match of The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak as he defeated the barely mobile Giant Gonzalez by DQ after being knocked unconscious with a chloroform-soaked rag after seven minutes of lumbering action. 

For the positives, the opening bout between Shawn Michaels and Tatanka for the Intercontinental Championship was pretty good, even if it did end by count-out after 18 minutes. Hogan teaming with Brutus Beefcake to challenge Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster for the WWE Tag Team Titles was also entertaining enough, even if it did have another dud finish with a DQ after Hogan and Beefcake thought they had won the belts, only for the result to be overturned due to Hogan using Beefcake’s facemask as a weapon when the official was down. 

Other matches that ranged from duds to okay included Lex Luger vs. Mr Perfect, The Steiner Brothers vs. The Headshrinkers, Doink vs. Crush, and Razor Ramon vs. Bob Backlund.

39. WrestleMania 2

Following the runaway success of the first ever WrestleMania, WWE were looking for ways to make the sequel even better. This led to an ill-conceived plan of running three super shows spread out across the United States, turning WrestleMania 2 into a three-headed monstrosity. 

The three venues were the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago, and the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, with each venue having a card of four matches. 

This only resulted in the card being spread far too thin, meaning that none of the three live audiences really got their money’s worth. In the New York main event, non-boxer Mr. T defeated non-boxer Roddy Piper in a boxing match which is rated as one of the worst Mania matches of all time.

In Illinois, Andre the Giant won a WWE vs. NFL battle royal featuring Bret Hart, Bruno Sammartino, Hillbilly Jim, and a handful of very lost NFL players. The main event saw The British Bulldogs defeat Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake for the WWE Tag Team Titles in a 13-minute affair. 

Finally, in California, the real main event of WrestleMania saw Hulk Hogan defend the WWE Championship against King Kong Bundy inside a steel cage. That match actually wasn’t terrible and was one of the few saving graces on this experiment that failed. Of course, Hogan retained.

38. WrestleMania XI

WrestleMania has always had a long history of celebrity involvement, from Mr. T tagging with Hogan at WrestleMania I to Floyd Mayweather facing Big Show at WrestleMania 24. However, with the industry in a downward spiral, Vince McMahon took a huge risk at the 11th instalment of WrestleMania as he booked NFL star Lawrence Taylor in a main event singles match with Bam Bam Bigelow.

For somebody with minimal wrestling experience, Taylor surpassed all expectations, allowing Bam Bam to carry him to a shockingly okay match. Still, it can’t be considered a match worthy of the main event of WrestleMania. 

With Taylor’s involvement, the WWF Championship match was relegated to a supporting role and saw Diesel defeat his former best friend in Shawn Michaels in a match firmly representative of the New Generation. That celebrity involvement remained, though, as Diesel was accompanied to the ring by Pamela Anderson, while HBK had Playboy model Jenny McCarthy on his arm and Sid lurking behind. 

The match was ultimately won by Diesel after Sid accidentally distracted the official following a Sweet Chin Music from Michaels. This allowed Big Daddy Cool to recover and botch a Jackknife Powerbomb for the win before he swooped Jenny McCarthy away from Michaels and celebrated with the Playboy model and Pamela Anderson on his arms.

The card also featured an ‘I Quit’ match, in which Bob Backlund lost to Bret Hart after making a bizarre noise into the microphone to end their long-running rivalry. Other matches included another WrestleMania stinker from The Undertaker, this time against King Kong Bundy, Owen Hart and Yokozuna defeating The Smoking Gunns for the WWE Tag Team Titles, and Razor Ramon failing to capture the Intercontinental Title from Jeff Jarrett after The Roadie attacked Ramon to draw the DQ. 

37. WrestleMania IV

It pains us to put WrestleMania 4 this low on the list, given the fact that Randy Savage is one of the greatest of all time and this was his crowning moment in the sun.

Almost every bout on the 1988 card from the Atlantic City Convention Hall was part of a tournament for the vacant WWE Championship, which created a gruelling 16-match show in the process. One of the headline tournament matches featured a rematch of WrestleMania III as Hulk Hogan took on Andre The Giant in the first round, only for the two competitors to get each other disqualified. 

This threw the field right open and The Macho Man battled his way to the final where he faced the 'Million Dollar Man' Ted DiBiase. Even then, when we all should have been solely focused on Savage’s big triumph, Hulk Hogan got involved, interfering on behalf of Savage to halt Andre the Giant’s own interference in the contest. However, instead of simply taking Andre out of the equation, Hogan nailed DiBiase with a steel chair, allowing Savage to hit an elbow drop for the win. Hogan also stayed in the ring to celebrate with Savage and Elizabeth, for some reason. 

Outside of Savage’s triumph, there wasn’t a lot to sink your teeth into on the card, with the show consisting of poor finishes and short matches. 

36. WrestleMania 27

Taking place inside the Georgia Dome, 2011’s WrestleMania 27 was very much a WrestleMania that no one goes back and watches outside of the fantastic match between Triple H and The Undertaker, during which HHH Tombstoned The Undertaker and looked set to end the Streak, only to be trapped in a Hell’s Gate as he tried and failed desperately to deck The Phenom with a sledgehammer. 

CM Punk vs. Randy Orton was also a good match, as was Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship, but far less enjoyable was Michael Cole vs. Jerry Lawler, a match which took place in the middle of Cole’s insufferable heel run and belonged nowhere near a WrestleMania card. To make matters even worse, Cole won after the Anonymous General Manager reversed the decision, claiming that special guest referee Steve Austin was biased. 

In the main event, The Miz defended the WWE Championship against John Cena which very much served as the starter to the entree that would be The Rock vs. John Cena ‘once in a lifetime’ at WrestleMania XXVIII. The match itself suffered greatly from The Miz suffering a concussion, with the man himself noting he can’t remember the match at all. The original finish was then a double count-out, only for The Rock to restart proceedings under No DQ rules and then interfere in the match as he delivered a Rock Bottom to Cena in retribution for the AA Big Match John gave him six days earlier. The Miz then pinned Cena and The Rock ended WrestleMania standing tall after taking out the WWE Champion with a People’s Elbow. Yes, WrestleMania ended with the host on top.

Elsewhere, ‘Undashing’ Cody Rhodes defeating Rey Mysterio was fine, but more stinkers followed as the final nail in the coffin was put into The Nexus as The Corre follow-on faction were defeated in 90 seconds by Big Show, Kane, Kofi Kingston, and Santino Marella. Jersey Shore’s Snooki also wrestled on this show, teaming with John Morrison and Trish Stratus against LayCool and Dolph Ziggler in a match that is mainly remembered for Morrison refusing to hug Stratus because he was in a huff over Melina not being in the match.

35. WrestleMania 32

Emanating from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, WrestleMania 32 was statistically the biggest WrestleMania ever when it aired in 2016 with 80,709 fans in attendance. It was a below-par show, though, and one of WWE’s worst pay-per-views of 2016 in what was, overall, a good year from WWE. 

WWE were struggling majorly with injuries at the time, with the likes of John Cena, Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Neville (PAC), and Cesaro (Claudio Castagnoli) all on the shelf. This forced WWE to change up their plans for the Showcase of the Immortals.

That doesn’t mean the show didn’t have its positives, though. The pay-per-view opened with a very good Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship and a feel-good moment too as Zack Ryder captured the belt in a great WrestleMania upset. Women’s pro wrestling was also allowed to shine as Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks faced off for the new WWE Women’s Championship in a banger after the Divas Title was retired earlier in the night. Chris Jericho and AJ Styles also had an underrated encounter which had the wrong winner in Jericho, while Shane McMahon vs. The Undertaker inside Hell in a Cell was a poor match with one of the most memorable moments in WrestleMania history when Shane jumped from the top of the cell and crashed through the announce table. There was also a cool moment when Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, and Mick Foley worked together to take out the League of Nations. 

The negatives, though, included a Brock Lesnar who couldn’t be bothered defeating Dean Ambrose in a quick Street Fight, and The Rock spending an absolute age lighting his name on fire and then defeating Erick Rowan in six seconds before John Cena returned for one night to help Dwayne Johnson chase off the Wyatt Family. 

The absolute worst was saved for last, though, as Roman Reigns finally reached the top of the mountain in WWE when he defeated Triple H for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Very few inside AT&T Stadium and watching at home wanted Reigns to win the match and the stadium filled with boos after the babyface defeated the evil heel in the main event. The match was also slow and plodding, lasting 27 very long minutes before Reigns got the win, with the crowd in Texas chanting for Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Bayley to placate their boredom.

34. WrestleMania 36

We will never quite know how good WrestleMania 36 could have been as the show was completely derailed by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This led to much of the event being taped inside an empty WWE Performance Center in late March, with the show airing in early April. Changes were also made to the card because of COVID, with Roman Reigns, The Miz, Dana Brooke, and Andrade all missing the event. 

Starting out with the highs, the cinematic Boneyard Match between The Undertaker and AJ Styles gave The Deadman the send-off he deserved, while Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena in their Firefly Funhouse Match was an enjoyable, unique journey through John Cena’s psyche. Drew McIntyre also reached the top of the mountain as he defeated Brock Lesnar to win the WWE Title, while Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins delivered a great match capped off by KO's dive from the WrestleMania sign. The Triple Threat Ladder Match for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles between John Morrison, Jimmy Uso, and Kofi Kingston was also better than it had any right to be. Otis had a heartwarming moment too as he defeated Dolph Ziggler and won the girl of his dreams in Mandy Rose. 

The show still had poor booking decisions, though, such as Charlotte Flair’s win over Rhea Ripley and Becky Lynch beating Shayna Baszler. Other matches, meanwhile, failed to live up to even the reduced expectations, in particular, the Last Man Standing Match between Edge and Randy Orton which lasted 35 minutes but felt like it was over an hour long. Sami Zayn vs. Daniel Bryan was also hampered by Zayn’s long-term injuries in the years before the event, while Braun Strowman defeated Goldberg for the Universal Title in a terrible outing from Goldberg, with Strowman winning the big one at least two years too late. 

There was also a whole bunch of filler at WrestleMania 36, with Elias vs. Baron Corbin and Aleister Black vs. Bobby Lashley being just two examples.

33. WrestleMania V

The Mega Powers exploded at WrestleMania V in 1989 as former best friends Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage collided, weeks on from Savage turning on Hogan at The Main Event II after accusing The Hulkster of trying to steal Miss Elizabeth.

The main event was a mixed affair. It felt huge and Savage helped Hogan to one of the best matches of his career, but the booking really took the easy way out as Hogan regained the WWE Championship and stood tall to close ‘Mania yet again after a 17-minute contest, with Hogan winning following his patented big boot and leg drop. Of the first five WrestleManias, four ended with Hogan winning in the main event, and all five ended with him celebrating in the ring. By 1989, this was starting to get a tiny bit tiresome.

The rest of the card was hit-and-miss, and one of the few matches which stood out was Rick Rude defeating The Ultimate Warrior for the Intercontinental Title with the assistance of Bobby Heenan, handing Warrior his first WWE loss in the process. 

Beyond this, however, WrestleMania V was the definition of a one-match show.

32. WrestleMania XV

WrestleMania XV emanated from Philadelphia’s First Union Center and the show was prime Attitude Era, meaning there were some truly bizarre happenings at the event.

This included Brawl For All winner Bart Gunn being legitimately knocked out by professional boxer Butterbean, D’Lo Brown and Test winning a pre-show battle royal to earn themselves a shot at the WWE Tag Team Titles against Owen Hart and Jeff Jarrett, only to lose the title match in four minutes, and The Undertaker hanging Big Boss Man from the cell after he defeated him inside Hell in a Cell. 

Elsewhere on the show, Triple H vs. Kane ended in a DQ in a match hardly anyone remembers, Road Dogg won a Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match against Goldust, Ken Shamrock, and Val Venis to remain Intercontinental Champion, and Sable and Tori had a match for the WWE Women’s Championship that was very much Attitude Era fodder. D-Generation X also came to an end on the show as Triple H turned on X-Pac, helping Shane McMahon to retain the European Title in a match filled with run-ins. 

In the main event, The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin went one-on-one in the worst of their three WrestleMania matches. There was a pointless match earlier in the show between Mankind and Big Show, which determined Mick Foley would be the special guest referee, only for that to hardly matter as the main event was refereed by standard WWE officials in Mike Chioda and Earl Hebner in between all of the ref bumps and one brief Foley appearance. Mr. McMahon, of course, also tried to get involved but Steve Austin triumphed in the end to become the WWE Champion with a Stunner.

31. WrestleMania 29

WrestleMania 29 was headlined by Once in a Lifetime II as the company decided to run it back with John Cena vs. The Rock, this time for the WWE Championship. While their WrestleMania 28 encounter was one of the better main events in WrestleMania history, their WrestleMania 29 clash was entirely forgettable and turned into a finisher spamfest after The Rock suffered a hernia and a torn quadriceps only 10 minutes into the 23-minute match. 

In the end, John Cena managed to withstand four Rock Bottoms and picked up the win with a third Attitude Adjustment to win the WWE Championship and earn The Rock’s respect. 

The only truly standout match on the entire show was CM Punk vs. The Undertaker, a match in which both looked to prove they should have been in the main event inside MetLife Stadium. They ultimately proved it if in-ring quality determined who went on last as they had a thrilling, emotional clash which The Undertaker ultimately won with a Tombstone Piledriver. 

In the other headline match, Triple H put his career on the line against Brock Lesnar and overcame the odds, pinning Brock following a Pedigree on the steel steps. Over a decade on, the match has a mixed reputation. 

Everything else at WrestleMania 29 was truly forgettable from Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger for the World Heavyweight Title to Chris Jericho vs. Fandango to Ryback vs. Mark Henry. The multi-man matches of Team Hell No vs. Dolph Ziggler & Big E and The Shield vs. Big Show, Sheamus, and Randy Orton were also fine but nothing you were going to remember around 20 minutes after you’ve turned the TV off. 

30. WrestleMania I

The first ever WrestleMania hasn’t aged particularly well. The matches are a little slow and sloppy by today’s standards, but WWE really knew how to bring out the emotion and they did just that for the fans inside Madison Square Garden in 1985. 

There were plenty of iconic moments like King Kong Bundy beating Special Delivery Jones in nine seconds, Andre The Giant slamming Big John Studd and throwing the prize money into the crowd, and, of course, Mr. T teaming with Hulk Hogan in a mammoth main event against Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff.  

The celebrity involvement was off the charts, and really helped push wrestling into the mainstream spotlight. Cyndi Lauper, Muhammad Ali, Liberace, and the aforementioned Mr. T all involved themselves to some degree.

Despite the iconic moments, the show has been surpassed by a whole host of other WrestleManias.

29. WrestleMania 34

Another WrestleMania which took place during the dearth of Vince McMahon’s time as the head of WWE creative, WrestleMania 34 is primarily remembered for featuring one of the worst main events in show history as babyface Roman Reigns challenged Brock Lesnar, this time for the Universal Championship.

The rumours heading into the event suggested Brock Lesnar would be leaving WWE and heading back to UFC but that ultimately isn’t what happened as Lesnar pulverised Reigns during their 15-minute match, drawing blood following elbow strikes to Reigns’ head. Lesnar then picked up the surprise win following a sixth F5, but the issue was no one inside the Superdome cared, and the match was booed out of the building, while fans also chanted “boring”, “this is awful”, and “CM Punk”. Beach balls were also thrown around in the crowd, such was the unhappiness at a part time Brock Lesnar taking on an unlikeable Roman Reigns. 

The other world title match in the WWE Championship match between AJ Styles and Royal Rumble 2018 winner Shinsuke Nakamura promised to be a dream match, but the two competitors came nowhere close to eclipsing their Wrestle Kingdom 10 bout and the WrestleMania match was a major disappointment. At least the post-match heel turn from Nakamura was fun. 

Elsewhere, WWE made the baffling booking decision of having Charlotte Flair end Asuka’s undefeated streak to retain the SmackDown Women’s Title, while The Undertaker made his big return one year after retiring to take on John Cena, but the match only went two minutes as The Deadman squashed the 16-time world champion. WWE’s attempts to push Jinder Mahal also continued as he captured the United States Title in a match with three better candidates in Rusev, Randy Orton, and Bobby Roode. A literal child also won the Raw Tag Team Championships as Nicholas was plucked from the crowd by Braun Strowman on The Monster’s way to defeating The Bar, while Nia Jax exacting revenge on Alexa Bliss to become Raw Women’s Champion was a snooze fest. 

That doesn’t mean WrestleMania 34 didn’t have some redeeming qualities. Ronda Rousey impressed hugely in her in-ring debut as she teamed with Kurt Angle to defeat Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. Daniel Bryan also made his long-awaited in-ring return after coming out of retirement and he had a good match teaming with Shane McMahon against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Seth Rollins, The Miz, and Finn Bálor also opened WrestleMania with a banger of a Triple Threat for the Intercontinental Championship, while The Usos finally had a match on the WrestleMania main card, even if it was just a five-minute match against The New Day and Bludgeon Brothers in which Luke Harper and Erick Rowan dominated. 

Despite those redeemable qualities, the bad far outweighed the good at WrestleMania 34.

28. WrestleMania 2000

The first WrestleMania of a new millennium, WrestleMania 2000/WrestleMania 16 is mostly remembered for featuring precisely zero singles matches and being the first WrestleMania to end with a heel win as Triple H defeated The Rock, Mick Foley, and The Big Show in a Fatal 4-Way main event with a McMahon in every corner. 

Despite the main event being history making, it wasn’t the right time for a heel win as everybody wanted The Rock to win and he looked like a complete moron for trusting Vince McMahon. Fortunately, Dwayne Johnson would win the belt from Triple H at Backlash and they had a very good feud through to the Summer of 2000. 

Outside of the underwhelming main event, fans were treated to the highest of highs with the Triangle Ladder Match which pitted The Hardys, Edge & Christian, and The Dudley Boys against each other, while Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit had a two-fall Triple Threat match for the Intercontinental and European titles to delight the purists. Kane and Rikishi also made for a fun if bizarre tag team as they defeated X-Pac and Road Dogg in the semi-main event/pee break match.

27. WrestleMania 33

2017’s WrestleMania 33 had its moments but it was also an underwhelming event in other places. 

The show kicked off with a match that was better than it had any right to be in AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon, while Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho for the United States Title deserved to be higher on the card but was still enjoyable, even if Vince McMahon hated it. Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg for the Universal Championship is also arguably the best major sprint match in WWE history as the two men firmly put their WrestleMania XX disaster behind them. 

The classic moment from WrestleMania 33, though, was The Hardy Boyz’ return to the company as the surprise entrants in the Raw Tag Team Title Ladder Match after an acclaimed run in TNA as the Broken Hardys. Matt and Jeff received a monster pop and then ended the match on a happy note by winning the belts. 

Other matches on the card were awful, though, including the main event in what was supposed to be The Undertaker’s retirement match against Roman Reigns as The Phenom’s broken body was unable to provide a somewhat entertaining match. The contest was so bad that Taker scrapped his retirement and wrestled for three more years until finally calling it a career at 2020’s WrestleMania 36. The WWE Championship match between Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton was terrible and is mostly remembered for the worm projections on the canvas, while the Fatal 4-Way for the Raw Women’s Title featuring Bayley, Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Nia Jax didn’t come close to the drama of the Triple Threat the year before. 

Seth Rollins vs. Triple H also underwhelmed at 25 minutes, while John Cena proposing to Nikki Bella after their win over The Miz and Maryse is best forgotten, especially since they didn’t end up marrying each other. 

26. WrestleMania 13

WrestleMania 13 was truly a one-match show but it ranks here because that one match was what many believe to be the best in WrestleMania history - Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart vs. ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin. Talk to any wrestling fan of a certain age, and they’ll tell you how good this was. The intensity, the work rate, the psychology, and the booking were all perfect. The pair even executed a tricky double-turn to perfection, making noble hero Bret a whiny, vindictive heel, and finally giving fans a reason to cheer the insanely over Austin after he passed out to the Sharpshooter. 

The bout was so good and still holds up so well, but the rest of the card really dragged WrestleMania 13 down. The Undertaker defeated Sycho Sid for the WWE Title in a forgettable main event, Mankind and Vader teamed up to go 15 minutes against Owen Hart and Davey Boy Smith which ended in a double count-out, Ahmed Johnson teamed up with the Legion of Doom for a Chicago Street Fight against The Nation of Domination with the only redeeming quality being the huge pop for Hawk and Animal. Elsewhere, Triple H defeated Goldust and a babyface who nobody liked in Rocky Maivia defeated The Sultan to remain Intercontinental Champion. 

25. WrestleMania XXV

2009’s WrestleMania XXV was another historic landmark for WWE in terms of reaching 25 editions of WrestleMania. Like WrestleMania V and WrestleMania 13, it is primarily remembered for one match in Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker in what was the most revered Mania bout since Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin. 

Michaels and Undertaker had a combined age of 87 for their match but they produced one of the best matches in WWE history. Contrasting between Michaels’ white and Undertaker’s black, it was ultimately the Phenom who won after 30 minutes of glorious pro wrestling to continue his WrestleMania undefeated streak. 

The rest of the matches can maybe be best described as ‘interesting’ as they managed to be different without leaving a lasting memory. The Extreme Rules Match between brothers Matt and Jeff Hardy was a match we all tried to enjoy more than we actually did. The same can be said for the main event of Triple H vs. Randy Orton, a match really hampered by the stipulation that The Game would lose the WWE Title if he was disqualified or counted out, especially as this should have been a major No DQ contest given what had happened in the months leading up to the show. 

Elsewhere, John Cena became World Heavyweight Champion by winning a Triple Threat against The Big Show and Edge following a feud that primarily revolved around Vickie Guerrero, CM Punk won Money in the Bank, and Rey Mysterio retired JBL with a 21-second win for the Intercontinental Title.

Ricky Steamboat rolling back the years while teaming with Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka in their Handicap Match against Chris Jericho was heartwarming, while Santina Marella winning the Miss WrestleMania Battle Royal (the only women’s match on the card) was anything but.

24. WrestleMania XIV

WrestleMania XIV in 1998 was an average show but it ranks incredibly highly in terms of historical importance. 

Truth be told, there was nothing on the show of memorable quality but the outcome of the main event was the most important thing by far. With his first retirement on the horizon, Shawn Michaels did the right thing and dropped the title to the ridiculously popular Steve Austin after the fastest count in WWE history by Mike Tyson, who quit DX and sided with Austin. 

There were fears that Michaels may not do the right thing and drop the belt, but he was going to do it one way or the other as The Undertaker later revealed he was ready backstage with his fists taped just in case HBK tried any funny business.

Elsewhere on the show, the Brothers of Destruction faced off which sounded exciting, but was actually a little bit rubbish. On the other end of the scale, Mankind and Chainsaw Charlie beat the New Age Outlaws in a Dumpster Match. Everything else was entirely forgettable. 

23. WrestleMania VI

If you thought the main event of WrestleMania V was big, WWE went one better the very next year with ‘The Ultimate Challenge’ of Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior with both the WWE Title and Intercontinental Championship on the line as WWE’s two biggest stars faced off at the biggest show of the year.

While neither was famous for being the best wrestler in the world, Hogan and Ultimate Warrior delivered inside the Toronto SkyDome and The Ultimate Warrior defeated The Hulkster, looking set to usurp Hogan as WWE’s top stars for years to come. That isn’t exactly what happened but the match remains one of the most memorable in WrestleMania history, all the same. 

Outside of the main event, though, there wasn’t much going on at WrestleMania VI and Roddy Piper painting half of his body black for a match with Bad News Brown is very uncomfortable in hindsight. There were 15 matches in total and 13 of them very much just existed. 

22. WrestleMania VIII

1992’s WrestleMania VIII from the Hoosier Dome really should have been main evented by a dream match between Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair but the WWE Title match we got instead is still a beloved encounter in the bitter grudge match of champion Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage. The match was in the middle of the show, however, as the sixth match of a 10-match card but it delivered the goods as Randy Savage became a two-time WWE Champion, while Ric Flair was fined thousands of dollars for blading on camera when WWE had a ‘no-blood’ policy in place. 

Another great match on the mid-card was the gritty brawl between Bret Hart and Roddy Piper for the Intercontinental Championship, a match which remains one of the best in WrestleMania history. 

Despite an undercard with iconic matches, the show is dragged down by the worst main event in WrestleMania history as Hulk Hogan went one-on-one with Sid Justice. The match was billed as Hogan’s ‘last match’ due to the steroid scandal that was rapidly gaining steam in the press.

The plan for the finish was to have Papa Shango interfere and attack the Hulkster mid-pinfall, leading to a DQ finish. That would have been poor enough, but Shango arrived far too late, forcing Sid to unthinkably kick out of Hogan’s leg drop. Referee Earl Hebner then disqualified Sid because his manager was on the ring apron, a very dubious decision indeed. Then, just to add to the carnage, the Ultimate Warrior returned to send the crowd home happy. And happily home they went, presumably until they realised what had happened.

21. WrestleMania 37

The first two-night WrestleMania in front of fans aired in 2021 and was actually WWE’s first show in front of spectators since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The show began ominously with a rain delay but Samoa Joe in his poncho remains a funny and memorable WrestleMania moment.

When the show eventually did get underway, night one was an entertaining night of action kicking off with Drew McIntyre vs. Bobby Lashley for the WWE Title in a meaty man clash surprisingly won by the heel, while Cesaro got a WrestleMania moment with a win over Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman and Shane McMahon went far beyond fan expectations in their Steel Cage Match, as did rapper Bad Bunny’s in-ring debut as he teamed with Damian Priest against The Miz and John Morrison. Omos also wowed through just his sheer size as he and AJ Styles beat The New Day for the Raw Tag Team Titles. The main event was historic too as Bianca Belair vs. Sasha Banks went on last in a great match which began with tears and ended with Belair winning the SmackDown Women’s Title. 

WrestleMania 37 doesn’t rank higher, though, due to how much of a slog night two was. The main event Triple Threat of Roman Reigns vs. Edge vs. Daniel Bryan was great, especially the ending of Roman Reigns stacking Edge on top of Bryan before he pinned both men to retain the Universal Title. Sheamus vs. Riddle was also entertaining, as was Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens with the involvement of Logan Paul. Apollo Crews vs. Big E in a Nigerian Drum Fight, Rhea Ripley vs. Asuka, and Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler vs. Natalya & Tamina were all a bit rubbish, though. Night 2 also began in terrible fashion as Bray Wyatt’s Fiend gimmick was well and truly buried in his match with Randy Orton as Alexa Bliss turned on The Fiend and stole his power while black goo dripped on her face. 

20. WrestleMania XII

Emanating from the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim in 1996, WrestleMania 12 was different from WWE’s past editions of WrestleMania to this point as the company promised fans they would witness an all-time classic professional wrestling match with a 60-minute Iron Man Match main event between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels.

The match is divisive to this day as some consider it to be that all-time classic while others see it as a very good match but not one which reached the heights that were promised, especially as Hart and HBK didn’t even use the stipulation, going to a 0-0 draw after an hour which brought about sudden death overtime. The match really picked up for those final few minutes and ‘the boyhood dream came true’ after Michaels decked Hart with a Sweet Chin Music to win the WWE Championship. 

The clash of the titans match of the evening was saved for the semi-main event as The Undertaker and Diesel had a very good big man battle which The Phenom won to continue his WrestleMania streak. Steve Austin, still in his sort of Ringmaster phase, also defeated Savio Vega, while Goldust and Roddy Piper had an underrated Hollywood Backlot Brawl which infamously mocked the OJ Simpson car chase.

WrestleMania XII also hosted the hilarious squash match where a returning Ultimate Warrior no-sold the Pedigree and demolished Hunter Hearst Helmsley in just 99 seconds.

19. WrestleMania VII

While not a well-loved WrestleMania, WrestleMania VII was a consistent production from the then-World Wrestling Federation. The main event is ham-fisted and overly-patriotic but Hulk Hogan overcoming the horrible heel hadn’t quite lost its sheen by 1991 and Sgt. Slaughter worked well as the despicable bad guy, even if his Iraqi sympathiser gimmick was in poor taste then and has aged terribly. 

The undercard is littered with entertaining encounters too in Virgil exacting some measure of revenge on Ted DiBiase and The Undertaker kicking off his WrestleMania streak with a win over Jimmy Snuka. The Rockers and The Hart Foundation also brought their A game in their tag team matches against The Barbarian & Haku and The Nasty Boys respectively. 

The best match on the card by far, though, is the Retirement Match between Randy Savage and The Ultimate Warrior. Although he lost, Savage walked away as the winner as he reconciled with Miss Elizabeth in one of the most emotional moments in wrestling history.

18. WrestleMania XXVI

Many will be surprised to see 2010’s WrestleMania XXVI ranked so highly since much of the show missed the mark, from Bret Hart’s slow, agonising revenge on Vince McMahon to Jack Swagger winning Money in the Bank. Other matches were also weird and disjointed like Triple H vs. Sheamus and Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Ted DiBiase

There is fun to be had with WrestleMania 26, though, including both world title matches as John Cena vs. Batista for the WWE Championship and Chris Jericho vs. Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship delivered on the biggest stage.

The crucial factor in WrestleMania 26’s ranking, however, is that the show was capped off by maybe the greatest WrestleMania main event of all time in the rematch between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker. Although many prefer their encounter the year prior in terms of sheer ring work, the sequel’s storytelling was on another level entirely. 

Having fought, clawed, and eventually provoked his way to a rematch, HBK was forced to put his career on the line against The Undertaker’s streak. The stakes couldn’t have been higher, and the stipulation helped make an Undertaker match at WrestleMania seem unpredictable - no mean feat by this stage of the streak.

Of course, it was The Phenom who triumphed once again but not before he and Shawn delivered another classic. 

17. WrestleMania 35

After years of questionable booking from Vince McMahon at WrestleMania, 2019’s WrestleMania 35 was filled with booking decisions which made fans happy, most notably KofiMania as Kofi Kingston defeated Daniel Bryan to win the WWE Championship as WWE rode the wave of a sudden popularity boost for the New Day member. The match from an in-ring standpoint also delivered.

WWE kicked off the main card of WrestleMania 35 in a major way as Seth Rollins defeated Brock Lesnar in a two-minute match to become the Universal Champion. The main event was historic too as Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte Flair faced off for all the gold and became the first women to ever main event WrestleMania. The match should have been a singles affair but it was still enjoyable, even if it is brought down by the botched pin that saw Becky Lynch pick up the win over Ronda Rousey. 

There were also nice moments across the card with The IIconics winning the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles, Roman Reigns making his singles in-ring return from leukaemia to defeat Drew McIntyre, and the return of The Demon as Finn Bálor regained the Intercontinental Title against Bobby Lashley. Batista also delivered in his retirement match, even if it was odd to have Triple H as the babyface after years of being the heel authority figure. On the pre-show, Curt Hawkins ended his losing streak alongside best friend Zack Ryder to defeat The Revival for the Raw Tag Team Titles. 

AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton was also fun without reaching the heights expected, as was Shane McMahon vs. The Miz in a Falls Count Anywhere Match which ended with a Suplex from the stage and featured The Miz’s dad stealing the show. There was also an entertaining if unmemorable SmackDown Tag Team Title match, while Samoa Joe squashed Rey Mysterio in under a minute to remain United States Champion.

WrestleMania 35 is brought down, though, by the sheer length of the show. WrestleManias only became longer and longer during the 2010s and this was the very worst culprit, clocking in at over seven hours when the pre-show was included, with the main show itself lasting five hours and 20 minutes.

The show also received a minus against it for Kurt Angle’s career ending with a whimper as one of the best wrestlers to ever step inside the squared circle was defeated by Baron Corbin in a six-minute match. Fans had hoped that John Cena would end up facing Angle, and even Kurt wanted that match, but it wasn’t meant to be and Cena was instead utilised in a segment with Elias as he made a one-night return as the Doctor of Thuganomics. 

16. WrestleMania 38

Another WrestleMania with the highest of highs, the lowest of lows, and a bit of everything in between, WrestleMania 38 aired from Arlington’s AT&T Stadium over two nights in 2022. 

For the highest of highs, Stone Cold Steve Austin came out of retirement for one night in the main event of night one and The Texas Rattlesnake brought his A game in a wonderful No Holds Barred Match with Kevin Owens. Cody Rhodes also made his huge return to WWE as Seth Rollins’ mystery opponent and, more importantly, as the American Nightmare, while Jackass’ Johnny Knoxville vs. Sami Zayn in an Anything Goes Match was sports entertainment at its very best. 

The lowest of lows were brought by Vince McMahon, who faced Pat McAfee in an impromptu match which revolved around the 70+ year old WWE Chairman barely moving in what is probably the worst match to ever grace a WrestleMania card. McMahon then capped it all off by taking the worst Stone Cold Stunner in the history of the move. 

What was billed as ‘The Most Stupendous Two-Night WrestleMania in History’ also ended with a bit of a dud in Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar’s third WrestleMania match together. Fans finally wanted to see Roman Reigns in a main event spot but he and Brock Lesnar wrestled in another finisher spam-fest before Reigns defeated Lesnar via interference to unify the Universal and WWE titles. 

Other fun moments at WrestleMania 38 included Bianca Belair exacting revenge on Becky Lynch, Drew McIntyre becoming the first wrestler to kick out of the End of Days on his way to a win over Happy Corbin, and the Triple Threat Raw Tag Team Title match of RK-Bro defending against Alpha Academy and The Street Profits. 

Less so fun moments were Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey in a boring slog, Rick Boogs getting injured in the opener, and Edge vs. AJ Styles being quite boring despite the two men sharing the squared circle. 

15. WrestleMania XX

WrestleMania 20 is uncomfortable to look back on, especially after the horrific actions of Chris Benoit. He was the big winner of this show, defeating Shawn Michaels and Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship in one of the great WrestleMania main events. If that didn’t make the event hard enough to watch in hindsight, it is only made worse by his show-closing in-ring celebration with the beloved Eddie Guerrero, who tragically passed away just 18 months later. 

WrestleMania XX from Madison Square Garden is a great WrestleMania, though. The main event is a barn-burner, while Eddie Guerrero lied, cheated, and stole his way to a successful WWE Title defence against Kurt Angle after he rolled out of his boot and rolled up The Wrestling Machine in a great Mania moment. John Cena defeating The Big Show to cement himself as a rising star in the opener was also entertaining, while the return of The Rock ’n’ Sock Connection to take on Evolution is another great match. The Undertaker vs. Kane was also a bit rubbish in the ring but the story leading up to it was fun and heralded the return of the old Undertaker as Mark Calaway moved away from his American Badass persona. 

There is also a lot of filler at WrestleMania 20, though, notably the two tag team title matches, Chris Jericho vs. Christian which is mostly remembered for Trish Stratus’ heel turn, a Playboy Evening Gown Match, and Victoria vs. Molly Holly in a Hair vs. Title encounter. The Cruiserweight Open, which allowed everyone from the division to get on the WrestleMania card, is the best kind of filler, though. 

The worst of filler took place in the seventh match on the card as the MSG fans jeered Goldberg and Brock Lesnar out of WWE since those in attendance knew both men were leaving the company following the show. Even Stone Cold Steve Austin as special guest referee couldn’t save this dumpster fire. 

14. WrestleMania XXVIII

WrestleMania 28 was a night of extremes with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.

For the negatives, we had Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounous beating Beth Phoenix and Eve Torres in a match that was pointless and bad, Sheamus defeating Daniel Bryan for the World Heavyweight Title in just 18 seconds which has since gone down as one of the biggest booking mis-steps ever, and Zack Ryder being made to look like a chump by Eve Torres (here again) in the Team Teddy vs. Team Johnny multi-man match. Randy Orton and Kane also had a match which was very mediocre.

For the positives, Triple H and The Undertaker had another banger in their third WrestleMania outing, this time inside Hell in a Cell in their ‘End of An Era’ Match with Shawn Michaels as special guest referee. The match featured one of the best kickouts in WWE history after The Undertaker just about survived a Sweet Chin Music-Pedigree combo, and the contest ultimately ended with The Undertaker defeating Triple H before the three men in the match walked to the back together in a nice moment. In another nice moment, The Big Show finally had something to smile about at WrestleMania, as after years of misery on the biggest stage, he won the Intercontinental Title from Cody Rhodes.

The WWE Title match between Chris Jericho and CM Punk was also a delight while the main event didn’t really get much bigger as The Rock faced John Cena in what should have been their only Once in a Lifetime Match. The contest had the right result to send everyone home happy too as John Cena after years and years and years of winning became cocky and ate a Rock Bottom for his troubles as Dwayne Johnson ended the night standing tall while Cena looked despondent on the ramp. The match itself was good but not great, but it was all about the spectacle, something which people clearly bought into as this was the most purchased WWE pay-per-view in company history.

13. WrestleMania III

1980s WrestleManias are naturally less crisp and polished than their younger siblings, but they don’t come more important than WrestleMania III, which is arguably the most important pay-per-view in company history.

WWE filled the Pontiac Silverdome for one of the biggest events in pro wrestling history and the main event has since gone down in legend, as Hulk Hogan slammed Andre the Giant and catapulted wrestling into the stratosphere. 

It also saw the first ever ‘Mania classic, and a match still regarded by many as the best WrestleMania bout of all time in Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage for the Intercontinental Title. A match unlike anything WWF fans would have seen before, this tightly choreographed masterpiece was wrestled at breakneck speed, and was the first ‘Mania moment to appear light years ahead of its time. 

Everything else at WrestleMania III is just sort of there but the importance of those two aforementioned matches puts WrestleMania III so highly. 

12. WrestleMania X8

The first post-Attitude Era WrestleMania, 2002’s WrestleMania X8 was a triumph of throwing people together and saying, ‘Look at all this craziness.’ 

The craziest match of all was the Icon vs. Icon encounter between The Rock and Hollywood Hulk Hogan which ranks as the favourite WrestleMania match of all time for many. Hogan was supposed to be the heel, but the fans inside Toronto’s Skydome were having none of it as it became the 1980s again and Hogan had what was arguably the last truly great match of his career going toe to toe with The Rock and putting over the star of the current generation. The Hulkster then gave the fans what they wanted as he turned babyface in a post-match angle, taking down his nWo buddies in Scott Hall and Kevin Nash with The Rock at his side. 

In another match we thought we would never see, The Undertaker faced Ric Flair as The Nature Boy rediscovered his mojo, while Arn Anderson delivered an iconic Spinebuster to the Deadman. 

Other matches on the card were fun, including Diamond Dallas Page’s win over Christian to remain European Champion, something which caused Christian to have a tantrum. The Hardcore Title also changed hands several times on the night before beginning and ending in the arms of Maven. 

Other bouts, however, were not as good as they could have been, in particular the main event for the Undisputed WWE Title between Chris Jericho and Triple H as they were given the impossible task of following The Rock vs. Hogan. It didn’t help that their feud revolved around Stephanie McMahon. 

Scott Hall vs. Steve Austin, meanwhile, was a dud, while Edge vs. Booker T and Rob Van Dam vs. William Regal were entertaining enough, if not exactly memorable. Kane vs. Kurt Angle also wasn’t very good, while the four corners elimination match for the WWE Tag Team Titles had no chance of living up to the previous two years of tag title matches.

11. WrestleMania 21

WrestleMania went Hollywood in 2005 and it wasn’t just the Hollywood parody vignettes that were great about WrestleMania 21 as the show kicked off a new era for WWE.

With the company in need of a few new stars, WWE cemented Batista and John Cena as top stars, with Batista defeating Triple H for the World Heavyweight Title in the main event, while John Cena toppled JBL to become WWE Champion for the first time in the semi-main event. 

While those two matches are historic, all four competitors were capable of better and it was the undercard that made WrestleMania 21 so good, in particular one of the best WrestleMania matches ever as Kurt Angle faced off with Shawn Michaels in a classic that saw Angle defeat HBK by submission. The Undertaker and Randy Orton also had a banger that would kick off their feud which continued for the rest of 2005, while Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio was also very good, and the inaugural Money in the Bank Ladder Match was an excellent introduction to the gimmick that has become so important to WWE. 

The only duds at WrestleMania were Trish Stratus vs. Christy Hemme for the WWE Women’s Title since no one really had a reason to care, and Big Show vs. Akebono in a Sumo Match is just plain bizarre. 

10. WrestleMania X

It took almost a decade for WWE to present a WrestleMania for the pro wrestling purists but fans finally received it in the form of WrestleMania X from Madison Square Garden. 

First and foremost, Bret Hart avenged his very silly loss at WrestleMania 9, wrestling twice in one night and becoming WWE Champion once again. Bret lost his first match in the opener to younger brother Owen in a match regarded as the best opener in WrestleMania history. Bret then succeeded where Lex Luger failed on the night and defeated Yokozuna in the main event to reach the top of the mountain for the second time in the World Wrestling Federation. 

The best bout of the night, though, was Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon’s iconic Ladder Match to determine who was the Undisputed Intercontinental Champion.

Nothing else on the card is much to shout about but WrestleMania X remains a high benchmark, and it was the first Mania that can be considered a real in-ring masterclass for much of the evening. 

9. WrestleMania 39

2023’s WrestleMania 39 would be remembered as one of the best WrestleManias of all-time if Cody Rhodes had defeated Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title to finish the story, but he didn’t and so this WrestleMania, while still an awful lot of fun, isn’t quite in that top tier. 

Starting off with the main event of night two, the moment was there for Cody Rhodes to cap off his first year back with WWE by defeating Roman Reigns, who by this point hadn’t been pinned since TLC 2019. Instead, though, Cody Rhodes came so close to victory before he stumbled straight into a Samoan Spike from an interfering Solo Sikoa and had his shoulders pinned to the mat following a Spear from Roman Reigns. WrestleMania 39 then came to an end with Rhodes looking despondent while sitting next to a rubber chicken that had been thrown at him from the crowd. 

The majority of the in-ring action at WrestleMania 39 is a lot of fun, however, including Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair, Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul, Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio, Brood Edge vs. ‘The Demon’ Finn Bálor inside Hell in a Cell, Brock Lesnar vs. Omos, and Snoop Dogg pinning The Miz after Shane McMahon tore his quad. The show also had two match of the year contenders in Gunther vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre for the Intercontinental Title and Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. The Usos for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Titles.

The only real dud across both nights is the opener of Austin Theory vs. John Cena for the United States Title in a match which Cena looked like he couldn’t be bothered to perform in and Austin Theory didn’t appear to be ready for such a major spot. 

8. WrestleMania 23

WrestleMania 23 was the biggest pay-per-view buyrate in WWE history until it was surpassed by WrestleMania 28, and much of the buyrate was credited to the Battle of the Billionaires where Donald Trump and Vince McMahon chose a champion to fight for their hair in Bobby Lashley and Umaga. The match itself is fine and includes the future US president tackling Vince McMahon to the ground and delivering some truly awful punches. Trump’s dominance over McMahon then only continued as Lashley won the match and The Donald, Lashley, and Steve Austin shaved the WWE Chairman bald. Everyone then received Stunners from Stone Cold, including Trump. 

Outside of this example of sports entertainment on steroids, the rest of WrestleMania 23 featured some great pro wrestling. The main event saw John Cena defeat Shawn Michaels to remain WWE Champion in a very good back-and-forth contest, even if it did take place bang in the middle of John Cena’s run at the top of WWE which saw him rarely lose. The Undertaker and Batista also had a great match for the World Heavyweight Title which kicked off Taker’s run of great consecutive Mania matches, while the Money in the Bank Ladder Match continued to deliver on the biggest stage, even if the winner didn’t matter since Mr. Kennedy never got to cash in. 

Another fun moment also saw the ECW originals defeat the New Breed, even if the relaunched ECW was dead in the water by this point. The less said about Kane vs. The Great Khali, though, the better. 

7. WrestleMania 31

WrestleMania 31 is arguably the WrestleMania which most outlived it’s expectations, especially since the 2015 event looked set to be an utter disaster during the build to the show from Levi’s Stadium. 

The ‘utter disaster’ revolved around the main event of Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a match no one on Planet Earth outside of Vince McMahon wanted to see, especially with the feeling amongst WWE’s fan base being that Roman Reigns was being forced down their throat as the top babyface.

Fortunately, the main event ended up being great as Brock Lesnar absolutely battered Reigns before Seth Rollins made WrestleMania history by cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase and pinning Reigns to become the new champion. The move delighted everyone inside Levi’s Stadium except Roman Reigns’ family, since they hadn’t been told he wasn’t winning.  

Rollins also co-starred in an iconic WrestleMania moment as he took probably the most ‘out of nowhere’ RKO ever when Orton countered a Stomp attempt by firing Rollins into the air and hitting him with those three all-important letters. Their match followed a great Ladder Match opener for the Intercontinental Title capped off with a heartwarming moment as Daniel Bryan captured the gold. 

Sting vs. Triple H was also nostalgia on steroids due to interference from the nWo and D-Generation X, although HHH winning still stings (no pun intended) as Vince McMahon took one last chance to stick it to World Championship Wrestling. Fortunately, Sting’s run with All Elite Wrestling made up for whatever his WWE booking was.

The Undertaker also returned to winning ways at WrestleMania with a victory over Bray Wyatt, while Rusev drove to the ring in a tank before dropping the United States Title to John Cena. AJ Lee also had her penultimate match, teaming with Paige to defeat The Bella Twins.

Overall, WrestleMania 31 wasn’t perfect but it was an awful lot of fun. 

6. WrestleMania 22

Fans who tuned into 2006’s WrestleMania 22 were treated to a quadruple-header of wonderful matches, with all of them being great for different reasons.

John Cena vs. Triple H for the WWE Championship in the main event pitted two of the biggest stars in the company against each other and both men delivered on the big stage, even if this was truly the beginning of John Cena being booed by the majority of WWE fans for always winning. Cena, of course, won to close out the Show of Shows, forcing HHH to tap out to the STF following a 22-minute match which was long enough to feel epic, but short enough that it didn’t drag. 

Vince McMahon had maybe the best match of his career, losing to Shawn Michaels in a ridiculously fun street fight. The most memorable spot saw HBK drop an elbow from a ladder to Vince, who was both laid out across a table and wearing a trash can over his head. McMahon then flipped off Michaels while being taken away on a stretcher. 

Edge was put over by Mick Foley, with the Rated-R Superstar having to overcome barbed wire, thumbtacks, and a face full of fire courtesy of his Spear to the Hardcore icon though a flaming table, on his way to victory over Foley. 

There was also a great women's match as the blowoff to Mickie James and Trish Stratus’ feud over the WWE Women’s Championship was intense, controversial, and most importantly, entertaining.

This was also the WrestleMania where Mysterio finally won the big one, defeating Kurt Angle and Randy Orton in a Triple Threat to become World Heavyweight Champion. The match should have been better given the talent inside the squared circle but it was still a nice moment. 

Elsewhere, The Undertaker defeated Mark Henry in a boring Casket Match, The Boogeyman defeated Booker T and Queen Sharmell, covering them in worms in the aftermath, JBL won the United States Title from Chris Benoit, and a great Money in the Bank Ladder Match was won by Rob Van Dam.

Kane and Big Show also teamed together against the fun duo of Carlito and Chris Masters, while Torrie Wilson and Candice Michelle had a Playboy Pillow Fight for some reason.

5. WrestleMania XXIV

To understand why WrestleMania 24 is one of the very best of all time, you don’t need to look any further than two matches - Edge vs. The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair. 

Having put on a not-very-memorable match with Sycho Sid 11 years prior, Undertaker was given another chance to main event the big one and he proceeded to put on one of the best main events in the show’s history to that point against Edge. The original booking plans would have seen Edge end the streak but Adam Copeland turned that down as The Undertaker won the World Heavyweight Title on the Grandest Stage of Them All for the second year in a row. 

The show is mostly remembered, however, for how perfect Ric Flair’s final WWE match was. HBK looked utterly devastated to be ending the career of a legend, and his climactic “I’m Sorry, I Love You” Sweet Chin Music to a tearful Flair remains one of the most emotional moments ever seen at WrestleMania. It was the perfect end. Flair then wrestled 17 more times outside of WWE. 

Elsewhere, the Triple Threat for the WWE Title between Randy Orton, Triple H, and John Cena was entertaining enough and had a shock winner as the dirty heel Randy Orton reigned supreme. There was also a whole lot of sports entertainment when Floyd Mayweather knocked out The Big Show in their No DQ Match, and JBL produced a memeable moment when he almost caved in Hornswoggle’s skull after he launched a bin at the leprechaun during Layfield’s Street Fight with Finlay.

In a non-shocking development, Money in the Bank was still good, this time being won by CM Punk. 

4. WrestleMania XIX

Brock Lesnar’s terrifying botched Shooting Star Press is the overriding memory from WrestleMania 19, but that shouldn’t take away from how good his main event match for the WWE Title with Kurt Angle was. It was a true passing of the torch ceremony - even if Lesnar ended up rejecting the torch, before accepting it again a decade later.

You also had a great WrestleMania match between Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels as HBK continued to prove he hadn’t missed a step despite only returning from four years on the shelf in the Summer of 2002. You can also never go wrong with The Rock vs. Steve Austin as the Brahma Bull finally defeated his greatest enemy on the biggest stage in what would be Stone Cold’s final match of his full-time career. 

Hulk Hogan also battered Vince McMahon in a Street Fight which featured the return of Roddy Piper, and the opener of Matt Hardy V1 vs. Rey Mysterio for the Cruiserweight Title was also very fun. 

Triple H defeating Booker T for the World Heavyweight Championship, pinning him one million years after hitting his opponent with the Pedigree, was a lowlight on the night, as was The Undertaker’s WrestleMania match against The Big Show & A-Train due to the involvement of Nathan Jones, who was great as Rictus Erectus but terrible at pro wrestling. 

3. WrestleMania XXX

‘The Miracle on Bourbon Street’ was one of the happiest endings in WrestleMania history as Daniel Bryan - one of the best wrestlers of his generation but someone who firmly did not fit into Vince McMahon’s classic superstar model - reached the top of the mountain, overcoming months of storyline and real-life pushback from WWE higher-ups to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. He also did it by defeating three of the most sports entertainment-y sports entertainers in Triple H in the opening contest and Batista & Randy Orton in the main event to win WWE’s top prize. 

How loud the Superdome in New Orleans was is testament to the popularity and greatness of Bryan Danielson since very few WrestleMania main events would have been able to recover from the sheer shock of The Undertaker losing at WrestleMania for the first time to Brock Lesnar after The Beast demolished the Deadman with three F5s, a moment which plunged the stadium into devastated silence. 

Elsewhere, John Cena had a fun match with Bray Wyatt, while Cesaro looked set to be on his path to becoming a WWE star courtesy of his Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal win. Things wouldn’t quite work out for Cesaro but it was still a nice moment all the same. The Shield also had a fun three-minute match defeating Kane and the New Age Outlaws, and AJ Lee continued her dominance at the top of the women’s division to round out a WrestleMania that, fortunately, was built around The American Dragon. 

2. WrestleMania XL

The show where Cody Rhodes finished the story. Having lost in the main event of WrestleMania 39, Cody Rhodes avenged his loss inside Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field and defeated Roman Reigns to become the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. Cody had to overcome the odds to do so, having been pinned by The Rock just 24 hours earlier in their very good tag team match also involving Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, which turned the night two main event into a Bloodline Rules Match courtesy of the heels’ win. 

The last five minutes of the match are arguably the best in WrestleMania history, being overbooked in the greatest way possible to feature interference from Solo Sikoa, John Cena, The Rock, Seth Rollins in Shield gear, and The Undertaker. Roman Reigns was then given the choice between hitting Cody Rhodes or Seth Rollins with a chair, and he chose his former stablemate which allowed Rhodes to win. It was sports entertainment and storytelling in the industry at its very best. 

Unlike earlier entries, it wasn’t just the main event that mattered at WrestleMania XL and the two nights were filled with great matches, including Sami Zayn ending Gunther’s main roster undefeated streak to win the Intercontinental Title, Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch, Bayley vs. IYO SKY, and Drew McIntyre vs. Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Title which was followed by CM Punk’s post-match attack and Damian Priest’s Money in the Bank cash-in. 

The only real dud across both nights was the Brother vs. Brother affair between Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso, which featured about 30 too many Superkicks and precisely zero drama as Jey defeated his brother in what was arguably WWE’s worst match of 2024. 

1. WrestleMania X-Seven

The best WrestleMania of all time is 2001’s WrestleMania X-Seven from the Astrodome in Houston, Texas.

The show is actually decidedly ragged around the edges, carrying all the scruffy, hardcore charm of the Attitude Era. These were simply imperfections which came together to make the whole thing even more compelling, however.

This show had it all. Another chaotic TLC war, this time featuring cameos from Rhyno, Lita, and Spike Dudley. A wild backstage brawl between Kane, Big Show, and Raven - the latter of whom almost cut off power to the entire show while trying to drive a motorised buggy. Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle brought the goods with their workrate match, while Vince McMahon & Shane McMahon battered each other in a sports entertainment extravaganza. The Undertaker and Triple H provided both in their compelling singles match which had one of the longest ref bumps in WWE history. 

Chyna defeating Ivory for the WWE Women’s Title was also a nice moment, Chris Jericho and William Regal had a tidy match over the Intercontinental Title, as did Eddie Guerrero and Test for the European Championship. There was also the bizarreness of the Gimmick Battle Royal won by The Iron Sheik, and Tazz & The APA joining forces to take down Right to Censor to enjoy elsewhere on the night. 

The biggest match, however, was "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. The Rock - the second and finest of their WrestleMania triple-header. In a match often cited as the end of the Attitude Era itself, Austin shockingly aligned with Vince McMahon. In the build up to the match, Stone Cold had warned Rock that he’d do anything to win the WWF Championship - but nobody expected that, with Austin shaking the hand of his mortal enemy being one of those iconic WrestleMania images. 

The only downside of such a shocking, amazingly contested main event was that it couldn’t be followed. Austin’s heel turn (and the purchase of WCW) meant that nothing was the same again. The Attitude Era was over, and the wrestling industry didn’t reach such heights until the 2020s. Still, at least when the bubble finally burst, it did so with a bang.