The Last 10 WWE WrestleManias: Ranked From Worst To Best
It was surprisingly hard work picking a favourite Flo Rida concert
WrestleMania 37 is this weekend and anticipation is growing for what is not just the Showcase of the Immortals, but the first WWE show in over a year with actual fans in attendance.
It will be a stark contrast to last year's show, which was plagued with issues due to the global pandemic caused by the coronavirus.
It's a minor miracle that WWE was even able to put on WrestleMania 36, across two nights and in the form that it was, considering everything that was going on in the world at the time.
They received a bit of criticism for it because of how quickly the COVID-19 situation was escalating and how little was really known about it but, for better or worse, the show must go on.
And just how was the show in the end?
Well, having revisited it along with the other nine WrestleManias from the previous ten years, I can tell you it was not one of the better recent efforts from WWE, although that was to be expected.
As far as the others, they demonstrate just what a monster the Granddaddy of Them All has become, all of them taking place in giant stadiums and stuffed with marquee matches, special appearances by legends and the rest of the glitz and glamour that makes WrestleMania so special.
As the next installment in the franchise approaches, I've looked at the highs, lows and in-betweens of every WrestleMania from 2011 to 2020, ranking them from worst to best.
Because it's WrestleMania, you know? I mean, what else am I going to do? Read a book, ride a bike or raise my kids?
Not bloody likely!
As an aside, I am mainly focusing on overall match quality, so I've not gone into all the celebrity cameos, concerts and skits and things of that nature. Also, it's the main card only, so the pre-shows are not considered when ranking.
Get it? Got it? Good! Let's go...
10. WrestleMania 36
I did say it wasn't one of their better recent efforts...
WWE made the best out of an unprecedented situation, putting WrestleMania on as scheduled despite the COVID-19 pandemic basically shutting the world down.
Retreating to the sanctuary of the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, as well as filming some matches on location elsewhere, WWE presented WrestleMania over two nights and the talent and crew all worked tirelessly to produce something for their fans.
In some instances, the results were great.
The Boneyard match between AJ Styles and The Undertaker, for example, was a triumph and serves as a fitting swansong for The Deadman, if this does indeed turn out to be his 'last ride'.
The zany Firefly Funhouse match between Bray Wyatt and John Cena wasn't so much a match as a Lynchian experiment in bizarre narrative storytelling within the confines of wrestling, but it got people talking and at the very least it was something different.
Charlotte versus Rhea Ripley, Becky Lynch against Shayna Baszler, Seth Rollins versus Kevin Owens and the Triple Threat Tag Team Title Ladder Match all featured no shortage of effort and were compelling in their own ways, but it was hard to look past the lack of fans.
Especially when it came to Braun Strowman's Universal Title victory over Goldberg, or Drew McIntyre's crowning moment as he downed Brock Lesnar for the WWE Title.
Most of the rest of the matches were either filler or a shade disappointing, especially the ambitious but overlong Edge/Randy Orton Last Man Standing match.
Once again, credit to the wrestlers, crew and everyone else who managed to pull it off, but this simply wasn't WrestleMania as we know and love it and served as a stark reminder of just how important the live crowd are when it comes to sports entertainment.
Written by Lewis Howse
Features journalist for Cultaholic.com and script writer for the Cultaholic YouTube Channel.
