There have been many tremendous WrestleMania shows over the years, with these standing out as the best.
Highlights
- WrestleMania is the biggest spectacle in professional wrestling, bringing celebrities and wrestling together like never before.
- Some WrestleMania shows stand out more than others, with many classic events still worth watching today.
- With the recent purchase of WWE by Endeavour, WrestleMania is entering a new stage under a new brand with new visions for the future.
GAMERANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
WrestleMania is the biggest spectacle in professional wrestling. Debuting in 1985 on closed-circuit television, it brought celebrities and wrestling together in a way that had never been seen before. While it wasn’t the first major wrestling show, premiering 18 months after NWA’s first Starrcade show, it did change the way wrestling was viewed by a lot of the world.
The marquee event has produced some amazing shows over its 38 years in existence. While some WWE WrestleMania shows stand out more than others; many classic events are still well worth watching today.
Updated September 24, 2023 by Jeremy Brown: WWE held WrestleMania 39 in April 2023 and delivered another excellent WrestleMania show. As WWE builds toward Survivor Series, the Royal Rumble, and the next Road to WrestleMania, it’s worth taking a look at more WrestleMania shows and seeing which others may stand the test of time as all-time classics.
Plus, with the recent purchase of WWE by Endeavour, WrestleMania is set to enter a new stage in its existence under a new brand with new visions for the company’s future. These are the best WresleManias in the Vince McMahon era of WWE.
15 WrestleMania 26
Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker improved upon their WrestleMania classic from the year before in a streak vs. career match. Undertaker beat HBK to send Mr. WrestleMania off into the sunset (until an ill-advised return for a show in Saudi Arabia), Chris Jericho and Edge capped their rivalry that started when they were tag team champs with an excellent World title match.
John Cena and Batista should’ve been in a Mania main event sooner, but it was still great to see the breakout stars of 2005 battle on the grandest stage of them all. While Bret Hart’s return to the ring may have been a dud, the nostalgia made it great to see him back in WWE.
14 WrestleMania 8
This is an odd WrestleMania because it was in the early days when there wasn’t a lot of build to most of the matches. Still, the opener between Shawn Michaels and Tito Santana is a lot of fun. Roddy Piper and Bret Hart stole the show in the Intercontinental title match that saw Piper lose cleanly for one of the few times in his career.
The main event should have been Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan since both were in the same company, but WWE failed to pull the trigger. Flair still had a classic with Macho Man Randy Savage that saw Savage win his second WWE title. Hogan fought Sid Justice in a battle of two main event-worthy stars, but the match itself should not have been the main event of this card.
13 WrestleMania 31
The hype going into this WrestleMania was Sting’s first and only match at the Show of Shows. He lost to Triple H in a well-wrestled match that was overbooked with too much focus on WCW. The main event of Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns wasn’t what the fans wanted, so WWE called an audible and had Seth Rollins cash-in his Money in the Bank contract and win the WWE title in a win that is still talked about as the best MITB cash-in.
Earlier in the night, Rollins battled Randy Orton in a good match that ended with one of the best “RKOs out of nowhere” Orton has ever delivered. And Daniel Bryan shined for the second straight year, this time winning the Intercontinental title in a great ladder match.
12 WrestleMania 28
A year-long build that started at the previous year’s WrestleMania culminated at WrestleMania 28 with John Cena taking on the Rock in the main event. While not the best match on the night, the build warranted the main event spot. The Undertaker defeated Triple H for the second straight year ending his four-year run of great matches against the two founders of DX.
CM Punk and Chris Jericho battled for the WWEtitle in the best match of the night. It would’ve main-evented the show most other years. Sheamus defeated Daniel Bryan in 18 seconds to win the World title in the opener. However, that started Bryan’s meteoric rise to the top of the card.
11 WrestleMania 39
This WrestleMania allowed for the true cracks in the Bloodline story to shine through. Night One ended with Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens reuniting after years apart and beating the Usos for the tag titles. John Cena also returned to put over younger talent in his opener with Austin Theory. The Mysterio family betrayal came to a head with Rey battling his son Dominick. And Rhea Ripley got her revenge on Charlotte Flair winning the women’s title.
While Night Two ended on a sour note for many as fans were ready to move on from Roman Reigns title reign and Cody Rhodes was the most popular babyface on the roster, it still wasn’t meant to be for WWE. Bianca Belair vs. Asuka and Edge vs. “The Demon” Finn Balor carried the second night, but it still felt like WWE was finally finding the right footing as it continued to recover from COVID restrictions.
10 WrestleMania 35
If WWE had moved to the two-night model at this point, this would be higher on the list. Unfortunately, a one-night WrestleMania felt too long, even for a great card. It was the first time the women main-evented as women’s Royal Rumble winner Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Ronda Rousey squared off in a triple-threat match for both the Raw and Smackdown Women’s titles. It was good but not great, and the ending was botched. However, this would’ve been an excellent main event for a night-one event, and the crowd would’ve been more into it.
The opener featured Seth Rollins beating Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship. It was a great way to put a focus on Rollins who won the men’s Royal Rumble the previous January. Kofimania was in full swing, and Kofi Kingston and Daniel Bryan delivered the match of the night for the WWE Championship (this match should’ve main-evented night two).
9 WrestleMania 5
The Mega Powers exploded. One year after Hulk Hogan and the Macho Man celebrated at the Trump Plaza as the Macho Man became the new WWF Heavyweight Champion, the team fell apart. A masterful year-long storyline that led to Macho Man’s heel turn, Hulk Hogan regaining the title, and a solid championship main event, even if Randy Savage had to do the heavy lifting.
The rest of the card was also solid with a great match featuring Mr. Perfect and the Blue Blazer (Owen Hart’s first WWE gimmick), Rick Rude upsetting the Ultimate Warrior in Warrior’s best match in WWE, and an amazing tag team affair between the Brain Busters and Strike Force to set up Rick Martel’s heel turn.
8 WrestleMania 10
This is a two-match card, but the two matches that make this card stand out so much that it’s a fun WrestleMania to revisit. Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon stole the show with the Intercontinental Championship ladder match. They went over their time and cost some other guys their WrestleMania match, but it’s highly unlikely the ten-man tag match that got cut would’ve been anywhere near as good as the added time to this match.
The other match that makes this show is the opener. Bret and Owen Hart deliver the greatest opening match in WrestleMania history. They expertly told the sibling rivalry feud and then delivered on the biggest stage at Madison Square Garden. The build to the two championship matches was also amazingly well done, even if Yokozuna’s two matches with Lex Luger and Bret Hart were underwhelming.
7 WrestleMania 24
This should’ve been the end of an era. Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair delivered an epic retirement match to allow Flair to leave on top. As fans know, Flair couldn’t stay away, but this is still his last WWE match, and many choose to remember the greatest of all time going out.
On top of that amazing match, the Undertaker’s streak continued with an excellent World title match with Edge, and CM Punk won a fun Money in the Bank ladder match. It was a good Mania but could have been better.
6 WrestleMania 19
WrestleMania 19 started out poorly and looked like it wouldn’t make any best list. Matt Hardy and Rey Mysterio wrestled a fine opener, but the handicap match between the Undertaker against Big Show and A-Train really slowed down the show. But the show hit its stride with the one-on-one matchup between Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels.
This card is known for its strong finish. Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock wrapped up their trilogy with Rock finally beating Stone Cold at Mania. The Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle main event was good, but it should’ve been swapped with Rock vs.Stone Cold III.
5 WrestleMania 14
The WrestleMania that ushered in the Attitude Era delivered most of the night. Stone Cold Steve Austin ascended to the top of the mountain as he defeated Shawn Michaels. Shawn was injured, and it showed, but he and Austin still delivered a main event-worthy match before Michaels took his four-year hiatus.
The Undertaker and Kane storyline came to a head with a match that was far from a technical masterpiece but was the first truly memorable WrestleMania match for the Undertaker. Triple-H and Owen Hart delivered a solid European Championship match, and The Rock and Ken Shamrock shined in the IC title match.
4 WrestleMania 18
Not quite as good as the previous year, but WrestleMania 18 delivered the goods. The highlight of the night was the Icon vs. Icon match between The Rock and Hollywood Hogan. The Skydome fans, remembering Hulkamania and WrestleMania 6, gave Hogan an ovation he wasn’t expecting. Hogan and Rock changed directions on the fly and Rock wrestled heel for the first time in years as fans refused to boo Hogan. It was a great call and, arguably, Hogan’s best WrestleMania match.
This card also features a solid opener between William Regal and Rob Van Dam, a good match with an odd build between Edge and Booker T, and a good outing between the Undertaker and Ric Flair. The real problem with this Mania is everything after Rock and Hogan felt like a letdown.
3 WrestleMania 30
Two epic stories came to a head as the streak ended and Yes-tlemania took over. Daniel Bryan’s popularity forced WWE to pivot, and they told an excellent story as Bryan defeated Triple H in the opener and then beat Randy Orton and Batista in the triple threat main event to become WWE Champion.
Meanwhile, the impossible happened earlier when Brock Lesnar pinned the Undertaker. The streak many thought would never end did. While there’s debate if Lesnar should’ve won the match, it provided one of the most epic WrestleMania moments.
2 WrestleMania 21
This is an example of a WrestleMania that is hit or miss, but the hits are so great that the misses don’t hurt too much. It featured the emergence of the two biggest WWE stars of the next decade, John Cena and Batista, who each won their brand’s respective championship. While neither match (Cena vs. John Bradshaw Layfield and Batista vs.Triple H) stood out as a classic, they were well executed and elevated new stars.
WrestleMania 21 also started with a bang as the reigning tag team champions Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero opened with a classic. It’s a tossup whether the opener or the wrestling clinic between Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels was the best match of the night. Plus, The Undertaker and Randy Orton squared off in a good match where the Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak was addressed for the first time in the build-up.
1 WrestleMania 17
Considered by many wrestling fans to be the greatest WrestleMania of all time, 17 features the second WrestleMania main event in the trilogy of the Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin. The two dominant stars of the Attitude Era were both faces going into this show, but the storyline focused on Austin’s insatiable desire to regain the WWF Championship. Austin’s heel turn and siding with Vince McMahon is masterfully done, even if his heel run following the event left a lot to be desired.
On top of the main event, WrestleMania 17 featured some classic matches between Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit, Christ Jericho and William Regal, and the tag title TLC match between the Dudley Boys, the Hardy Boys, and Edge and Christian. It also featured a high-profile match between Vince and Shane McMahon with the stakes raised following the recent purchase of WCW and the potential for the Invasion storyline.
Fuente: successacademy.edu.vn
Categorías: Trend
