LAS VEGAS -- The week has finally arrived. After a year of theatrics, twists, and one massive, industry-shifting turn, WrestleMania is finally upon us.
The 41st iteration of pro wrestling's pinnacle will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, this weekend on Saturday and Sunday from Allegiant Stadium. Sunday's close will be headlined by yearlong-reigning undisputed world champion Cody Rhodes trying to block history as challenger John Cena looks to break Ric Flair's heavyweight title record with his 17th crown coronation.
But we must look to the past before we look towards the future. And in this case, that means I rewatched all the past WrestleManias in the herculean (and mightly silly) task to rank every Showcase of the Immortals, from worst to best. I double-sped ran through some, possibly snoozed through some other low points, and might have lost (and rediscovered) my love of the WWE through it all, but I did it.
40 WrestleManias. One list. No ties.
Each was scored using the same criteria, leaning heavily on three main factors: memorability, quality, and, most importantly, watchability. A single match cannot tank a show but certainly can raise it above the mediocrity and blandness of some other shows. A great WrestleMania is not unlike your favorite music album—it flows, one match or segment rolling into the next, the crescendos placed at the right points that take you on a journey, one you're still thinking about hours after the last note plays.
Without further ado, here is the list of the peaks, valleys, and everything in between of the beautiful overindulgence of bombastic grandeur that is WrestleMania.
---
40. WrestleMania 2
After the smashing success of the inaugural Mania, WWE (then WWF) decided the best course of action was to split the spectacle into three smaller shows (Chicago area, Long Island, Los Angeles) across the country. The result wasn't only a technical nightmare but also the trio of shows being disasters in their own right. The matches and moments felt less like a culmination and more like a more expensive house show.
Oh, and this is the only WrestleMania that didn't occur on the weekend; it took place on a Monday. How couldn't this be last? A Monday? Dead last for you, WrestleMania 2.
38. WrestleMania IV
We go from the only WrestleMania to occur on a weekday to the only Mania without an announced main event at the show's opening. The show's fourth edition had a massive one-night tournament to crown a new heavyweight champion. While this seems intriguing in concept, the actual execution and need to fit so many matches into a specific timeframe were nigh impossible.
The result? A slew of quick, sloppy matches and baffling outcomes that left viewers' heads spinning. The only positive here to keep it from the lowest spot is it wasn't such a haphazard production compared to the three-city experiment, and the "Macho Man" Randy Savage ended the slog of a night as the ultimate winner and world champion.
38. WrestleMania IX
The last WrestleMania in Las Vegas before this weekend's pair of shows is also one of the worst. Many would rank this show dead last because of its ending, which is my least favorite in WrestleMania history.
Hulk Hogan came off a nothing-tag match to interject himself into the heavyweight title feud between Yokozuna and Bret Hart, two supposed faces of a new era the WWE was supposedly ushering in. Hart lost in dirty fashion, then halfheartedly waved the conquering hero Hogan to once again save the day by beating the giant and lifting the heavyweight title like a tired return of a one-note television show.
Still, some nostalgia intertwined with the show is more manageable to rewatch than the two below. The toga theme, the over-the-top campiness, and the mythical set began a tradition upheld today as fans theorize what the 41 set will look like with the casino theme.
37. WrestleMania XI
Diesel (Kevin Nash) and Shawn Michaels had an above-average world title match, setting up the Heartbreak Kid's triumph in the forthcoming year. It was a solid main event during an otherwise lame-duck show as the WWE continued to try its identity post-Hogan.
Wait, that wasn't the main event? New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor beating Bam Bam Bigelow closed the show? Alright, then.
36. WrestleMania XXVII
Speaking of WWE trying to find itself, WrestleMania XXVII from Atlanta had much of that. It was a show that felt like a prologue to a one-year build to 28's "Once in a Lifetime" (ha) showdown between The Rock and John Cena.
Aside from Rock interfering in the main event where The Miz went over Cena in a confusing mess of a match, the highlight that persists from this show is The Jersey Shore's Snooki performing a double handspring in a throwaway filler match. Triple H and Undertaker had a good bout, but Michael Cole vs. Jerry Lawler cancels that out and some.
35. WrestleMania 36
34. WrestleMania I
These are the two hardest Manias to rank in this entire list, and they are not even close.
For 36, it's the PandemicMania. Although I absolutely adore the pair of cinematic matches (AJ Styles vs. The Undertaker, The Fiend vs. John Cena) on both shows, and am thankful for the wrestlers, producers, and everyone who put on these shows at a time when fans needed some joy in their lives, I can't deny the simple truth—these shows almost hurt to get through.
Pro wrestling needs fans like a person needs water, and even with some good technical matches and the entire crew busting their asses to make the first two-night WrestleMania feel like a spectacle, it was an exhausting experience. I almost left off 36 due to the special circumstances surrounding it.
Still, I promised to rank every WrestleMania, and this, even without all the usual bells and whistles, is a WrestleMania.
The original WrestleMania holds a special place because it is the starting point and a massive success, but it didn't hold up as well on rewatch. I'm happy it exists, but aside from a few highlights, I would not return to put it on unless someone forced me to redo this ranking for WrestleMania 100 if I'm still alive in a retirement home somewhere, rambling about needing VHS tapes to do my work.
33. WrestleMania VII
It was a WrestleMania that sold so poorly that they had to move from the Los Angeles Coliseum into the much smaller Memorial Sports Arena—the main event feud of Hulk Hogan and turncoat Sgt. Slaughter failing to garner interest. After marquee Mania feuds with a literal living giant in André, larger-than-life Randy Savage, and supposed heir to the throne Ultimate Warrior, the mixing of real-world political issues with the heel turn of Slaughter didn't work.
Funnily enough, Warrior and Savage stole the show that night in the middle of the card, while Hogan's patriotic victory over Slaughter was less a 4th of July firework and more a counterfeit firecracker.
32. WrestleMania 32
A WrestleMania plagued with injuries and storylines adjusted on the fly.
The night's highlights were the opening ladder match for the Intercontinental championship, where Zack Ryder pulled off the major upset, and Charlotte became the first WWE women's champion.
Overall, the show felt disjointed in large parts and never flowed like you'd want from an event of this magnitude. As for a lot of these lower-ranking Manias, this was during a period when WWE was trying to establish its next face of the company following John Cena, and Roman Reigns vanquishing Triple H in the main event didn't resonate with the fans like they would have hoped for their next franchise player.
Also, yes, please, have a small laugh at WrestleMania 32, which placed No. 32 in the rankings. I can promise you this is the only time it happens throughout the list.
31. WrestleMania V
As with many early Manias, there are a lot of matches on the card but not a lot of substance outside a few gems and a good main event. Thankfully, as we'll see soon, a single marquee match can help a show punch above its weight, and the title match between Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan has withstood the test of time to be an enjoyable watch still almost four decades later.
30. WrestleMania VI
Take everything I said about WrestleMania V and copy/paste that for WrestleMania VI, which was a lot of flash and little substance outside of a few decent undercard matches and a well-built main event.
The Ultimate Warrior was going to be the wrestler who took Hogan's torch and ran with it, and to WWE's credit, they did it. Unlike Reigns at WrestleMania 32, the fans bought fully into Warrior and exploded when he beat Hogan in the main event to become the world champion. Though not an in-ring technical classic, the fans hung onto every flinch of either man's body and were living and dying by every maneuver.
But as it goes in pro wrestling, a single moment or match doesn't define a career. Reigns has become one of the most successful stars in the company's history, breaking the record for most main events in WrestleMania history. On the other hand, Warrior burned bright and burned out even faster, Mania VI being the apex of his career.
29. WrestleMania XV
Following the departures of Hogan, Hart, Warrior, and other attempts to find the organization's future flagbearers, they finally found them in the form of The Rock and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
We've fully entered the Attitude Era, and while it does mean a boost in finances and engagement, that doesn't mean the show's quality was where it would be in only a few years. WrestleMania XV was the Attitude Era in its puberty stage—a whole lot of promise but incredibly messy and too nonsensical for its own good.
Make no mistake, this was a sloppy WrestleMania. Fun, sure. Rewatching this show felt like eating copious amounts of junk food and beer before passing out, not thinking about the consequences in the morning. Rock and Austin's main event was great and the perfect opening chapter to the trilogy that would define these shows—the rest, however, was lots of junk food and empty calories.
28. WrestleMania 29
We didn't need Twice in a Lifetime with John Cena and The Rock.
I understand the business side. There was so much more behind the duology of matches that it could fill an entire book. Yet, looking back, the two Manias acting as the bread for the most-bought PPV in WWE history feel a bit stale compared to their first meeting.
If it weren't for CM Punk vs. The Undertaker, this show would be a few spots down in this ranking. It's an incredible match, even if there's a better alternate universe out there where the show's main event is Rock, Cena, and Punk in a triple threat for the world championship that would have helped the show's overall place in history.
27. WrestleMania VIII
If Randy Savage facing Ric Flair was the main event instead of the slop that was Hogan and Sid Justice, which ended in a mind-numbing disqualification, I might have this show up a few more spots.
Alas, Hogan found his way to the main event again, and one of the better world title matches in Mania history is in the middle of the show. Shout out to Bret Hart and Roddy Piper, who also put on an impressive match on an otherwise decent show with a flop of a curtain closer.
26. WrestleMania 34
Similar to 8, the 34th edition of the show was marred by a terrible, flat finish, which was intermixed with some good wrestling early and in the middle of the show.
Miz, Finn Balor, and Seth Rollins had one of the better modern openings for a Mania to kick off the show. Around the halfway point, Ronda Rousey impressed in her pro wrestling debut in an intergender tag match that was way better than anyone possibly thought it could go. But, like with Hogan and Sid, Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar disappointed, and the show ended with sighs of frustration and exhaustion instead of wonderment about what could happen next in the company.
25. WrestleMania XII
Your ranking of WrestleMania XII almost exclusively comes down to what you think about the Ironman match between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels for the heavyweight championship. To this day, it still holds the record for the longest match in Mania history. The duel between the two archrivals is over an hour long, culminating in HBK's rise to the top of the mountain.
If you love it, you have this show higher. It could rank amongst your worst Mania viewing experiences if you hate it. For myself, though, the ending and Michaels fulfilling his boyhood dream are strong enough and memorable enough to make it all worth it. While I don't have HBK vs. Hart in my pantheon of Mania matches or probably even in my top 30 all-time, I can respect its importance in history and, thus, the entirety of Mania XII.
24. WrestleMania 25
You can solely thank The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels for having one of the greatest matches in pro wrestling history and carrying this otherwise lukewarm-at-best Mania this high in the rankings.
23. WrestleMania 13
You can solely thank Bret Hart and Steve Austin for having one of the greatest matches in pro wrestling history and carrying this otherwise lukewarm-at-best Mania this high in the rankings.
22. WrestleMania 33
Regarding WrestleMania, 33 in Orlando might be the most bang-on-average show in its illustrious history.
It's not to say I didn't enjoy seeing the Hardy Boyz return to the company after almost a decade away or Goldberg and Brock Lesnar having maybe the most fun sub-five-minute match ever. However, it's one of the least memorable Manias in my rewatch.
It isn't so bad that it sticks in your brain like a tapeworm and angers you, and it's not good enough where one match or the entire show brings you back. Even the main event between The Undertaker and Roman Reigns, though not great, had a chance to be vital due to it possibly being the Undertaker's final match.
The Undertaker wasn't happy with how he looked in the match, returned, and now makes the 33 climax not feel anything but a weird headliner. If Reigns had taken the heat from the win to catapult himself into the company's biggest bad, it might be looked at differently, but it's not until four years later that we finally see the Tribal Chief emerge.
The roller coaster, amusement park-themed set was terrific, though. I'll give it major points for that.
21. WrestleMania 2000
Like many of these rankings, there are definite similarities between 33 and 2000 (Mania 16).
There were many decent but not outstanding matches. The main event, which feels a bit weird looking back as the only four-way headline bout in Mania history, was more about the McMahon family than the wrestlers involved. There were a lot of multi-man and slapstick matches throughout.
But what puts 2000 over 33 also has to do with one of the reasons why the future Mania ranked so high: The Hardys. They also had a ladder tag match in 2000, as they would have almost two decades later, but their war against Edge & Christian and The Dudley Boyz wasn't just a fun slice of nostalgia. It was a match that would prompt kids nationwide to jump off their beds and try to fly like Jeff Hardy, somersaulting on pillows with abandon.
20. WrestleMania 35
The show was so long that it was the catalyst in WrestleMania, going from one night to a weekend extravaganza. It was a tiring, sometimes anger-inducing (why did Baron Corbin retire Kurt Angle?) show that had equal highs along the way.
Kofi Kingston beating Daniel Bryan is a moment so good that it alone propelled it up the rankings. And while the crowd was cold, spent, and raw in the vocal cords after such a long show, the triple threat women's world title match between Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Ronda Rousey was history-making and a positive turning point for a show that only a little over a decade prior was having its women compete in glorified striptease fights.
In a more streamlined show, or if it had been two nights, this show could be much higher in the rankings. Unfortunately, I can't rank in what-ifs, and it goes in the middle of the pack due to its pros outweighing its cons.
19. WrestleMania 26
The triple threat between Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, and Ted Dibiase Jr. is one of those matches aided on a rewatch, seeing how two-thirds of the match has grown over the past 15 years. Orton established himself as an all-time great and mentor. Rhodes rose from the bottom to become the company's next face of the franchise. In this story, Dibiase Jr. is the cautionary tale that never reaches the heights of the other two, even with the pedigree and natural talent.
Overall, 26 is a good show that could have reached a higher status with one more great moment or match.
The main event, Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker in a Career vs. Streak match, is one of the best show-closings we've seen at Mania. Although not as good technically as their first match a year prior, the extra stakes and emotion make it a worthy successor that makes it feel like a rivalry's natural continuation (and end) instead of a lackluster retread.
18. WrestleMania X8
This show was loud. Everything about it was the equivalent of someone screaming. It was a grown-up version of WrestleMania 15, which was the beginning of the Attitude Era, and this, 18, was nearing the end of it.
Match quality-wise, there's not a lot to write home about. But if we're talking about star power, very few, if any, Mania can stack up to this one. With the close of WCW, 18 almost feels like a victory lap for the WWE, giving us dream matches like Scott Hall against Steve Austin, Diamond Dallas Page squaring off with Christian, or Booker T facing Edge.
There's also that little match between The Rock and Hulk Hogan, which felt like the next evolution of the Ultimate Warrior and Hogan from a decade prior in the same city of Toronto, Canada.
Every taunt. Every flex of the shoulder. Every finger wag. Every movement of the body between the two was euphoria, a tidal wave of sound that filled the squared circle below them. It was what everything WrestleMania is about—an unapologetic spectacle.
17. WrestleMania 23
Although much of its legacy is tied to the "Battle of the Billionaires" between Vince McMahon and Donald Trump, with Umaga and Bobby Lashley acting as tributes, this WrestleMania is an overall solid show.
In an era of split brands and two heavyweight titles, the marquee matches between aging legends and the new generation, Undertaker vs. Batista and John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels, delivered in full. The Detroit Motor City theme around the show was a treat, and the Money in the Bank ladder match continued to be an undercard cheat code as Mr. Kennedy took home the briefcase.
The Great Khali vs. Kane might have been the longest five minutes of my life, but I'll digress and stick to the positives.
16. WrestleMania XIV
Welcome to the kickoff of the Attitude Era, presented by Degeneration X, Mike Tyson, and the coronation of Stone Cold.
Although it did not have a single match that blew the roof off the Garden in Boston, it was a string of enjoyable, in-your-face dramas that would become a staple of the next few years in the WWE.
The Dumpster Rules match for the tag titles, the blowoff between Undertaker and the recently debuted Kane, and the main event with Michaels and Austin to end the show was one of the first times in Mania at that point where the closing matches seemed to coalesce together.
WWE needed this show to be good to usher in their new generation, and unlike Mania IX, which combusted in the final seconds, they nailed this attempt.
15. WrestleMania 38
A pair of shows that had you smiling throughout. Whereas some other shows above (and even below it) had better in-ring main events or stronger undercard technical classics, WrestleMania 38 was a breeze to get through both nights of the rewatch.
Sami Zayn vs. Johnny Knoxville is the funniest match in Mania lore; Cody Rhodes returning to Seth Rollins set the path forward for the following WWE timeline; Bianca Belair and Becky Lynch had a fantastic title bout. Then you have the Stone Cold of it all, the legend coming out of retirement to have a brawl of a lifetime with Kevin Owens to close out Saturday's show.
The shows weren't perfect—Vince's awkward sprawling about in the ring with Pat McAfee better off forgotten—but almost no show is, especially a two-night Mania.
14. WrestleMania III
The only old-school WrestleMania to get anywhere near the top of the ranking, Mania III is the gold standard that WWE failed to recapture again until the event reached double digits.
Hogan vs. André the Giant speaks for itself. Regardless if it was the best technical masterpiece, it was a bout that captured the imaginations of everyone in the stadium that night in Detroit. The slam was heard around the world, as the risk of turning the lovable Goliath villain turned out to be the best decision the company had ever made. Finally, after the disaster that was WrestleMania II and the snooze of King Kong Bundy as the antagonist, Hogan had an obstacle people believed could stop him.
In the undercard, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and Randy Savage had one of my favorite matches in the show's chronicles. It was a flawless match where every step, stomp, punch, and kick connected into the next, delivering a blueprint for wrestlers to learn from to this day—a masterclass in storytelling within the four ringposts.
13. WrestleMania 37
Both nights of this show could have been awful, but this show would still have a soft place in my heart. It was the first Mania following the Thunderdome Era, in which there were no fans and only close-up faces of people on Zoom to cheer or antagonize the wrestlers with the equivalent of audience white noise filling the arena.
There were actual fans! Sure, it rained a bit in Tampa Bay, which delayed the show for a little while, and the stadium wasn't full due to the need for social distancing, but there were real people! Real cheers! Real boos! We're back!
And to put the cherry on top, these two shows were actually fantastic. Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks tore the house down in one of my favorite Mania main events of all time on Saturday. On Sunday, Roman Reigns stacked Daniel Bryan and Edge on top of one another, the Tribal Chief character finally taking Reigns to the heights the company always imagined.
12. WrestleMania 28
The WWE needed The Rock vs. John Cena to work. They almost punted Mania 27 as a whole in a quest to make this the biggest, most talked about, and financially successful pro wrestling show ever. The night after a lackluster 27, Rock and Cena agreed to be in the main event of the next Showcase of the Immortals, a decision that might have hamstrung the company for years if it failed.
Luckily for them, it was a great show. It brought in the most PPV buys ever for a pro wrestling show, and the main itself was a drama-filled classic, with Rock taking the victory. And that wasn't even the best match of the night, as The Undertaker kept his Mania winning streak alive in an instant classic with Triple H inside Hell in a Cell with Shawn Michaels acting as special guest referee.
The Mania before it and the one after (seriously, a triple threat with Punk, Cena, and Rock would have made so much sense) was hurt for the sake of this show, but I'm sure no one from the WWE brass would do anything differently. WrestleMania 28 was the spectacle of all spectacles, and it made good on its promise of a dream match that once seemed impossible.
11. WrestleMania X
Justice for Bret!
A year after the disaster, Hogan, beating Yokozuna for the world title as their supposed future face of the company, stood outside the ring like a wounded puppy, and WWE made good.
Not only did he beat Yokozuna in a redo of the previous Mania main event to become world champion, but he had the best opening match of any show ever, Mania included, with his brother Owen Hart, to kick off the night. 20 minutes of pure wrestling bliss to start WrestleMania X and a cathartic title win to close it.
Also, the first-ever ladder match saw Shawn Michael and Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) put on a classic that has been the foundation for every ladder match since.
10. WrestleMania 22
The first step forward in the Ruthless Aggression era, John Cena was baptized by fire.
He was perhaps the most beloved person on planet Earth a year prior. He was young, cool, funny, and anointed in Los Angeles as one of, if not the guy, who would carry the company into the next decade.
In Chicago, though, he was a man under the gun. The crowds started to turn, and it was sink or swim in a match against veteran Triple H. And Cena swam through the current of boos and made it out in the end, beginning what would be his love-hate relationship with the fans that would ultimately see him become the big bad heading into WrestleMania 41.
This night also saw Edge send Mick Foley through a flaming table, Rey Mysterio win the heavyweight title in a sprint of a match, and Shawn Michaels take what he learned from WrestleMania X to pulverize Vince McMahon.
9. WrestleMania XX
WrestleMania XX was a lot. They went big for a tentpole event of an already tentpole event, and for the most part, almost everything worked.
It was a show filled to the brim with stars of tomorrow, yesterday, and the present of the time. John Cena and Batista made their full Mania debuts. Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero had a classic of a bout between two of the best to do it wrote an in-ring love letter. Christian and Chris Jericho had one of my favorite undercard matches, with Trish Stratus and its soap opera nature adding to a great standalone match.
The main event between Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Chris Benoit, tarnished by the latter's transgressions, is, within a vacuum, still one of the best triple threats in pro wrestling.
It's a show with many big swings, and for the most part, they delivered.
8. WrestleMania XXX
The Daniel Bryan Mania.
Without the Daniel Bryan story to open and close this show, WrestleMania XXX would be firmly near the bottom of the rankings. You could even replace the open and close with decent, standard Mania matches, and this Mania is struggling to stay above water.
But we live in a world where Bryan and Triple H had possibly my second-favorite opener sans the Hart brothers to begin a Mania and then having that story lead beautifully into a heart-stopping main event with the underdog overcoming HHH's proteges of Orton and Batista.
It was perfection. The indie darling who was too bland, small, and weird to be anything more than a good hand in the WWE who, aided by the fans, reached the summit. He did it by beating a legend who personified everything different from who he was, then, after winning and getting beat up by the bad guys, trudged on to beat two wrestlers, Orton and Batista, created in the mold of what it means to be a WWE main eventer.
He overcame the most incredible odds and soared, a stadium of believers christening him their champion.
Oh yeah, Brock Lesnar also ended Undertaker's streak. That happened, too.
7. WrestleMania 31
The successor to XXX, these two Manias are forever discussed and linked together.
While writing this, I switched back and forth between the two rankings, ultimately placing 31 slightly above it.
When it comes to pure highs, 31 can't touch its predecessor. Even compared to Seth Rollins and his heist of the century, Daniel Bryan's story is at a higher peak.
But as a show as a whole, counting everything between the first rift and the crescendo, I have 31 edging it out. The show flowed better than XXX when it came down to it. Not to say everything about 31 was perfect, but the show went beat to beat better than XXX, which didn't feel as cohesive.
Rollins's surprise at the main event was the perfect follow-up to Bryan's storybook ending. One show was about overcoming the odds, and the next was about turning those odds in your favor.
6. WrestleMania 24
"I'm sorry, I love you."
These are the five words Shawn Michaels told Ric Flair as he kicked his head off into retirement-that-really-wasn't-retirement-but-go-with-it retirement. It is a match and story in a vacuum that beautifully tells the story of a wrestling legend on their last legs, not knowing when to hang them up and needing to forcefully be put down for their own well-being.
Beyond that, this show offers a little of everything for everyone. The Money in the Bank sees CM Punk win a barnburner. Floyd Mayweather surprisingly has one of the best celebrity matches ever with The Big Show, and Edge and Undertaker have an underrated classic to end the show.
WrestleMania 24 isn't often mentioned among the best, but it should be. It's a show worth rewatching for both older and newer fans.
5. WrestleMania 21
My favorite wrestling match, ever.
Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle. Raw's super wrestler against Smackdown's. The most outstanding performer of the 90s and the greatest of the 00s. Two wrestlers who not only could wrestle for an hour straight and produce magic, but they also could roll into a ring and make you laugh with their humor.
Back in 2005, the brand split was strict. It felt special if a Smackdown and Raw guy crossed paths, especially two mainstays like Michaels and Angle, who personified their brands. When they set up their match for WrestleMania 21, excited tension was around the match, which magnified as the match grew closer, not knowing which side would prevail.
Then the match happened, and it lived up to the hype. Two legends crossing paths at the perfect time, putting it all on the line to see who is the best in the squared circle. After a marathon of just under 30 minutes, Angle prevailed, collapsing in conquest.
While the rest of the show was not as great as that, it was still strong enough to make it into my top five. Batista and Cena were crowned for the first time, propelling them into superstardom and the torchbearers for the Ruthless Aggression era. A young, brash Randy Orton pushed Undertaker in one of the first instances where it felt like the streak might end. Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio Jr. opened the show in a fun match that left you wanting more. We also saw the creation of the Money in the Bank ladder match, in which Edge won, setting himself up as a future main event star for decades to come.
It was an amazing show anchored by a match that I come back to time and time again.
4. WrestleMania 40
The most recent addition to the Mania lexicon comes in fourth place.
This placement is far too high for some people, with "recency bias" screamed to the rooftops. For others, I'm underrating it as coming off the build and execution of what many are dubbing the start of the "Renaissance Era," it was better than anything Vince McMahon had overseen during his run as head creative.
Cody Rhodes finished his story by bringing down Roman's 1,000-day-plus reign, and alongside Bryan at XXX, is my favorite ending to a Mania. It was everything pro wrestling and Mania should be—an excess pomp and circumstance fused with over-the-top action. Years and decades of stories cascaded upon one another to build into a zenith, ending the longest world title reign of the modern era as Rhodes had his crowning moment like Hogan, Hart, Austin, Cena, Bryan and even Reigns before on the grandest stage of them all.
As someone who was there live, walking out of the stadium was like walking on a cloud. Everyone, including the fans in Bloodline shirts, speaking about an experience they'll talk about for a lifetime.
The show, in its entirety, was a true pageantry of what makes WrestleMania great: big moments, flashy scenes, and unforgettable memories. Starpower is emitted from every corner of the screen at every moment, personified by the Saturday main event in the tag match between Bloodline's Rock and Reigns, which takes on the valiant faces of Seth Rollins and Rhodes.
In their women's title match, Bayley and Io Sky put on a clinic. The tag teams threw their bodies across Lincoln Financial Field for the titles in a ladder match. Gunther proved why he is one of the finest in-ring technicians to grace the Mania stage, turning a cold, hastily-crafted feud with Sami Zayn into one of the best matches of the weekend, with Zayn also showing why he's one of the best storytellers of his (or any) generation.
Splitting hairs, a cold crowd (literally, it was freezing) on the opening night took away some points, but overall, it was a show that I won't argue if you want to say was the best in WWE history.
3. WrestleMania 19
First off, Seattle deserves another WrestleMania.
Secondly, this WrestleMania was all the great things that made the Attitude Era great, infused with the in-ring quality that was getting stronger year by year with the addition of wrestlers like Eddie Guererro, Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, etc.
This entire show felt fresh. From Rey Mysterio Jr. in the opening match to the main event being a battle between two former amateur wrestling gods, Angle and Lesnar, times were changing in the WWE, and it looked like they were in great hands.
The Rock and Austin had the final of their trilogy, in a proper sendoff of the Attitude Era, handing off the headliner spots to wrestlers they believed would carry on the torch. Rock finally won over Austin after two failed attempts, along with Hulk Hogan going over McMahon after all their history together in a better street fight than it should have ever been.
Jericho and Michaels put on a showstopper. Team Angle, consisting of Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas, appeared to be on the verge of becoming the next legendary tag team. Trish Stratus and the women were garnering more respect and showing that they deserved far more than the shlock given them for a decade.
The crowning of Brock Lesnar didn't go as well as others, with the hulking superhuman leaving the company a little over a year later, but that shouldn't take away from an incredible show from top to bottom.
Seriously, give Seattle another WrestleMania.
2. WrestleMania 39
If we're talking about in-ring performance, I would have this as my No. 1 in the ranking.
The Usos of Jey and Jimmy against Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens in the main event of night one. Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley in the semi-main event for the women's title the same night. Gunther, Sheamus, and Drew McIntyre deciding to beat the living hell out of each other for 16 minutes straight as the SoFi Stadium crowd in Los Angeles is going wild for every second of it.
Those three matches all would hang around my top 10 in the history of WrestleMania. I love all three matches, and that's not including Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns, which has aged like a fine wine, or Asuka vs. Bianca Belair, which doesn't get the praise it deserves.
Rey Mysterio and his son Dominik put on a theatrical show. Logan Paul met Seth Rollins's challenge and went way above expectations. The men's four-way tag showcase match was the definition of a match where every single person looked like a future megastar and prepped the crowd for all the madness that was about to come.
I could wax poetic about Mania 39 all day, though it isn't perfect, as with every show. Saturday was the best single-night show I've seen out of WWE, but Sunday sputtered in a few spots. Unfortunately, the Hell in the Cell between Finn Balor and Edge never got out of first gear following an early injury to Balor that needed attention. Shane McMahon had an impromptu match, which lasted a few seconds until his quad blew out. John Cena and Brock Lesnar's matches were both okay but felt underutilized.
When I set out to do this ranking, I said that how a show flows is significant in determining its ranking. WrestleMania 39 is a show masterpiece with a trio of matches I'd put up against almost anything from any company or show. Still, there's only one show in WWE's history where everything clicked.
The unbeatable. The undeniable. The undisputed pinnacle of WrestleMania.
1. WrestleMania X-Seven
I wanted to be different.
I wanted to be a contrarian.
I wanted to review all these shows and put something else at the No. 1 spot to spark discussion. Get people mad at me. Anger a few folks. Bring up how this is all subjective and to not get hostile over a single person's opinion.
But I couldn't. WrestleMania X-Seven, 17, XVII, however you want to type it up, is the greatest WrestleMania there has ever been.
That's not to say there aren't some clunkers on the card, like Chyna squashing poor Ivory in two minutes, but everything makes sense on this show.
Pro wrestling is a form of entertainment that isn't for just one type of fan. Some people like the drama of it all. Some go through each match with a fine-tooth comb, calculating personal scores for each contest like an Olympic figure skating competition. Some want to let out their pent-up aggression in a fantasy setting, yelling at the top of their lungs for people to jump off high things and hurt each other. Some are enamored by the flamboyance, outfits, and theatrics, from the wrestlers entering the ring to the concert-level sets and performances.
No type of fan is better than the other. For each of those types of fans, WrestleMania X-7 delivers in some way, bouncing between the absurd to the technical to the hardcore like a perfectly crafted dish, each ingredient maximizing the taste of the one next to it.
On the same show, you have a bunch of legends who have a nostalgia-filled comedy battle royale and technicians' chain wrestling.
Steve Austin is turning his back on the fans by siding with his archrival Vince McMahon an hour later. The Dudley Boyz, Hardy Boyz, Edge, and Christian are flinging their bodies around like crash test dummies in the second Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match. Raven drove a golf cart backstage in a slapstick hardcore fight with Big Show and Kane. Shane McMahon flew through the air in most soap opera matches with his dad.
Everything made sense. Every segment, match, and moment all sung together, weaving through the almost four-hour show to create a timepiece for pro wrestling that, even after some worthy contenders, still stands alone.
Good luck, WrestleMania 41. It's your shot now at the throne.
