Top 10 WrestleManias of all time

WrestleMania 41 is just one week away. Most of the matches are set and fans are intrigued to see how the show plays out. It will be the third WrestleMania with Paul Levesque as head of creative, and if the first two were any indication, this could be an all-time great show.

However, WrestleMania has had 40 other shows. Some of them have been terrible and some have been amazing. So this week, I went back and found the ten best ones and ranked them in order. All wrestling fans love a top 10 list and WrestleMania, so I combined the two for your reading pleasure.

10. WrestleMania 23

WrestleMania 23 is one of the stranger WrestleManias in hindsight. Bobby Lashley faced Umaga in a match that ended with current United States President and WWE Hall of Famer Donald Trump shaving Vince McMahon’s head.

Yes, that did in fact happen at the show. However, outside of that match, the rest of the show still mostly holds up. Undertaker vs. Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship is one of the most underrated matches in the streak’s history.

John Cena vs Shawn Michaels was an excellent main event and shut up the “Cena can’t wrestle” crowd for a while. There was even a fun Money in the Bank match to open the show.

9. WrestleMania 24

This show will be most known for its main event, but what a main event it was. Edge vs the Undertaker for the World Heavyweight title was probably the highest stakes match of the year, and the closest the streak had come to ending at that point. The only other real highlights were a Money in the Bank match won by CM Punk and Floyd Mayweather vs. the Big Show, which might also be the best celebrity wrestling match ever.

8. WrestleMania 10

This was the first truly classic WrestleMania. Most of the early shows do not hold up when you try to watch them with modern expectations, but this one is the exception. Any show with two five-star matches on it, in the form of Bret vs. Owen Hart and Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match, has to be on the list.

7. WrestleMania 21

The WrestleMania that will mostly be remembered for its changing of the guard, where John Cena and Batista won the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships, respectively, to lead WWE for the next half-decade. While neither match is particularly memorable, the rest of the show is stacked with the first-ever Money in the Bank match, Randy Orton vs. the Undertaker in one of the streak’s first great matches, and an all-time great match between Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle.

6. WrestleMania 31

A WrestleMania that was one of the worst hyped shows of all time proved to be a banger. The opening Intercontinental Ladder Match was a fun car-crash style fight. Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins features an all-time epic RKO. And to cap it all off, to quote the great Michael Cole, “Rollins with the heist of the century!”

5. WrestleMania 19

Without a doubt, the most underrated WrestleMania of all time. The Hulk Hogan vs. Vince McMahon Street Fight was a bloody masterpiece. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho is an underrated gem. Stone Cold Steve Austin had his retirement match against his greatest rival, The Rock. The main event of Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar was a great match up until the slightly botched ending.

4. WrestleMania 30

The culmination of the Yes Movement in New Orleans made for one of the best endings in WrestleMania history. Daniel Bryan capturing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and overcoming the Authority made the most pent-up joy as everyone celebrated at the end of what would later be known as Yes-tleMania.

Elsewhere on the show, Brock Lesnar beat the Undertaker to end his WrestleMania winning streak at 21-1 in one of the most shocking moments in wrestling history. John Cena and Bray Wyatt also had an intense match that would be remembered more fondly if Wyatt won.

3. WrestleMania 40

Last year’s WrestleMania is already considered one of the best WrestleManias of all time, and for good reason. Both main events were great and Cody Rhodes finishing his story on night two will go down as one of the craziest moments in WrestleMania history. It’s also in the conversation for the greatest main events in WrestleMania history. So why is it so low? Because the match card does not match up to the next two. Jimmy vs. Jey Uso is one of the worst WrestleMania matches of all time and the Pride vs. the Final Testament was also bad. The other two shows had a better overall card.

2. WrestleMania 39

If you told me that this is your favorite WrestleMania, I get it. Both main events delivered and Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns on night two was made all the better knowing what we do about WrestleMania 40.

The triple threat match between Gunther, Sheamus and Drew McIntyre was a match-of-the-year contender. Seth Rollins vs Logan Paul was fun, especially with KSI being put through a table. The card is not perfect, especially with John Cena vs Austin Theory being disappointing, but it’s pretty close.

1. WrestleMania X-Seven

The best WrestleMania of all time, hands down. The finale of the hottest period in wrestling history and every match on the card was stellar. William Regal vs Chris Jericho, the hardcore triple threat, Angle vs. Benoit, TLC Two, Chyna vs. Ivory, Shane McMahon vs. Vince McMahon in a Street Fight, Undertaker vs. Triple H, and Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. the Rock. Rock vs. Steve Austin two marked the end of an era. It was the best WrestleMania, top to bottom, of all time.

Nate Johns is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jzn5275@psu.edu.