WrestleMania week is here, and while I might’ve fallen out of the loop on what’s going on in the WWE in recent years, I can’t help but get excited about their version of the Super Bowl. It’s a time-honored tradition in the spring time, and has become one of the greatest entertainment spectacles in the world. I have counted down my favorite WrestleMania matches and theme songs, but I realized that I’ve never put together a definitive list of my favorite WrestleMania events ever. So, here we are – LFG.
The worst? The full card for WrestleMania XXVII sucked ass and that main event was clunky and disappointing. I also hated WrestleMania 32 – it just felt like it lacked chemistry and flow. A lot of folks cite WrestleMania XI as the worst of all time, but it gets points for Diesel-HBK and a vastly underrated Razor Ramon-Jeff Jarrett match in my book. My answer? The shit show that was WrestleMania 2000 – it’s still a hard show to get through.
Honorable Mentions: I absolutely loved the covid WrestleMania (WrestleMania 36), but am willing to acknowledge that it might’ve just been nice to get some live entertainment that early on in the pandemic. I’m a huge fan of WrestleMania XIV, as that show really hammered home my wrestling fandom in 1998. I’d also mention the grandiose WrestleMania XXIV, if only for the “I’m sorry – I love you” moment and a fist fight fuckfest between JBL and Finlay.
My Top 10 WrestleMania Events of All Time
10. WrestleMania 37 Night 1 (2021) – You have to make the distinction between two shows on two nights, especially in 2021 because let me tell y’all….however we went from this to what we got on Night 2 boggles the mind. It’s like two completely different ends of the ‘Mania spectrum – one of the best on Night 1…one of the worst on Night 2. Nonetheless, to say I was taken aback by how much I enjoyed this show would be an understatement.
9. WrestleMania XX (2004) – One of the greatest triple threats of all time, the return of the “Dead Man” Undertaker, Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle, and a ton of fun stipulation matches throughout the night. It gets points docked for that Goldberg-Lesnar shit show, but the depth of this show deserves some love as one of the greatest of all time.
8. WrestleMania XXVI (2010) – Throughout the 2000s, WrestleMania was on a run of those “big five” ‘Manias that featured at least five matches that had big time storylines behind ’em. I thought this one had a highly underrated “big five” in The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels, John Cena vs. Batista, Edge vs. Chris Jericho, and Triple H vs. Sheamus. We know what that Vince McMahon-Bret Hart street fight was, but let’s give them at least some credit for making the build-up to it interesting.
7. WrestleMania 35 (2019) – This one felt like one of those “Super ‘Manias” that are entirely way too long – 16 matches. 16 MATCHES! After a brutal and physical contest between Triple H and Batista, I was telling folks at the watch party that it was going to be the greatest WrestleMania of all time. But, I was quickly proven to be an idiot – that was completely derailed as the show ran out of steam on match #14 (Baron Corbin vs. Kurt Angle), and that clunky finish in the main event. If it had been able to keep that energy going and finish strong, I might’ve been right.
6. WrestleMania X (1994) – WrestleManias have certainly gotten bigger and better over time, but even nearly 30 years later, WrestleMania X stands the test of time because of its star power, Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart, and the iconic ladder match between Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon.
5. WrestleMania 31 (2015) – This one may come as a surprise, but I found WrestleMania 31 to be one of the more fun, digestible shows they’ve ever put on. It was focused on what was happening in the ring, while still having that big show feel with the elaborate entrances and celebrity involvement. The Roman Reigns-Brock Lesnar main events was one of the all time great ‘Mania main events, and Seth Rollins cashing in the Money in the Bank briefcase made it all the more exciting. If not for that dud between Undertaker and Bray Wyatt that did its best to drain the life out of us, this one might’ve been the best ‘Mania of all time.
4. WrestleMania X-Seven (2001) – The way this card was loaded from start to finish is still impressive to this day. What a fantastic card – everyone remembers Stone Cold Steve Austin joining forces with Vince McMahon, but there was a fantastic series of matches that featured Undertaker vs. Triple H, Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit, a salacious street fight between father and son (Vince vs. Shane), and much more I’m sure I’m forgetting. This may be the most complete WrestleMania ever.
3. WrestleMania XXX (2014) – I felt like WrestleMania XXX really understood the assignment. It was about the YES Movement, and Daniel Bryan and Triple H put on one of the best pure wrestling matches in the show’s history to complement it, but the rest of the card was surprisingly good, even the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. And, the payoff at the end of the show was one of wrestling’s greatest feel-good moments ever.
2. WrestleMania XIX (2003) – I go back and forth between my top two every few years it seems like. WrestleMania XIX was such an energetic show from the Cruiserweight Championship opener to the classic WWE Championship match. It had the pageantry you look for in a WrestleMania with just the right amount of cringeworthy celebrity involvement. To this day, Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels is one of my favorite ‘Mania matches. The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin put on a banger that we didn’t even understand the significance of live. And, I’m all in on Satan Vince and Hulk Hogan getting in a bloodbath.
1. WrestleMania 22 (2006) – WrestleMania 22 felt like it was played straight up, just putting the card together and going out and executing on it. There wasn’t a big celebrity involvement. This was before they started having the big part-timers coming back to raise the profile of a show. It was just a good wrestling show that had a little bit of variety in all of the action. Two fun title matches between the big Rey Mysterio moment and Triple H doing everything in his power to get people to cheer John Cena and failing miserably at it. But, to me, it was the undercard that really gave this show some beef. A car-crash-esque Money in the Bank ladder match, Edge-Mick Foley, HBK-Vince McMahon, and yes, I’m in the minority that loved Mark Henry and Undertaker’s casket match. The most complete, pure WrestleMania I’ve ever seen.
WrestleMania 38 takes place over the course of two nights beginning this Saturday night and Sunday night.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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