So, we are in the thick of WrestleMania season, and it has consumed my life these last couple weeks and will continue to for the next week as we really wind up the excitement of Mania week itself. I’m a wrestling fan through and through and I keep up with the product in WWE all year, I mean I review and discuss all the PLEs on this blog for goodness sake, but there’s always something special about WrestleMania season in the world of the WWE and it gives you a different kind of excitement as a fan this time of year. Regardless of the build even for myself it just feels like there’s something special in the air. Thank goodness for that this year considering the build has been a bit…lackluster to keep things nice. Now, before I get into this list, I know how you wrestling fans can get so I just want to preface this by saying by no means is this list definitive and I’m not trying to act like it is. This is entirely just my opinion as a fan based on my personal fandoms and preferences. I am not the overall word of professional wrestling, and neither is Dave Meltzer, and neither is anyone else. I’m sure I’ll have some matches on my list that probably aren’t near the top of your favorites and I’m sure I’d feel the same about some of your favorites as well but that’s what makes pro wrestling so fun! It’s so versatile in terms of characters and styles that there’s something for everyone’s preferences. I usually make these Top 10 lists but that’s too hard to do with this list so we stretched it a little bit. Enough yammering, without further ado. Let’s get into it!
#20: HHH & Stephanie McMahon vs Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey: Mixed Tag Team Match (WrestleMania 34)
This match was just a lot of fun and saved an otherwise bit lackluster or letdown of a Mania all around for the most part. Ronda Rousey shined big in her first Mania and overall WWE match and was put over in a big way, Stephanie McMahon got to work in a WrestleMania match and actually put on a very good and believable performance plus her and HHH got to work as a tag team together at a WrestleMania which was just pretty cool to see. Kurt Angle looked and played the part to perfection even as a bit of an older and more limited competitor by this time. I’m a big fan of HHH & Angle anyways and I’ve always supported Ronda even through her ups and downs within the WWE, so this was just a real hyped-up match for me coming into it anyways. This was the first Mania having Kurt back around in what felt like an eternity and having Ronda enter the WWE was a big deal whether people like to admit that or not. They knew their limitations in this match and showcased all their strengths wonderfully.
#19: Rey Mysterio vs Eddie Guerrero (WrestleMania 21)
As I have said with Cena before, I am a big fan of Rey Mysterio as well and this was a major proving point for him within WWE also and to this day still his best true one-on-one wrestling match at WrestleMania as far as I’m concerned. Rey and Eddie always had such great chemistry together as opponents, honestly as teammates as well, but there’s multiple matches they had one-on-one that really hit it out of the ballpark, and this was another one of them. This honestly isn’t even my overall favorite match between these 2, and Rey even talks about struggling throughout this particular one because his mask kept coming undone and moving around on him, but they still delivered one of the best opening matches at WrestleMania of all time. That just speaks to the chemistry, ability, and overall faith and trust between the 2 men inside the ropes honestly. This was one of those “friendly contest” matches between 2 buddies that ended up being the beginning of the turning point for Eddie when he couldn’t get over never beating Rey in a one-on-one. Excellent storytelling and wrestling overall.
#18: John Cena vs HHH: WWE Championship match (WrestleMania 22)
This was John Cena’s first big WrestleMania as the main eventer ever and as a major Cena fan and supporter all throughout growing up there’s just a lot of emotion and feels tied up into it for that element alone. It’s also one of his better Mania matches though as far as I’m concerned. Obviously. Cena was the younger upstart champion with the rocket strapped to his back at this point in time and HHH was the role of the seasoned veteran who was coming fresh off his ‘Reign of Terror’ days with the World Heavyweight championship on Raw and he had been down these roads before plenty. It was a big proving point for Cena, and they delivered a fun and enticing back and forth in the main event of Mania in front of a very fun, loud, and ruckus Chicago crowd. The entrances by both Cena and HHH heading into this match are 2 of my favorite Mania entrances ever to this very day as well so that’s a big plus point also as far as I’m concerned.
#17: Iyo Sky vs Rhea Ripley vs Bianca Belair: Triple Threat for the Women’s World Championship (WrestleMania 41)
Say what you will about Mania 41, like this year some of the builds heading into the show and then even the matches themselves felt a little bit clunky or lackluster compared to the usual Mania hype I guess, but they absolutely hit a couple of home runs with the Triple Threat matches over the weekend. You’ll be hard pressed to find a triple threat match out there that’s more intense, action packed, and nonstop than this one. These girls had just under 15 minutes to work with and found a way to put on an incredible and enticing back and forth that put all 3 of them over and made everyone look strong, while keeping the crowd in attendance and the viewers watching at home absolutely glued to the edge of their seats. I’m also a big Iyo fan and was really hoping she’d win this match because it would solidify her in the upper crust of the women’s division, but I honestly didn’t expect her to win being in there with Rhea & Bianca, but she did! That’s an added extra little bonus to a great match. The negative is Bianca got hurt in this match and still hasn’t been around since. Miss seeing her.
#16: Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon: Ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship (WrestleMania X)
This is truly one of those timeless, era defining kind of matches and for good reason. Some strictly modern wrestling fans could look at this match and think it’s “boring” or whatever, but I think what’s lost here is the fact that they redefined and popularized the ladder match in WWE through this one matchup. You enjoy the usage of the ladder on your WWE programming? You can thank Shawn and Razor for that. They put on a hard-hitting matchup and ONLY used the ladder as their sole weapon of the contest, truly making it feel like a LADDER match and one of its very own at that. Shawn and Scott both had problems with drugs, attitude, and ego throughout the 90s but they also had great chemistry with one another and damn sure knew how to put on an entertaining back and forth. For as in the deep end as they both were at this point in time, you’d still have a hard time finding 2 workers in the WWF that could consistently put on banger after banger in the early-mid 90s like they could. They went on to have another great Ladder match a little over a year later at SummerSlam, but this was the defining one that helped to cement not only their legacies but the legacy of the Ladder match in WWE.
#15: Seth Rollins vs Roman Reigns vs CM Punk: Triple Threat match (WrestleMania 41)
As I sort of alluded to earlier when talking about the women’s match from this Mania, the Triple Threats from Mania 41 were a couple of home runs but in much different ways. Where the women’s match was fast paced and nonstop action in the ring, this match leaned more heavily on the star power, the storytelling, and overall theatrics of the participants involved. This match is honestly an example of what makes wrestling so original and great. This involved 3 of the biggest names and faces in WWE but there was no title on the line, just the overall hatred and history between the 3 men involved was enough to sell this story and make you buy into the match. It was really a match for Paul Heyman’s love and guidance in a way it felt like which was a bit silly, but it worked. I’m a big Rollins fan as well, and this felt like not only his biggest Mania win but his best Mania match overall as well in my opinion so that really puts it in a special place as well. This was also CM Punk’s 1st Mania main event spot, even though it was Night 1, so that’s pretty special as well. They 3 of them delivered a hell of a hard-hitting affair with one another and told a great story throughout it as well.
#14: Shane McMahon vs The Undertaker: Hell in a Cell match (WrestleMania 32)
I don’t care what anyone says, Shane and Taker really helped to save this Mania and make it feel big time. This was the WrestleMania that they were working around a bunch of injuries and things were all over the place, on top of that a few of the matches on the night disappointed in different ways as well, but not Shane/Taker. I’m a big Shane McMahon fan anyways so I may hold this match in a little bit of a higher regard than most, but truly for their ages and for Shane 1. not actually being a “wrestler” and 2. not having wrestled like this in many, many years it felt like they really delivered and in many ways in my mind overdelivered for what some may have expected. Taker was in his early 50s by this point and Shane was in his mid 40s and they came at each other with chairs, steel steps, trash cans, and anything else they could feasibly hit each other with or throw each other onto. The craziest part though was how Shane was jumping and flying around for his age, the biggest example being his jump off the top of the Cell and through the announce table. That spot is burned into my mind forever. Hell of a bump.
#13: John Cena vs Shawn Michaels: WWE Championship match (WrestleMania 23)
In back-to-back years John Cena faced each of the members of DX in the main event of WrestleMania and had his 2 best Mania matches in those years as well. Cena was also just at the top of his game at this point though, he dominated 2006 and dominated in 2007 as well until he got injured and then returned way sooner than expected at the Royal Rumble in 2008. That 05-07 Cena is still just hard to beat for me. I love him in every era and cheered for him regardless, but he really felt like he was coming into his spot as the Top Dog in WWE at this time, a spot that he would continue to be in for the next handful of years and it was just cool to see. Cena and Shawn are also my Top 2 favorite of all time as well, followed immediately up by Rey Mysterio and Bret Hart, so of course this match was going to hold a special place in my heart. They don’t call Shawn Mr. WrestleMania for nothing and spoiler alert, this isn’t the last time we will be talking about him. This again just felt like a major win for Cena and a big stamp to put on his career and Shawn never disappoints. They delivered a great show in the top spot of Mania 23.
#12: Hulk Hogan vs Mr. McMahon: Street Fight (WrestleMania XIX)
Look obviously, this match was no “wrestling spectacle” from an in-ring standpoint like some other matches on this list. It never really was though when it came to Hogan, he was never known for his in-ring prowess, but he was one of the greatest and most recognizable characters in pro wrestling history. One of the only wrestlers who lived and died by the same formula most every single match and people not only accepted it, they begged for it and wanted to see it. We all know what we’re getting when it comes to Vince from an in-ring standpoint also. An absolute trainwreck most of the time, but sometimes those trainwrecks could be a fun time and that’s almost exactly what this was but in the best of ways. These 2 weren’t a couple of spring chickens necessarily by WrestleMania XIX but they put on a brutal affair. They absolutely beat the hell out of each other, especially Hogan to Vince. This is honestly one of the most bloody, brutal Hogan matches you’re going to find and I love it for that. Seeing Vince take a whooping was always fun and satisfying, especially here with the original golden boy Hulk Hogan, on the grandest stage of them all!
#11: Edge & Christian vs The Hardy Boyz vs The Dudley Boyz: TLC match for the WWF Tag Team Championships (WrestleMania X-Seven)
These 3 teams had a handful of very brutal, crazy, TLC matches but this is more often than not seen as the best of them and I happen to agree. These 6 guys literally redefined the entire game with their series of matches. Where I talked about Shawn & Razor changing the game and opening the door for the ladder match earlier, these guys redefined the game and in doing so created the TLC match, a match that continues to deliver bangers to this day as well. All of these guys were athletic and a little bit crazy, but especially Edge, Christian, and the Hardys at this point in time. These guys were also all pretty dang young during all this time so some of the shenanigans they attempted and really pulled off could not and would not be attempted today. Once again though, this was a prime example of making use of your time. This was I believe the shortest of their 3 TLC matches, but it’s most commonly agreed upon as the best one and that’s not for nothing to me. Almost every wrestling fan knows or has at least seen the iconic moment of Edge leaping off a ladder and spearing Jeff Hardy who was dangling by the titles. The match is iconic is not only ladder match lore, but tag team match lore as a whole and these 3 specific tag teams deserve that recognition.
#10: Bret Hart vs Owen Hart (WrestleMania X)
Speaking earlier on the Vince-Hogan match not being about in-ring prowess, this was the exact opposite. Any time Bret Hart stepped into the ring, let alone for a bigger match situation, he was seamless and always believable. Owen Hart was no different, he was a hell of an in-ring competitor in his own right as well. The Harts were just built different from a technicality and believability standpoint in the ring, when it came to the mic that’s when things could get a little tougher for them. That’s what made this story so good though, it was an easy and believable story to tell. Owen was just a younger brother who was jealous of all the love and attention his older brother got when he felt like he was every bit as good as Bret was between the ropes. Speaking on the Rey-Eddie match earlier being one of the best opening matches of Mania ever, Iyo/Rhea/Bianca was a curtain jerker as well, this IS the best opening WrestleMania match of all time at least in my personal opinion. There’s really been a lot of great ones, but Bret is so good inside that ring and Owen was too, put them together and it was wrestling magic. It’s also just cool that the brothers got some real time to work with and got to put on a match together at WrestleMania. Forever iconic.
#9: Edge vs Mick Foley: Hardcore match (WrestleMania 22)
This is really the most ‘Mick Foley’ that they let Foley be at WrestleMania ever and for that alone it’s awesome and holds a special place to me. Mick Foley had his fair share of hardcore affairs in WWE throughout his time with the company, but not on the grandest stage of them all like this one was. As I mentioned earlier as well, Edge is a bit of a wild man as well, especially a younger and eager, thirsty Edge and he was more than down to get a little crazy in this match. They dabbled into the more cringeworthy weapons like barbed wire, thumbtacks, and of course, fire. Ya know, Mick Foley’s typical calling cards. I always appreciated Mick because he brought his very own style of wrestling to the mainstream. Like I’ve said, that’s what’s wonderful about wrestling is there’s so many varieties of characters and styles on the same show that there’s always a little something at least for every fan. Some of the guys were down to meet Mick at his level though and step into the hardcore environment. HHH and Randy Orton both had iconic hardcore style matches with Mick, but Edge was the lucky one that was able to share in that environment with him at Mania. Everyone remembers the iconic finish of this match, Edge spearing Foley through a flaming table. Iconic. Badass.
#8: Charlotte Flair vs Rhea Ripley: Smackdown Women’s Championship match (WrestleMania 39)
These 2 put on an absolute stunner in the 2nd to last match of Mania 39 Night 1. It honestly felt as if they had a chip on their shoulders and a point to prove that they deserved the main event and in my mind they rightfully did. Don’t get me wrong, I love both Sami and Kevin so much and they deserved their moment at that Mania as well, but there wasn’t a better match on the entire card than Charlotte/Rhea all weekend by a long shot. I was honestly shocked and falling out of my seat with adulation when I was watching this live. I expected a good and well performed match, but one to this caliber was not necessarily on my radar and looking back shame on me for that. They both brought the house down in an epic back and forth contest and like a few other names I’ve mentioned earlier in the night, this was another huge test and a star making moment, this time for one Rhea Ripley. It almost felt like she proved she deserved to be the next one leading the charge in the women’s division and kind of took that torch from Charlotte, got the rocket strapped to her back, and never looked down. Charlotte is still there putting on great matches and the women’s division is thriving in WWE now more than ever, but no one is at the level that Rhea Ripley is currently, and this match still feels like it kind of solidified that status for her. Such a good one.
#7: ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin vs The Rock (WrestleMania XIX)
I know maybe it’s a hot take to have this as your favorite of the Austin/Rock trilogy but for me it really is. I know X-Seven is again the favorite for a lot of wrestling fans (although wrestling fans really suck the butt of X-Seven in all aspects in general), but the McMahon twist and Austin turning heel really was a bad idea and kind of lowered that match in general for me. I understand the build and hype were good. This was really good as well. Austin and Rock were undoubtably the most over guys in the company and they had been for a while, they were also never-ending enemies that never could fully settle their beef and fans never wanted them to either. Austin-Rock sold tickets undoubtably and they are still to this day one of, if not the most famous wrestling rivalry of all time. The problem was The Rock was starting to dip out and do more work in Hollywood and less with the WWE and Austin’s overall health was a bit on the decline attributed to previous injuries at the time so both guys were inevitably running near the end of their time as being the top dogs of the company and people kind of felt it. With The Rock he was seen as a sellout and an easy sell as a heel as if he was choosing movies over the fans, and Austin had already dipped out of the company a year prior due to overall disgruntlements, so fans were just happy to have him back for a while. It was the last showdown of 2 legends that helped carry and define an era in wrestling and that makes it the most special.
#6: Hulk Hogan vs The Ultimate Warrior: Winner Takes All Title for Title match (WrestleMania VI)
Again, this match doesn’t live on as one of the best technical masterpieces of all time, but it is certainly one of the most iconic and epic showdowns in WWE/F history. Hogan and Warrior are 2 of the most colorful, outlandish, recognizable, and truly iconic characters from the Golden Era of WWF, they also happen to be my 2 very favorite characters from that era so this is one of, if not my very favorite classic matchup ever for that fact alone. Hogan and Warrior were both babyfaces that the crowd loved, probably the top 2 babyfaces in the company at this point in time, and this was the first time that WWE/F took the chance and put their top 2 faces of the company against each other in a 1 on 1 match. I mean they were both champions walking into the match and both the titles were on the line. People legitimately didn’t know what was going to happen and the crowd was split down the middle for one of the first times in the company’s history and I love that aspect of it as well. By today’s standards modern wrestling fans again may look at this match and think it’s slow or boring or what have you, but I happen to love 80s and early 90s wrestling because of the characters and you won’t find more epic characters or more iconic of a showdown for the time than Hogan/Warrior.
#5: Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart: 60-minute Iron Man match for the WWF Championship (WrestleMania XII)
Admittedly, this match isn’t going to be for everyone because this is a WRESTLING match in the truest forms of the word. I love all different styles of wrestling, as made apparent by this list to begin with, but if you’re just looking for some damn good wrestling in its purest form, you’ll have a hard time doing any better than a Bret Hart match or a Shawn Michaels match, let alone when you put the 2 together. Shawn and Bret rubbed each other in the wrong way throughout the mid 90s and it would only escalate from this point, eventually leading to the Montreal Screwjob in late 97, although I’d say that was more Vince than Shawn, Shawn was still involved. When they stepped into the ring to legitimately work with each other though, they knocked it out of the ballpark as expected. You couldn’t ask many wrestlers to go out there and put on 60+ minutes at WrestleMania and keep it compelling, let alone without a single pinfall in all 60 minutes, but you could with these 2 guys and you wouldn’t even have to be worried about it. They found ways to trade off offense and work each other for more than 60 minutes on the grandest stage of them all and keep it interesting and that alone is worth major kudos. If you want to see an excellently fluent wrestling marathon look no further than this one.
#4: HHH vs The Undertaker: Hell in a Cell match (WrestleMania XXVIII)
The story leading into this match was honestly expertly told between 2 of the biggest veterans and trailblazers still around in the game at this point in time. It was the ‘End of an Era’, Shawn Michaels had just retired a couple of years earlier at the hands of Undertaker and his streak and was back for this match as the special guest referee. HHH had just nearly fallen short a year earlier in defeating Taker and taking the streak himself and was back for one final shot. The 3 guys in the cage during this match were the only 3 that had been through the New Generation era and the Attitude Era and the Ruthless Aggression era all and we’re still around working to tell about it. You knew all their careers were winding down and coming near a close at this point, so it felt like one final hurrah with them all working together in some capacity and they certainly didn’t disappoint. It was their best matchup ever I believe in my mind, I mean clearly, but they truly brought the house down at this Mania and showed that the old cowboys had some mileage in them but they damn sure still knew how to put on a show. I didn’t think HHH was going to win and beat the streak but I truly bought in a few times throughout this match and that’s a testament to the storytelling and their ability to keep you on the edge of your seat.
#3: Bret Hart vs ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin: Submission match (WrestleMania 13)
This is honestly one of the best examples of what wrestling can be summed up inside a single matchup. The match itself is awesome, they put on a hell of a show from an in-ring standpoint and it was so compelling all the way through, but the storytelling done throughout the match was awesome as well and really added an extra layer of intrigue and spectacle to the contest. Bret was more the squeaky clean babyface and Stone Cold was a bit more of the brash heel entering the matchup, but throughout the contest as Bret beat on Stone Cold and used some less than babyface-like tactics to wear him down fans saw that Austin just wouldn’t quit and kept coming back and bringing the fight to Bret and people started feeling more compelled to cheer for Austin and boo Bret. It was just so well done and smart, another example of Bret just knowing how to get done whatever he wants to get done inside that ring and helping put other people over in the process. He did a great job with Austin again here and this was honestly a major turning point into opening up the door for Stone Cold’s superstardom within the WWE/F. He went on to be a major player in the next handful of WrestleMania’s, picking up the belt from a beat up Shawn Michaels a year later and officially carrying that torch into the Attitude Era. This is an all-around well-done bout with another iconic image of Austin screaming with the blood running down his face as Bret locks in the Sharpshooter deep. Cool stuff.
#2: Shawn Michaels vs Kurt Angle (WrestleMania 21)
Shawn could put on a great match with just about anyone throughout his entire career and the same could be said for Kurt Angle as well, especially in the early-mid 2000s, but they somehow hadn’t ran into each other in that capacity. That was until WrestleMania 21 and oh my good God, they did not disappoint. I don’t really know how to fully explain it, but their clashing of styles and differences in the ways they worked really elevated this match and made it what it was. The clashing and meshing of styles is what sold it I guess. There really didn’t need to be much of a story heading into this match either. I mean they did the ‘Sexy Kurt’ thing and Angle beat up Marty Jennetty and things like that to try and add some raw emotion into the rivalry, but the match itself is always what was going to sell the story with these 2. Both were great on the mic and could definitely tell a story, but both were even better inside the ring and their match at Mania 21 is a testament to that. It’s cool that Shawn got a chance to work with all these people upon his return to the ring after a 4-and-a-half-year absence. It could be argued that his 2nd run was even better than his 1st one although both were awesome. These 2 put on a hell of a match. A truly enticing, enthralling, edge of your seat back and forth.
#1: Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker (WrestleMania 25)
And yet again, another Shawn Michaels match, and I guess really another Undertaker match as well. Starting to realize my bias? Anyways, rounding out my list as my favorite WrestleMania match of all time is HBK-Taker from Mania 25. Really though, I am a huge Shawn Michaels fan yes that’s true, but he absolutely brought it at WrestleMania to even another level than he typically brought. The man understood the assignment when it came to Mania and he did not disappoint. You don’t earn the nickname of ‘Mr. WrestleMania’ without good reason and Shawn gave it very good reason time and time and time again. Win or loss you knew HBK was going to come out to steal the show. Undertaker is forever synonymous with WrestleMania as well with his famous or infamous undefeated streak at the show of shows so when the 2 finally were finally given the chance to lock up together at the show of shows you knew it was going to be one for the ages. This was later into both of their veteran careers as well by this point so seeing the level at which they could still bring it and the chemistry and understanding they still shared in the ring was awesome and next level. They shared the ring again at Mania next year in Shawn’s career ending match and that one was very well done as well, but nothing tops this original Mania showdown for me. The feeling and the epicness of the actual event just can’t be topped for me.
That’s it for this marathon post! If you’ve stuck around and kept interest until the end, then thank you! I truly appreciate it! You’ve made all my hard work mean something. Let me know some of your favorite WrestleMania matches as well! What are some that are left off my list, some that you agree with on my list, etc. Our lists aren’t going to be the same and they shouldn’t be. I just love talking wrestling, especially around the excitement of WrestleMania season. Make sure to like my page on Facebook or come back to elisupdatez.com regularly to keep up with all my latest posts on pro wrestling, horror films (both new & classic), newly released movies, and so much more! Until we meet again, be good to one another!
