In honor of WrestleMania XXX I decided to write up my list of the Top 25 WrestleMania matches. Deciding the numbers is pretty tough and if I did it again a year from now I’m sure it would be a bit different. Hopefully you enjoy reading it and you check out WrestleMania XXX this Sunday for what is hopefully Daniel Bryan’s big moment. YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!
TOP 25 WRESTLEMANIA MATCHES
1) The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels – WrestleMania 25
It just does not get better than this. Everything about it from the match to the announcing to the crowd was about as close to perfect as you can get. And they did it without a title on the line, just the drama of being able to defeat the Undertaker at WrestleMania. I was 100% sure the Streak was ending when I watched this match live so the near falls just about killed me haha Greatest match in the history of wrestling.
2) Randy Savage vs. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat – IC Title match – WrestleMania 3
For a long time this match was the standard that all matches tried to achieve. Almost flawless execution from bell to bell with an incredible finishing sequence that still influences matches to this day. Crowd was hot for this match and the finish, Gorilla and The Body with a great call. It’s well known now that Savage meticulously planned every detail of his masterpiece before hand but you still have to get it done on Game day and they more than delivered.
3) Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin – WrestleMania 13
No titles, no streak, just 2 guys that do not like each other kicking ass. I LOVED this feud, might be my favourite of all time. Not only did these guys have an awesome, brutal match but they also pulled off a “double-turn” with Bret leaving as a villain and Austin as the anti-hero-hero. The iconic image that helped sell Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Attitude Era to the masses, Stone Cold screaming in pain with blood pouring down his face until he finally passes out. No sympathy from the Hitman who puts the boots to him afterwards cementing their new roles. Words can’t do this match justice, go watch it.
4) Hulk Hogan vs The Ultimate Warrior – Title for Title – WrestleMania 6
2 of the biggest characters wrestling has ever produced going 1 on 1 on the biggest stage. I’m sure there were a lot of people in the wrestling business expecting it to be a stinker and ready to have a good laugh. If they were they choked on their own tears b/c this match was awesome. For these 2 guys to have this good of a match when the consensus always was Warrior needed to be carried and Hogan was only Big Boot/Leg drop, it bumps it up a few spots. Hot crowd, great finish with Hogan putting Warrior over huge via clean 3 count. Then the all time great WrestleMania moment of Hogan handing the belt over to the Warrior like a real man and true champion. Epic match.
5) Hulk Hogan vs The Rock – WrestleMania 18
The crowd made this match. A battle of 2 wrestling Icons like Hulk Hogan and The Rock deserved an epic atmosphere for their match and boy did they get it. From the moment the bell rang it was clear that this was Hogan’s crowd. Those pops Hogan gets shoving Rock across the ring still give me goose bumps. But nothing compares to the Hulkster “Hulking Up,” that is the greatest 60 seconds in wrestling finished with the greatest near fall ever. The right guy won, it just sucked to see the Rock leave so soon after Hogan ‘passed the torch.’
6) Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels – Iron Man Match – WrestleMania 12
Absolute classic of a wrestling match. Drives me crazy to hear the same fans that love Flair/Steamboat 60 min draws complain about having only 1 fall. Created crazy drama as the time ticked down realizing that the next/first fall was going to win it. Check the faces in the crowd people were dying for their guy to get a fall. As great as it was, probably would have been seen in a better light if they had been tied 1-1 at the end. Still if you love actual wrestling then you gotta love this match because it is a clinic. I love watching it on the elliptical, helps the time fly by but also helps you appreciate what they were going through esp. towards the end.
7) Ric Flair vs Randy Savage – WWF Title – WrestleMania 8
Kind of crazy that a great match like this probably should have never happened. Hogan/Flair was seemingly a no brainer but then plans changed and we got Savage/Flair. Can’t complain seeing as it turned into a blood feud and great match, you really wanted to see Savage kick Flairs ass for what he was doing to Elizabeth. Mr Perfect shows what a good manager can do for a match really helping make it click. Love the finish with Savage beating Flair at his own game.
8) Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon – Ladder Match – WrestleMania 10
Just watched this match recently and it still holds up, that’s saying something for a match that is 20 years old. Especially considering the things we have seen wrestlers do in various matches involving Ladders. But this match holds up because Shawn/Razor are great wrestlers and they are able to have a great wrestling match inside their Ladder match. It wasn’t a spot fest like some gimmick matches can turn into, it had good psychology to set up the big spots. Sucks that 10 guys lost their WrestleMania match because this match went so long but you can’t argue with greatness.
9) Bret Hart vs Owen Hart – WrestleMania 10
I don’t think anybody thought Owen Hart was walking out of MSG with a victory. Bret was going to put his little brother in his place and then carry that momentum into a WWF Title win. Not if Owen has anything to say about it. Such a great match, so smooth and real. Very hard hitting and physical yet technical. Back and forth the whole way, chemistry only 2 brothers can have. And then the crazy finish with Owen stopping the Victory Roll mid roll and dropping his knees onto Bret’s shoulders for the 3 count. Just awesome. Fn love when he gives Bret the finger after the match ahahah I know it pales in comparison to people that actually knew him but, I really miss Owen Hart.
10) Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant – WWF Title – WrestleMania 3
This match definitely won’t be on anyone’s pure wrestling top 25 haha but on a top 25 WrestleMania matches it more than belongs. When 93,000+ show up to see a match you know you have something special. That’s what happened when The Boss, Andre the Giant agreed to turn heel and pass the torch to Hulk Hogan with a mega-feud and epic match. Built around the fact that Andre was undefeated and could not be body slammed by Hogan. Big drama early with Hogan legit barely kicking out after 500+lbs crushed him on a failed bodyslam attempt. But it doesn’t take long for Hogan to ‘Hulk Up’ and this time succeed body slamming Andre the Giant to the delight of a loud n rowdy Pontiac Sliverdome. Match isn’t very long but is definitely entertaining for what it is. Can’t say enough about how huge this match was for WrestleMania, Hulk Hogan and Hulkamania. Thanks Andre.
11) Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels – WrestleMania 21
Dream match. 2 of the greatest of all time going 1 on 1 on the biggest stage working against massive expectations. Gotta say they mostly delivered because this was awesome. Seemed like it was missing a little something to really put it over the top but when you put Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels in a match the bar is gonna be higher than usual. Too bad we never got a sequel.
12) The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels 2 – WrestleMania 26
Another great match but for me I really wasn’t into this match. Selfishly I didn’t want HBK to retire and I knew that if the Streak was ending it was at 25 so there was no drama in it for me. So because of that I knew there was no way they were going to be able to top what they did at WrestleMania 25. It’s still a great match but nowhere near the 1st.
13) Chris Jericho vs Shawn Michaels – WrestleMania 19
Another dream match that we thought we might never get to see. But HBK came back and this was his 1st WrestleMania, could he still deliver on the grandest stage of them all? No doubt about it as these 2 put on a classic. Kind of gets the short end of the stick due to their awesome feud down the road but at the time this was everything we were hoping for and more from these two. Nice finish and perfect post-match with Y2J being Y2J
14) Ric Flair vs Shawn Michaels – Win or Retire – WrestleMania 24
This should have been Flairs last match, what a way to go out. He ended up wrestling in TNA tarnishing this match a bit but you really can’t take much away from it. The finish of the match was so brilliant having Flair know he was done and telling HBK to end it so he could go out on his shield. Brings tears to the eyes of this lifelong wrestling fan. Great match.
15) Bret Hart vs Roddy Piper – Intercontinental Title – WrestleMania 8
How would these 2 clashes of styles work in a match on a stage that leaves no room for error? The brawler vs the wrestler but Bret could also brawl and Piper could wrestle. It showed as these 2 had a great match mixing the 2 styles together. Some nice wrestling sequences with physical brawling. Sweet finish with Bret turning the sleeper against Piper kicking off the buckles and flipping over to get the 3 count and Intercontinental Championship. Despite the match they just had they are man enough to shake hands as Piper hands over the belt to Bret.
16) Dudley Boyz vs Hardy Boyz vs Edge & Christian – TLC 2 – WrestleMania 17
I’d just like to thank these guys for putting their bodies at risk to give us a match like this. I definitely appreciate it as this was some insanely awesome stuff. From bell to bell the fans might as well been chanting “Holy Shit” because these guys went after each other and pulled off some crazy spots. My favorite being Edge spearing Jeff Hardy who was hanging off the metal ring holding the Tag Titles. Not your traditional Tag Team wrestling match but still a legendary performance packed with nonstop action.
17) Edge vs Mick Foley – Hardcore Match – WrestleMania 22
The 1 thing that had escaped Mick Foley in his legendary career was a really great WrestleMania match. Thanks to Edge, he was able to scratch that off the list. Damn this was a serious hardcore match. You could tell both guys knew there was something real on the line here, a man’s legacy is no joke and they both knew they needed this. Tables, tacks, chairs and finally a fn flaming table. In this era of PG they aren’t able to promote it as heavily but Edge spearing Foley through the flaming table is a WrestleMania moment for the ages. Happy that both guys helped solidify their legacies with this great match.
18) Ric Flair vs The Undertaker – WrestleMania 18
One of my personal favorite matches, these guys really clicked on this night. This match tends to be forgotten when talking about great matches for both men but it definitely should not be. Taker sitting up wide eyed in the figure 4 is so great, and I fn love that superplex. Must have hurt like a bastard with Flair’s bad back. Obviously nobody thought Flair was gonna win but it was still a hell of a match. Love Takers post match 10 count.
19) Randy Savage vs Hulk Hogan – WWF Title – WrestleMania 5
The Mega Powers explode! As a kid I was Hogan 1, Macho Man 2 so this was my kind of match. A great run as a tag team ended harshly with a jealous Macho Man losing it and attacking Hogan setting up this main event. Delivered on the hype as they stepped up and put on a damn good match here. Savage nailing the Flying Elbow must have stopped some hearts back then haha but Hulkamania was still running wild and there was no way Hogan doesn’t leave with the belt. Great end to a historic title reign for the Macho Man.
20) Edge vs The Undertaker – World Heavyweight Title – WrestleMania 24
From sitting in the crowd watching Hogan/Warrior main event WrestleMania 6 to walking to the ring for his own main event at WrestleMania as World Heavyweight Champion. Great moment for Edge as he puts on an awesome match with the Undertaker. Kicking out of the Tombstone was almost unheard of then especially at WrestleMania but he did it and damn I was thinking this could be it. Not to be as Taker pulled out the win and sent home Edge without the gold like Hogan 18 years ago. I’m sure there was another Edge out there in the crowd that will take the WWE by storm in 10 years haha
21) HHH VS Shawn Michaels vs Chris Benoit – World Heavyweight Title – WrestleMania 20
Great match and a great moment for Benoit at the time but it seemed like they never were able to get the match into that next gear it needed to be higher up the list. At the time the thought of Benoit being in the Main Event at all let alone tapping out HHH was insane so finally seeing it happen was really awesome. Post-show celebration with Eddie and his family still gets to me. They would have a better re-match next month at Backlash.
22) Dudley Boyz vs Hardy Boyz vs Edge & Christian – TLC – WrestleMania 16
This would kick start an awesome era for tag team matches but unfortunately put a lot of wear and tear on the bodies of these guys. Once again my thanks and appreciation goes out to them. I was sure the Hardyz were leaving with the Titles here so to see Edge & Christian win was a big surprise. It would also kick start the era of awesomeness as these guys dominated the Tag Team scene as well as the comedy in wrestling. Their stuff was hysterical, still holds up maybe even better today. This match gets overshadowed by TLC 2 at WrestleMania 17 but it deserves some spotlight as it’s really good.
23) Vince McMahon vs Shane McMahon – WrestleMania 17
Probably the best Father vs. Son match of all time. Can’t imagine it’s a long list haha but this was good stuff. They hold nothing back as this turns into a pretty physical match. Nice to see Trish and Linda get their moments of redemption on Vince. Then the great moment of Shane going coast to coast and hitting the bull’s eye making Vince eat trash can. Fun match that I definitely feel deserves a place on this list.
24) The Undertaker vs HHH 2 – WrestleMania 27
The Hell in a Cell match the next year seems to be the match people favor but I really prefer this one. Just a simple hard hitting, physical match. The story throughout the match of Taker not having enough left in his tank after all of his WrestleMania wars really got me hooked and HHH almost doing the ‘HBK talking to Flair’ stuff and hitting the Tombstone made me think it was over. Taker not being able to walk out was a cool visual and added drama for next year but I think this was their best match.
25) The Rock vs Steve Austin 3 – WrestleMania 19
Out of all 3 of the Rock/Austin matches at WrestleMania this is my favorite. Everything about it was awesome, the build and the match were some of the best stuff the Rock did in wrestling. Little did we know this would be Austin’s last match but it didn’t really need the drama with Austin being 2-0 vs. The Rock @ Mania. If Austin was in better health this might have been higher up the list but to even get out what he did is really impressive. Great end to a legendary career.
Matches that didn’t make it:
Rock/Austin 2 – The ending kills it for me. They were too concerned about the storyline and not enough about match quality. They were building to something epic but it came of the rails. Post-match stuff with Vince doesn’t help, never should have happened.
Savage/Warrior – I know I’m in the minority but I despise this match. Ultimate Warrior kicks out of 5 elbows and pins Macho Man Randy Savage with a foot on his chest. Sorry but that’s a joke. Just never been a fan at all of the match. Reuniting with Elizabeth is my #1 WrestleMania moment but that isn’t part of the match.
Punk/Taker – Definitely a great match but it suffered for me because I knew that Taker was winning. I enjoyed the hell out of it and there was a smidge of doubt at times but just couldn’t get it on the list. Top 30 for sure maybe even #26.