Around this time every year I like to do this. And every year my list changes a bit. But here is my latest attempt at the top 10 WrestleManias of all time. Feel free to post your own list in the comments section, although I'm sure I'll be right and you'll be wrong.
1. WrestleMania XIX, Seattle, WA, 2003: My view may be biased a bit by the fact that I had floor seats to the event, and Safeco Field looked absolutely breathtaking in person. But even putting that aside, this was the one WrestleMania where everything seemed to click. In Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho, the event had a show-stealing wrestling clinic. In Hulk Hogan vs. Vince McMahon, the event had a "historic" showdown for the ages. In The Rock vs. Steve Austin, the event had a dramatic and emotional conclusion to one of wrestling's greatest rivalries. And in Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle, the show had a bona-fide dream match main event, and a true WrestleMania moment when Brock attempted - and missed - the Shooting Star Press. This was as good a wrestling event as I've ever seen.
2. WrestleMania X7, Houston, TX, 2001: After years of holding WrestleManias in medium-sized arenas, WWE brought the show back to a dome-setting for this loaded event. The TLC tag team war and the Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit match gave us our fill of excitement in the mid-card. The father vs. son battle between Vince and Shane McMahon was both epic, and a lot of fun. And the Rock and Steve Austin perfected the art of telling a story in the ring with their main event match. A terrific show.
3. WrestleMania III, Pontiac, MI, 1987: Quite simply, the biggest American pro wrestling event of modern history, headlined by the biggest match. Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant eclipsed the wrestling universe and has become a fixture in pop culture history. As, well, for many years, Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat lay claim to being the greatest of all WrestleMania matches. The rest of the card was only so-so, but before the massive Silverdome crowd, everything felt special. For 20 years, WWE has tried to recreate the magic of this show, and has always fallen a bit short.
4. WrestleMania XX, New York, NY, 2004: It's a shame that Chris Benoit has been erased from WWE's history books following the events of last summer, because he shone brightly in one of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all time - his triple threat title match with Triple H and Shawn Michaels. The closing visual of Benoit and Eddie Guerrero hugging mid ring after both having reached the pinnacle of their trade was a poignant moment then, and a heartbreaking one to watch today. Add to that a memorable match between Brock Lesnar and Goldberg, in which the stars were the rowdy New York fans, and the Rock's last pro wrestling match, and the 20th installment of WrestleMania lived up to its big hype.
5. WrestleMania X, New York NY, 1994: The first WrestleMania that didn't feature Hulk Hogan, not surprisingly, did feature some of the best wrestling the event ever saw. Owen Hart and Bret Hart opened the show with a well-wrestled and intense grudge match between two bickering brothers. Bret returned later that night to beat Yokozuna in a satisfying main event. And somewhere in between, Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon revolutionized the pro wrestling industry with their ladder match.
6. WrestleMania 23, Detroit, MI, 2007: I sat in the nosebleed seats for last year's show, and can attest to the fact that the television captures did not even begin to capture the magnificent size and spectacle of Ford Field. WWE did an honorable job in trying recreating the atmosphere of WrestleMania III on the 20th anniversary of the historic event. The event was also at no shortage of good action - most notably The Undertaker taking on Batista - and memorable moments, such as Donald Trump shaving Vince McMahon's head.
7. WrestleMania X8, Toronto, Canada, 2002: As far as match quality goes, this WrestleMania fell a bit short and was highlighted by a show-stealing Undertaker vs. Ric Flair match. But in terms of providing everything else that makes WrestleMania so special, this edition was off the charts. To that end, the showdown between Hulk Hogan and The Rock came as close as any to recreating the big match feel of Hogan vs. Andre.
8. WrestleMania VI, Toronto, Canada, 1990: After holding two of the worst WrestleManias in a bland Atlantic City setting for two years, WWE got back on track by bringing the show to the massive Skydome for the first time, and providing a huge main event in Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior. This was very much a one-match show, but that one match was a doozy, and the Warrior's defeat of the Hulkster remains one of the most memorable Mania moments in history.
9. WrestleMania XIV, Boston, MA, 1998: Some fans pinpoint this event as the moment that WWE officially began its last boon period, and it's easy to see why. With Steve Austin on the brink of becoming one of the biggest stars the business ever saw, and Mike Tyson's involvement garnering the interest of the mainstream media, it was a perfect storm to launch WWE on a wave of success that has never again been matched.
10. WrestleMania VIII, Indianapolis, IN, 1992: In many ways this is the forgotten WrestleMania. It took place during a difficult period for WWE, which was embroiled in a drug and sex scandal that threatened to shut down the company. But before more than 50,000 fans in the Hoosier Dome, WWE put on two of the best WrestleMania matches until that time. Bret Hart's emotional victory over Roddy Piper told a gripping story of two friends battling for the same prize, and Ric Flair's title defense against Randy Savage was the best WWE championship match WrestleMania saw to that point. It was also the first time a lot of WWE fans saw what made Ric Flair the greatest of all time.
Comments (10)
WrestleMania VIII and X are far too low and there is no bloody was XIX is the best.
III
X
VIII
XX
XIX maybe,
The last two are far to average to be anything, they blend in with VI and XVIII have special moments but no great matches.
I agree with the previous poster. VIII and X are way down on the list. I'd rank them as follows:
WM-X7 - Best all around show and the end of the Monday Night War era
WM 8 - Two great feuds and matches in Hart/Piper and Flair/Savage, Undertaker getting the torch passed to him by Jake Roberts, and The Ultimate Warrior's surprise return. The location also made it look like a huge event as well.
WM X - Featured a 5 star classic in Bret/Owen, which resulted in a shocking victory for Owen, one of the most influential matches of all time in Razor/Shawn, and one of the feel good moments in Wrestlemania history with the WWE basically saying, "We're sorry about last year" to Bret Hart.
WM III - Should always be in the top 5 for sheer impact and importance. You had the walking definition of a dream match in Hulk/Andre, which drew that house basically on its own. You then had Steamboat and Savage determined to steal the show, which they did. It was a super-card all around.
Then it's debatable after that. WMXX is up for discussion, but the ending of that event has been severely tainted.
Wrestlemania III not ranked number 1?? As was written" Quite simply, the biggest American pro wrestling event of modern history, headlined by the biggest match...for many years, Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat lay claim to being the greatest of all WrestleMania matches. ... WWE has tried to recreate the magic of this show, and has always fallen a bit short." It was the WM that set the stage for the rest of them. It should be ranked # 1 all-time!
I'll hold off on making a Top 10, as I have not been motivated enough to watch a Wrestlemania since WMXX, but here's my top 5:
1) WM8; the initial Flair run was always one of my favorite eras, and this show was the peak of it. Flair-Savage was a great storyline topped off with a great match, Piper-Hart is an underrated classic, UT-Roberts, while not a great match, was a very satisfying end to their feud (which came on the heels of the outstanding Jake-Savage feud), and while Sid-Hogan certainly wasn't good, the UW run-in at the end was a great WM moment, probably my favorite 'Mania moment.
2) WM3; because it's WM3
3) WM14; while no real classic matches, every match on the card was good (save for the tag-team battle royal) to really good, topped off by Austin's win. A great PPV that kicked off the WWF's return to the top.
4) WM17; lots of great matches, I'd rank it higher but outside of Austin-Rock, none of the storylines were particularly memorable, whereas the shows above have many memorable storylines
5) WM6; strictly for Hogan-Warrior.
But we are all in agreement that WM9 was the worst, right?
Nah, I'd say IV - the awful title tournament from Atlantic City - was the worst. But WM9 is up (or down) there.
I really liked WM IX, as it was the first one I watched live (im from the UK and time difference is a killer when you are like 12!) Yeah the ending was crappy looking back, but there were some great matches HBK vs Tatanka for the IC Title, Headshrinkers vs Steiner Bros and Luger vs Mr Perfect.
Probably the worst one ever has to be either WM XII or WM XIII. Is anyone else in agreement that the Bret Hart/HBK iron man match is the most over rated match ever? Over an hour of holds, and both men lying on their backs. Plus the fact you only had another 5/6 matches on the card including the terrible return of Ultimate Warrior squashing HHH.
However nothing for me can beat the run from WM XV to WM XVII, three great manias in a row with some matches that I love to watch back even now. The Rock/Austin matches, fatal 4 way elimination match, the TLC matches, the hardcore match at WM XVII, the only hell in a cell match at mania, the angle/benoit/jericho triple threat match for the two titles....
basically you can never get bored of watching these matches back. Perhaps the WWE should take a look at these manias and see where they are going wrong now
in the DVD set of WM20 ric flair hosts a show of the greatest WM matches up to that point which THE WRESTLERS THEMSELVES VOTED ON. Bret/HBK from WM12 is number one. That says it all. As for a card itself, no, the rest sucked, but don't diss that match.
AND, if you have ever tried to actually step into a ring at all, you know, going an hour in there doing some of the things they do, shouldn't be humanly possible. Maybe you shouldn't be posting on rank of matches until you have had a few yourself..I have, and I have a whole new respect for anybody who does this and does it for an hour at any pace :-P
I think I might have to agree with XIX being the best as it was really the only Mania where all the biggest stars in modern history took part. Hogan/McMahon, the return of HBK to mania vs Jericho, Rock/Austin in Austns last match and a memorable goodbye, Brock/Angle, HHH/Booker T with Ric Flair in Trips corner, Taker/Big Show & A Train (Not sure why they did that to UT), and the tag match with Eddie and Benoit involved. I would say bang for buck its my number 1. III is a close second for me.
Personally, I think WM is ranked a bit too high. Sure, it is historically significant, and its regarded as one of the greatest moments in WWE history, so it deserves a spot among the most important WMs. Hogan vs Andre is without a doubt one of wrestling most important moments, but the match itself is actually quite awful as Andre didnt really have much left in him and Hulk could never really deliver.WM3 has reached mythical proportions due to its big time atmosphere, but aside from the Steamboat Savage, the card is filled with stinkers. Historical impact and Steamboat Savage by themselves make it a must on the list, but it shouldnt realistically be anywhere near the top three 3.
Oh, and WMIX is perhaps the worst wrestlemania to date, tied with WM2