With less than a week until Wrestlemania 27, I have put together a complete ranking of the first 26 Wrestlemania’s going from the absolute worst to the very best. I set out on this epic quest on Christmas Day after receiving the Wrestlemania box set on DVD. Since then, I have literally watched every Wrestlemania in anticipation of this year’s event. There are plenty of articles that have done this before, but very few (if any) are spoiler free. For me, these matchups were way more entertaining when I wasn’t sure of the outcome. Hopefully, I can inspire you to check out some of the classic Wrestlemanias yourself, and I’ll give you a quick overview of each event without spoiling any of the winners. So here it is, starting with the Worst Wrestlemania of All Time….
#26 Wrestlemania 9 (Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas – 1993)
Man this one is bad. This ‘Mania was held outside at Caesar’s Palace, and the whole thing just looks cheesy as hell. For some reason, they have Macho Man doing color commentary the entire show. I love Macho more than anyone, but after you hear him say “ohhhhh yeahhh” for the 38th or 39th time it starts to get a little old (why couldn’t he just wrestle instead?). There’s only one “good” match, Shawn Michaels vs Tatanka, which opens the show. After that, it’s a trainwreck. Giant Gonzalez vs the Undertaker is so bad it’s almost laughable. I can’t get over how ridiculous Giant Gonzalez’ outfit is, it looks like a bad Halloween costume (see below). It’s like a metaphor for how bad this Wrestlemania is. Razor Ramon vs Bob Backlund and Hulk Hogan /Brutus Beefcake vs Ted DiBiase/IRS are both terrible. The main event of Yokozuna vs Bret Hart is a disgrace. This is easily the worst ‘Mania of all time. 36/100
#25 Wrestlemania 16 (Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim - 2000)
Pretty ridiculous as there isn’t a single one on one match here, everything is a triple threat, fatal fourway or battle royal. It’s also the only Wrestlemania in HISTORY without Austin, Shawn Michaels, Hulk Hogan or the Undertaker. Still, the WWE roster was stacked, and they have no excuse for such a crap show. The only good match is TLC with the Dudley’s, Hardy’s, and Edge/Christian. The main event of Rock vs HHH vs Big Show vs Mick Foley is boring and predictable. 64/100
#24 Wrestlemania 11 (Civic Center, Hartford CT - 1995)
Probably the most ridiculous main event of all time, Lawrence Taylor vs Bam Bam Bigelow. The match pitted an all pro linebacker against an overweight midcarder. Fun idea for a match, but there’s no reason this should have closed Wrestlemania. It wasn’t awful, but it should have been like the second or third match of the night. The WWE were pushing a lot of celebrity appearances this year, which included Salt-N- Pepa and Jonathon Taylor Thomas for pointless cameos. WTF. Teenage girls were going bonkers for JTT in ’95, but I doubt many of them paid $40 to see him on a wrestling pay per view for 30 seconds. The only good match was Shawn Michaels vs Diesel, and it’s one of Shawn’s less memorable ‘Mania matches due to Diesel’s limited move set. Everything else is really bad, including Undertaker vs King Kong Bundy, Bret Hart vs Bob Backlund, and Razor Ramon vs Jeff Jarrett (why are Taker, Hart, and Ramon all fighting jabronies? It’s Wrestlemania! WTF!). 67/100
#23 Wrestlemania 1 (Madison Square Garden, NYC – 1985)
I wasn’t all that impressed by the first Wrestlemania. First of all, there was no World Title match. WTF. The main event was a tag team match between Hulk Hogan/Mr. T against Rowdy Roddy Piper/Paul Orndorf, which was okay – but everything else was completely forgettable. I’d mention some of the other matches, but I barely recognize/don’t care about most of these wrestlers (King Kong Bundy, Mike Rotundo, SD Jones, the Executioner, Greg Valentine, Brutus Beefcake), and I’m a huge wrestling dork. 62/100
#22 Wrestlemania 6 (Skydome, Toronto – 1990)
This one was hard to get through. There are 14 matches here, which was WAY too much. And almost all of them suck. Look at how boring some of these matches sound: Earthquake vs Hercules, Bad News Brown vs Rowdy Roddy Piper, Akeem vs the Big Bossman, Dino Bravo vs Jim Duggan, etc. On top of that, Randy Savage was stuck in a mixed tag match against Dusty Rhodes. However, the main event of Ultimate Warrior vs Hulk Hogan was really good, and saved this from being an all time dud. 69/100
#21 Wrestlemania 2 (New York, Chicago, Los Angeles -1986)
Lots of people hate this one because of the format, but I thought it was kind of cool. For the only time in Wrestlemania history, the event takes place in three different venues. Each city got three or four matches, but the crowds were way into every match. The main event was Hulk Hogan vs King Kong Bundy in a steel cage. Not a bad match, and we’ve certainly seen worse from Hogan at Mania (vs Sid, Sgt Slaughter, Yokozuna, etc). 73/100
#20 Wrestlemania 15 (First Union Center, Philadelphia - 1999)
Great main event between Rock and Austin, but one match does not a great Wrestlemania make. Some real garbage here including Undertaker vs the Big Bossman, Kane vs HHH, and Butterbean vs Bart Gunn in a “boxing” match. Big Show vs Mankind was okay, and Shane McMahon vs Xpac was pretty good, but in the end this was a disappointing ‘Mania. 84/100
#19 Wrestlemania 4 (Trump Plaza, Atlantic City – 1988)
16 man Tournament for the WWE title, where the new champion had to win four consecutive matches. This was basically the entire show, and everyone was in on the tournament. Challengers included Ricky Steamboat, Ted DiBiase, Randy Savage,.Ultimate Warrior, Bam Bam Bigelow, Hulk Hogan, Jake the Snake, Andre the Giant and Rick Rude. Great old school commentary from Jesse Ventura and Gorilla Monsoon with Vanna White running the tournament board (Wheel of Fortune style). I can’t go over the matches without spoiling anything, but the whole thing is way unpredictable. The only bad part is the matches are thrown together with no storyline. But (minor spoiler) Hulk Hogan doesn’t make the finals (yay), and the main event is awesome. This is the only main event without Hogan between Wrestlemania 1 and 9. 85/100
#18 Wrestlemania 23 (Ford Field, Detoroit – 2007)
I consider this the worst ‘Mania in recent history, even though it’s not too bad. I was psyched for the main event, John Cena vs Shawn Michaels, but it just wasn’t that great. Undertaker vs Batista was actually better than I thought it would be, but I had pretty low expectations. I hated how they hyped the hell out of Umaga (w/ Vince McMahon) vs Bobby Lashley (w/ Donald Trump), which I thought was a dumb match to begin with – and looks even dumber in retrospect as both Umaga and Lashley were out of the WWE two years later. 85/100
#17 Wrestlemania 7 (Sports Arena, Los Angeles – 1991)
One epic match here; Randy Savage vs Ultimate Warrior. This was a retirement match and these two put on a hell of a show. At one point, Macho hits the Warrior with FIVE straight elbows from the top rope. The undercard was pretty good here, we had Undertaker’s first Wrestlemania match against Jimmy Snuka. We also got Big Bossman vs Mr. Perfect w/ Andre the Giant. But there was a ton of filler and the main event was pretty bad. Hulk Hogan fought Sgt Slaughter in probably the most predictable ‘Mania match of all time. Slaughter had the title, and was playing the ultimate heel siding with Iraq during the Gulf war. In contrast, Hogan comes out waving an American flag to chants of “USA, USA”. I thought it was cheesy as hell, and the match was basically the same match Hogan always has. 85/100
#16 Wrestlemania 13 (Chicago 1997)
This ‘Mania was all about establishing a new set of superstars. The Rock made his Wrestlemania debut against the Sultan (who?) and a young HHH fought Goldust. Stone Cold vs Bret Hart is by far the match of the night, and it’s brutal as hell. Stone Cold is literally drowning in his own blood by end of the match. This match legitimized Stone Cold’s badass persona and was a launching pad for the rest of his career. Undertaker battles Sid in a solid main event. A lot of people hate this match, but it blew away my expectations and is maybe the best match up between two seven footers in ‘Mania history. Rumor has it the Undertaker squeezes Sid so hard before he tombstones him, Sid craps his pants. I shit you not, look it up on Google. 86/100
#15 Wrestlemania 26 (University of Phoenix Stadium, Phoenix – 2010)
This was really good, but could have been so much better. The whole event was based around Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels II, which I think hurt the show overall. I didn’t like the idea of having a non-title rematch from the year before as the main event. It didn’t seem very creative, and I didn’t like how it overshadowed every other match. The match itself was great, but their match from the year before was slightly better. Chris Jericho vs Edge, John Cena vs Batista, and the Money in the Bank match were all very good, but nothing here will be remembered as “classic” by any means. Oh, and it also has the worst Wrestlemania match of all time, Bret Hart vs Vince McMahon, which was literally painful to watch.
86/100
#14 Wrestlemania 5 (Trump Plaza, Atlantic City – 1989)
This was all about the dream matchup between Macho Man and Hulk Hogan. The match itself was good, but everything surrounding it made it great. Their entrances were pretty outrageous, the storyline had them fighting over Miss Elizabeth, and Jesse Ventura’s commentary is priceless. Ventura rips on Hogan continuously, referring to Hulkamania as “Pukeamania” and his fans as “Pukeamaniacs”. The undercard was pretty good, featuring Owen Hart vs Mr Perfect, Jake the Snake vs Andre the Giant, Rick Rude vs the Ultimate Warrior and a performance by Run DMC. 86/100
#13 Wrestlemania 20 (Madison Square Garden – 2004)
This one looks awesome on paper, but most of the matches were disappointing. Forgettable matches include John Cena vs Big Show, Chris Jericho vs Christian, and Rock/Mick Foley vs Batista/Randy Orton/Ric Flair. Brock Lesnar vs Goldberg was garbage, and Undertaker vs Kane was terrible – as always. Only two of the matches delivered; Eddie Guerrero vs Kurt Angle, and the main event of HHH vs HBK vs Chris Benoit - which was amazing. 86/100
#12 Wrestlemania 25 (Reliant Stadium, Houston – 2009)
Solid event, featuring the Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels. This match blew away everyone’s expectations, and was almost unanimously considered the match of the year. John Cena vs Edge vs Big Show was was entertaining, and saw Cena pick up BOTH Edge and Big Show at the same time. Matt Hardy vs Jeff Hardy in a hardcore match was great as well. But the main event, HHH vs Randy Orton was awful and there was some crap filler, including a ten minute Kid Rock concert, a 25 diva battle royal, and pointless involvement from Mickey Rourke. 87/100
#11 Wrestlemania 12 (The Pond, Anaheim – 1996)
Undercard is mediocre but the main event is one of the greatest of all time. Early on, Stone Cold fights Savio Vega in a boring match. The crowd is dead silent here, as Stone Cold was just starting out in the WWE. To the crowd, he’s just some bald wrestler in black underwear. Later, Diesel (Kevin Nash) takes on the Undertaker. Nash only knows four moves (punch, kick, hip check and power bomb) and even the Undertaker can’t carry him to a good match. In the main event, Shawn Michaels faces Bret Hart in a 60 minute iron man match. A one hour fight might seem ridiculous to some “fans”, but this is pure awesomeness. Michaels and Hart keep you on the edge of your seat for the entire hour, using a perfect mix of technical and high risk moves. This is a testament to how great these two are, as wrestlers like Hogan or Kevin Nash (that run out of moves after five minutes) would be TORTURE to watch for an entire hour. 87/100
#10 Wrestlemania 21 (Staples Center, L.A. - 2005)
Great beginning with the Money in the Bank ladder match (Edge/Kane/Chris Benoit/Chris Jericho/Christian/Shelton Benjamin). Most of these guys went on to be world champions, and they deliver the best MITB match of all time. Later, Kurt Angle takes on Shawn Michaels in a four star classic. The main event of Batista vs HHH was a bloodbath and was way better than I thought it would be. We also had very good matches from Orton/Undertaker and Eddie Guerrero. 87.5/100
#9 Wrestlemania 24 (Citrus Bowl, Orlando – 2008)
Great undercard gets started with a surprisingly good opener between JBL and Finlay and then the usual spot-fest that is Money in the Bank. Then we got Ric Flair vs Shawn Michaels in a match that blew away my expectations. Flair is 59 years old here, but for my money, this was better than anything I remember from his days in WCW. This also had an unusually entertaining “special attraction” match in Floyd Mayweather vs The Big Show. The first main event of Randy Orton vs HHH vs John Cena was pretty damn boring, but the final match, Undertaker vs Edge, delivered and earned this ‘Mania a top ten spot. 88/100
#8 Wrestlemania 18 (Skydome, Toronto – 2002)
This was exactly one year after Vince bought WCW, so there were plenty of “dream” matches being built up. Rock vs Hogan was the top match, and the Toronto crowd goes absolutely nuts. Unfortunately, the main event of HHH vs Jericho was disappointing. Average matches from Ric Flair vs Undertaker, Booker T vs Edge, and Austin vs Scott Hall. 88/100
#7 Wrestlemania 14 (Fleetcenter, Boston - 1998)
This was my first Wrestlemania and will always be one of my favorites. Stone Cold vs Shawn Michaels w/ Mike Tyson as the special guest referee was the main event. Great undercard featuring HHH vs Owen Hart, Ken Shamrock vs the Rock, and a dumpster match between the New Age Outlaws and Cactus Jack/Terry Funk. We also had the first match between Undertaker and Kane (who unfortunately, tortured us with 842,653 rematches that all sucked). However, this match was great, and we got to see Kane tombstone the hell out of Pete Rose. The main event was one of the best of all time; Shawn Michaels vs Stone Cold. These two put on an awesome match despite having very different styles. I won’t spoil the winner, but Mike Tyson gets involved and delivers a huge knockout punch at the end. 88/100
#6 Wrestlemania 8 (Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis – 1992)
This was a classic old school Wrestlemania with lots of star power. Shawn Michaels vs Tito Santana and the Undertaker vs Jake the Snake were both really good. Bret Hart vs Rowdy Roddy Piper and Macho Man vs Ric Flair were both awesome. Unfortunately, the main event, Hulk Hogan vs Sid was awful. I promised not to spoil winners, but this ended in a disqualification. WTF. This is the only main event in WM history to end with a DQ. If this could have just been “good” this would be in contention for the best ‘Mania of all time. 88/100
#5 Wrestlemania 3 (Pontiac Silverdome, Detroit – 1987)
This one was great. Everyone remembers this for Hogan bodyslamming Andre the Giant in the main event, which was epic. However, any diehard wrestling knows that Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat was the real match of the night. In 1987, many considered this to be THE best match of all time. Right before the match, Savage cuts an awesome promo, telling the world that “HISTORY BECKONS THE MACHO MAN”, and then puts on an all time classic with Steamboat. The crowd was insane - there were 93,173 in attendance which is STILL an all-time record for an indoor sporting event. 88/100
#4 Wrestlemania 22 (Allstate Arena, Chicago – 2006)
Arguably the best all-around Wrestlemania. We get a great Money in the Bank match, Mick Foley vs Edge, Shawn Michaels vs Vince McMahon, John Cena vs HHH, and a triple threat between Randy Orton/Kurt Angle/Rey Mysterio. Wow! Pretty much every match delivers, and Foley, HHH, Orton, and Cena arguably have their best ‘Mania matches here. 90/100
#3 Wrestlemania 10 (Madison Square Garden, NYC – 1994)
In the best opening match of all time, Bret Hart takes on his younger brother Owen in a technical masterpiece. Next, Randy Savage takes on Bryan Adams in a falls count anywhere match. Then, Lex Luger takes on WWE champion Yokozuna in a non-title match. Before the main event, Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels fight for the Intercontinental Championship in the first ladder match in ‘Mania history. There have been dozens of ladder matches since, and they all fall short of the standard set here. This match is amazing, and is among the best ‘Mania matches of all time. In the main event, Bret Hart takes on Yokozuna for the WWE title. I loved the format here, where Hart and Yokozuna had to compete in matches earlier before meeting in the main event. No one has fought in two matches at a ‘Mania since, and these two put on a great match to close the show. 91/100
#2 Wrestlemania 19 (Safeco Field, Seattle - 2003)
This card was stacked! Rock vs Austin III, Hulk Hogan vs Vince McMahon, Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle, and Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho. All four of these matches are four+ star quality, with Lesnar/Angle being the match of the night. This would be the best of all time if the undercard wasn’t somewhat weak. 92/100
#1 Wrestlemania 17 (Astrodome, Houston – 2001)
Almost universally considered the best Wrestlmania of all time. Opens up with Jericho vs William Regal and then gets rolling with a hardcore match between Big Show/Raven/Kane, which is surprisingly good. Then comes Chris Benoit vs Kurt Angle in a great midcard match, followed by an insane spotfest between Vince and Shane. Then, TLC II steals the show, with Edge spearing Jeff Hardy off a 20 foot ladder. And that’s just the undercard. Undertaker vs HHH is awesome – and I’m usually bored with their respective matches. The main event, Rock vs Austin II, was epic, and is the best of their three Wrestlemania matches. Every match delivers, and the whole card is full of insane spots and blood. If you’ve never seen this, borrow it from me and watch it sometime. It will be the best three hours of your life. 94/100
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