Ranking The Best WrestleMania Cards of All Time

Oh yeah, we’re doing this. With Wrestlemania 40 only days away, we’re going to rank all the WrestleMania cards from Worst to First. What are the best WrestleMania cards of all time? We felt answering this was going to be easy at first. Then we realized we’re pro wrestling fans and couldn’t really choose easily. This is why we had to consider how the ranking would work.

We tried to factor in a few different things.

First, we wanted to consider the quality of the matches. We also had to factor in the era, considering specific types of matches that exist today that did not for the first WrestleMania. While many love 50 false finishes in the match that’s just not how they did it in 1985. We also tried to factor in the hype for these shows. How big were they? What were we expecting versus what we got?

We also felt it was unfair to judge two nights of WrestleMania against the cards that took place in one single night. This is why we decided to judge each night differently based on the night itself. This means some solo cards might beat out one of the nights of some of the most recent events.

Let’s not delay. We have 39 of these to get to. Hit our music!

WRESTLEMANIA 9

This even is what we like to call in the business, “a hot mess.” What business is that? Doesn’t matter. Just go with it.

First, you have the dishonorable Undertaker match with Giant Gonzalez. This ranks easily as his worst showing at Mania and it wasn’t Taker’s fault. Giving him a giant to work with is not a bad idea, but Gonzalez is someone who literally couldn’t do anything.

Throwing that aside, along with the terrible Tag Team Title match between Money Inc. and The Mag Manias, you have a horrific main event where Bret Hart lost to Yokozuna. Oh yeah, Yokozuna also randomly decided after this to face Hulk Hogan with the title on the line right after a grueling match with Hart. He’d lose to Hogan too, making this an odd decision.

We complain all the time that WWE is making someone “look weak,” and most of the time they are just being sensitive. This is a situation where we have no other defense for what they did. It made Hart look awful. Even that booking aside, it was a very lackluster event. This list might be about the best WrestleMania cards, but we’d like to forget this one ever existed.

WRESTLEMANIA 2

What can we say about this one? It almost felt like Vince McMahon forgot about the event until the day of the show, and someone was like: “What matches do we have planned for today?” Then Vince freaks out and grabs a bunch of people hanging around the building and makes what we now know as WrestleMania II.

Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper in the boxing match as the main event? What a brutal way to end a brutal show.

We understand the idea of trying to do it in three locations. You want to make sure that you get the most out of the show. Yet that didn’t help, to be honest. It just made it more of a mess. You’re better off putting together one cohesive show rather than trying to do three separate shows at the same time. Although, we did get the very good WWF & NFL Battle Royal. Where would the business be if that match never had the opportunity to take place? We should all ponder that.

In terms of best WrestleMania cards, this event is not going to ever be a high-ranking show. However, the partnerships WWE started here would become a staple long-term.

WRESTLEMANIA 27

WrestleMania 27 was a pretty brutal PPV that even The Rock couldn’t save. We mean this is no disrespect to The Miz, but he’s not the guy that we usually want headlining the biggest show of the year. Triple H vs. Undertaker was outstanding but also couldn’t save us from having to experience Michael Cole vs. Jerry Lawler and Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan, which was so stupid.

Look, we get that WrestleMania isn’t for the hardcore wrestling fans. It’s not about match quality as much as it’s about the spectacle. However, we’re not sure what WWE thought they were doing having Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler face off in a match. One that we gave them 13 MINUTES OF PAY-PER-VIEW time to complete.

Michael Cole is an artist on commentary and should be allotted the time it takes to tell the story. However, in the ring, he should get…no time at all.

We love Snooki (depending on your Jersey Shore interest) but we’re not sure that adding her did anything except allow her to show off her gymnastics skills for the paying audience around the world. The main event was lackluster, and even The Miz himself does not remember it due to sustaining a concussion during the match. It also seemed that if WWE was trying to make Miz a star here, they failed miserably. Considering they had Rock come in and ultimately become the deciding factor that allowed Miz to beat John Cena in this slot.

WWE then pretty much had Cena beat him for the WWE Championship shortly after. It would take Miz over a decade to win the title again after a ton of hard work.

WRESTLEMANIA 11

Lawrence Taylor, the NFL Hall of Famer, is in the main event of this show. Need we say more? Look, we’re happy our boy Bam Bam Bigelow was able to get to the main event in his career to face the NFL All-Pro linebacker. However, this was a bit much.

Thankfully, we’ve come a very long way when it comes to celebrities stepping in the ring. We’ve seen impressive people like Arrow star Stephen Amell, as well as Grammy-winning recording artist Bad Bunny, and social media/YouTube star Logan Paul do great work.

Sadly, Taylor was not exactly what we’d call “good.” A lot of this was pretty terrible.

Even Diesel vs. Shawn Michaels was eh. Shawn Michaels is coming off an incredible ladder match at WrestleMania 10, so you would think that this would be somewhere close, but it’s not even in the conversation. That is probably due to Diesel, otherwise known as Kevin Nash, who has never really been a great wrestler in his career.

While The Undertaker’s match with King Kong Bundy was terrible we can at least say it was leaps and bounds better than Giant Gonzalez. This is saying so much about the atrocity of that match. Yet the match with Bundy was still bad. We’re not sure how anyone would have this in the top 10 of their best WrestleMania cards. Most of this show could be forgotten.

WRESTLEMANIA 4

WrestleMania 4 is notable for being the night where we’d decide the WWE Champion through a tournament. One that would take place all in one night too. There is a problem with this, however. WWE has to squeeze everything in, making several wrestlers work multiple matches that night. This also meant that very few matches could last longer than 10 minutes. Most wouldn’t even get that high.

This makes sense as you’d like to prevent injuries from taking place and make sure you don’t blow any lungs out. Especially when it comes to the main event, as you want it to be good.

A match like Jake Roberts vs Rick Rude should have been great, but it was just blah. Mostly due to these tournament issues. They also had Andre the Giant vs Hulk Hogan on this card, which normally would have been huge. Especially since it main-evented the last show. Yet it was a pretty bad match, in part due to how bad Andre was health-wise by this point. It also ended in a double DQ, which threw everything off!

The main event putting Ted DiBiase against “Macho Man” Randy Savage certainly could have been better. However, Savage had been through a lot that evening while Ted was a bit gassed by this point. It could have been so much better to have made the tournament over several days with the winner decided here. WWE realized this issue and it was never done again.

WRESTLEMANIA 8

We’re pretty sure someone is upset right now. We did not have WrestleMania 8 rank higher? How dare we! Well, when your main event is absolute dog crap, what do you expect? Here’s the weird part, it was Hulk Hogan vs Sid Vicious. The whole thing was sloppy, and it was not even for the WWE Championship.

That match took place a few matches before and was relatively good. Randy Savage and Ric Flair obviously stole the show. However, the show was so bad, we know of RAW matches that could have likely stolen this show….some from this year, in fact!!

Yet it was the only saving grace for this show. The World Tag Team Title match was a disaster. Ironic, since The Natural Disasters were involved in it. Owen Hart had a cup of coffee on the card too, with a match that lasted 1 minute, and 11 seconds. If you think this is one of the best WrestleMania cards, we need you to seek counseling.

WRESTLEMANIA 23

This is slightly controversial, but we just aren’t massive fans of WrestleMania 23. John Cena was meant to face Triple H before “The Game” would get hurt, causing Shawn Michaels to step in. Ironically, if Triple H had been in this main event, we don’t feel it would have gone nearly as well. This was Cena’s best WrestleMania match for several years. However, it was not exactly an amazing match.

The Money in the Bank ladder match was fun and insane as usual. The rest of the card? Ehhhh.

We had a miserable Great Khali vs Kane match, Carlito vs Ric Flair Lumberjack match, and a terrible 8-man tag match that ended in just six minutes. Oh, this was also the event where we saw the infamous hair vs hair match. It would put Vince McMahon against our future horrible U.S. President, Donald Trump. They’d choose champions to face off for their honor.

Ironically, McMahon picked Umaga while Trump picked Bobby Lashley. There is something about making minorities fight “for” two supposed billionaires that does really sit well with us. At least we’d get to see Vince’s head get shaved. He’d then go on to lose his freaking mind afterward, even saying things like “What’s up my [N-Word]” to Booker T in a backstage segment a few months later. Seriously, that happened!

The event and its fallout were just miserable for the most part.

WRESTLEMANIA 32

Let’s give our flowers to the Women’s Triple Threat Match, which was the match of the night by a long shot. It was a really good showing that lived up to our expectations and then some. However, the rest of the card was very shaky.

Shane McMahon vs Undertaker was decent, but honestly, a hell in a cell would have been better at another PPV. We get that Shane likes to wrestle at WrestleMania, but to have a match that big and then not live up to the hype of that match is a big swing and a miss. Sure, he jumped off the dang thing but that spot did not make the overall match great.

Also, Dean Ambrose vs Brock Lesnar was a terrible waste of time that even Ambrose admits. To be honest, he was right about his issues with it too. Brock Lesnar showed up to be lazy on that night and refused to do much.

Sometimes you just have to acknowledge that you don’t have it. That’s what happened here. There was no energy for it, and it showed.

After the first two matches, this one falls off the rails. Even the main event, Roman Reigns vs. Triple H, was a terrible match that wasted twenty-seven minutes of our time that we will never get back. Oh, and The Rock beat Erick Rowan in six seconds because….reasons, we think?

What else can you say about this PPV?

WRESTLEMANIA 29

Something about this PPV just felt off. Maybe it was the Fandango vs. Chris Jericho match. Maybe it was the horrorshow that was Ryback and Mark Henry. It’s hard to put our finger on it. Of course, there was excitement around The Rock and John Cena rematch, but even that felt a little bit like the wind was let out of our sales, right?

This is probably due to Rock getting hurt in the middle of it, which required surgery afterward.

We certainly knew the outcome going in too. Rock was the WWE Champion and he wasn’t going to do an extended run as champion. Cena was getting his win back and the title along with it. That ultimately leaves WrestleMania 29 feeling less than when the suspense is gone (see: most of Roman Reigns title run).

The CM Punk vs Undertaker match was very good, and it probably should have been the main event too. Based on the actual quality of the match, we can see why he would have wanted it to. However, we didn’t get that. Triple H vs Brock Lesnar was another decent but not great match.

We’re getting into the area of good but not great events here, so you can’t hate this show as much as others but you don’t have to love it either.

WRESTLEMANIA 10

Okay, this was a tough call. People will remember it fondly because of the two big matches. First, there’s the Owen Hart vs Bret Hart that opened the show. Who can argue with this match? It’s incredible. Two masters at their craft and a remarkable story about one brother trying to prove to the other that he belongs at his level. So wonderful.

Then you have Razor Ramon vs Shawn Michaels in a ladder match that is still arguably one of the best ladder matches in the history of the sport. Both matches were a masterclass in physicality, storytelling, and suspense. Both had all the things you needed them to have.

Once you get past those two matches, there’s just a lot of really low-quality content in this PPV. Alundra Blayze vs Leilani Kai was a three-minute popcorn match. Randy Savage vs Crush was totally forgettable. Bam Bam Bigelow and Luna Vachon vs Dink & Doink were not fun to watch. There’s even a 32-second Earthquake vs Adam Bomb match that went exactly how you’d expect a match with an earthquake and adam bomb colliding to go.

The build for this show is also pretty lackluster. Hogan had just left, and they were coming off the steroid scandal. It was not a great time to be watching WWE, and it showed despite two spectacular matches.

WRESTLEMANIA 36 – NIGHT #2

We want to be a bit gentle here. We’re in the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic and this show took place without any fans inside the WWE Performance Center. It was going to hurt the overall quality of the show, without a doubt. It’s unfair to judge it horribly for factors it could not control.

We do, however, have to judge a card by what it brings to the table. Coming off a great Royal Rumble, we had the Drew McIntyre vs Brock Lesnar in the main event, and it was pretty lackluster. It was four minutes that felt like a match that Brock was forced to do. We’re not sure if that’s the case, but it certainly feels that way.

Watching Edge compete in a singles match for the first time in 8 years was thrilling, but it lasted about 15 minutes too long. It did feel a bit longer to some though. It was tough stuff for Edge, but sometimes just because you can use the entire Performance Center doesn’t mean that you should.

The match of the night was easily Charlotte Flair vs Rhea Ripley, and that was a treat to watch. However, that and the Firefly Fun House match couldn’t make the totality of what we got on Night 2 rise to the level of other WrestleMania shows before it.

WRESTLEMANIA 1

We respect the OG’s around here but we can’t use nostalgia to overinflate the rankings here.

Edge returned in 2020 but the match was too long. Daniel Bryan, one of the best wrestlers of all time, wrestled after a 3 year absence but it was just an okay match. Sometimes it’s not enough just the be notable for what something means. Nostalgia only takes you so far.

WrestleMania 1 is not a bad card by any means but it was also not a great card either. The event wouldn’t hit its stride for what the card could be until WrestleMania 3, and so the first two were a lot of feeling out how to get people interested. We will always appreciate the OG, but as far as WrestleMania events go, it was simply decent and not great.

WRESTLEMANIA 33

If WrestleMania were all about moments, then this show has a couple that it can be remembered for. You had John Cena propose to Nikki Bella. Of course, they never did get married (sorry, we’re just being honest).

Fans also saw Undertaker lose his second WrestleMania match, this time to Roman Reigns. He then leaves his gear in the middle of the ring. At the time, it was an iconic shot signaling the end of The Phenom’s career. Of course, he’d return to the ring again. This should be called “The WrestleMania Where People Made Declarations They Wouldn’t Follow Through On.”

Also, Randy Orton vs Bray Wyatt was, well, a terrible match. The two would run it back a few years later at WrestleMania only to have another terrible match. That was super fun for everyone. This PLE was not great and honestly, it gets a little bit worse on a rewatch. At least the Hardy’s came back. That was fun.

To many, this is one of the best WrestleMania cards ever. However, as referenced, it really was about moments. Most of which would turn out to mean nothing. Therefore, it’s hard to really rank it high.

WRESTLEMANIA 15

This card is a prime example of how WWE handled most of its booking during the Vince McMahon era. They built to one match and one match only. Everything else was filler to get to that one match. The Rock vs “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was the main event. It was the feud they wanted you to care about. What else did they want you to care about? Who the hell knows?

Every match on this card felt thrown together. Also, the results were not significant. Hardcore Holly vs Al Snow vs Billy Gunn? Not great. Jeff Jarrett and Owen Hart vs D-Lo Brown and Test. Not great either. The main event was really good, and we love this era of the WWE. However, there wasn’t a single match beyond the main event that you would urge anyone to go back and watch.

To us, that hurts the overall card. Making it tough for us to rank it highly on our best WrestleMania cards list.

WRESTLEMANIA 5

We know we’re gonna get hate for this one. We know it, and we get it. The storytelling that led into WrestleMania 5 was incredible. We cannot dismiss that here, so let’s state that part upfront. They built to Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan for a year, even giving us the fun Mega Powers tag team for a while. It was a slow bleed that people look back on with incredible fondness. We appreciate what that story was.

The name of the game here for the best WrestleMania cards list is to look at the totality of the card, not just one match and one build. If you’re defending this PPV to be higher on the list, tell us, what match elevates it among the better cards? Is it Hercules vs King Haku?

How about Brutus Beefcake vs Ted DiBiase? What about The Bushwhackers vs The Fabulous Rougeaus? Do you get the point? Obviously, there is some great wrestling on this card, and then there’s nothing special with the rest of it. Even for the time it happened, this buildup to the main event was great, but it felt like a chore to watch some of the matches that came before it.

The main event lived up to the hype, but that’s just the main event.

WRESTLEMANIA 18

WrestleMania 18 might encapsulate how we ultimately felt about the WCW vs WWE invasion storyline. When WWE bought the company, the collective wrestling world was excited about the storytelling possibilities. What we were given was some of the lesser stars of WCW because the big names all had guaranteed money to sit at home.

We get it, most of us would sit at home for millions of dollars too.

For WrestleMania 18, this show felt too little too late. Finally, they got the big-name stars with the NWO, but it just lost a lot of its steam. Scott Hall vs Stone Cold would have been great five years earlier. Hulk Hogan vs The Rock was fantastic, but then Edge vs Booker T was just so-so.

Let’s not forget that Chris Jericho would main-event his first WrestleMania here with Triple H, who returned shortly before after missing nearly a year of action with a torn quad. The story was nice going in, but the match failed to deliver.

Again, the names were there to have a great PPV but truthfully it just didn’t quite click. While there was a lot to like here, other stuff needed to be fixed.

WRESTLEMANIA 22

WrestleMania 22 might just be the definition of good but easily forgettable. Every match was good minus some exceptions.

John Cena vs Triple H in the main event. Good but forgettable. Shawn Michaels vs Vince McMahon. Good but forgettable. Mickie James vs Trish Stratus? Maybe a little more memorable but honestly not even their best match together. Edge vs Mick Foley took place here, and was insane! Would you have expected any less from those two?

Rey Mysterio winning the World Heavyweight Title was a nice moment and maybe the only one we’ll remember from this event. Again, we’re in the middle right now so you’re seeing a lot of WrestleMania events in what we’d call a “mixed bag” territory. Where the shows are pretty good but could have been better.

WRESTLEMANIA 13

You could argue that it deserves higher. Steve Austin vs Bret Hart is incredible. Every bit of that match was nearly perfect, and the iconic image of Austin screaming in pain, face full of blood, will live on in WrestleMania history. However, one match doesn’t make a “great” WrestleMania card.

There are a lot of solid matches on this show, but the hype for this one was about a year early. Plus, the execution on even matches like Rocky Mavia vs The Sultant was a bit lacking.

Undertaker vs Sycho Sid ended the show and was pretty boring. You have one incredible bright spot, but beyond that, there are not a lot of matches here to talk about. This was a one-trick pony, even if it was a spectacular one.

WRESTLEMANIA 25

Hard to put this lower on the list, but it is what it is. You could easily rank it higher, as it was one of the best WrestleMania cards ever for a while. However, there was some good here mixed with some pretty horrible stuff.

Obviously, we have The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels on this card. Without question, this was incredible and worth a million rewatches, but the rest of this card was lackluster.

Jeff Hardy vs Matt Hardy was supposed to be good, with a built-in brother vs brother storyline, but it just never really got to that level. It’s a shame because we both know how good they can be as singles wrestlers. They didn’t do horribly together, but with the major story they had going in, people felt like we’d get more. At least the ending of this match was great.

The Miss WrestleMania Battle Royal sucked and was a slap in the face. If you were expecting us to say this was a fantastic bit of business, we’d be truthfully surprised. Even John Cena vs Edge vs Big Show was just okay, and we say that knowing that Edge and Cena have excellent chemistry in the ring.

As for the main event, we loved the build to Triple H vs Randy Orton. In fact, Triple H cut one of this writer’s all-time favorite RAW promos during this time, but the match just fell flat. This writer never thought Orton vs Triple H had great chemistry in the ring. Maybe because they are so similar in their energy and movement, but this didn’t work for us.

WRESTLEMANIA 38 – NIGHT #2

The issue with this part of the card is that by the time we got to WrestleMania 38 Night #2, a lot of the biggest moments were over.

We knew Roman wasn’t losing and we saw Cody Rhodes return on Night #1. We also had Stone Cold! Stone Cold! As he’d face off with Kevin Owens in the main event on that night. In the end, we were left with a main event where we knew the outcome. This card has a good Edge vs AJ Styles match, a surprisingly good Johnny Knoxville vs. Sami Zayn match, and the Raw Tag Team Triple Threat Match was good.

Again, this was a good card, but nothing stood out dramatically. Still, the matches they did have were not bad. They were all good. We could easily say that this is a bit better than your average PLE. However, it is not a “great” PLE and certainly not as good as Night #1 was.

WRESTLEMANIA 20

This is a quality card, top to bottom. Eddie Guerrero vs Kurt Angle was awesome. Any time these two locked up, you were going to get something special. We knew that going on, so they had to live up to a lot. They certainly did that. We’d also get a pretty good main event in [Redacted] vs Shawn Michaels vs Triple H.

Christian vs Chris Jericho was also really good, with a fun ending involving Trish Stratus that actually worked well.

The biggest knock on the card is clearly Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar. We all know the story. Both men were leaving after this, so WWE scrambled to get this potential dream match out of the way. It could have been good if both men really cared to give us that. However, for this to be the only real black mark on the card is saying a lot.

WrestleMania 20 seemed to show fans that WWE was finding its footing again with these shows. Even if they’d prove that wrong several times after this one. Either way, this is one of the best WrestleMania cards of all time.

WRESTLEMANIA 34

There are some really bright spots on this card. The opener with Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, and The Miz was excellent and so was the match that followed with Asuka and Charlotte Flair. Seriously, these matches are memorable and somehow follow each other. People often forget that. Sadly, there are some disappointing matches on the card afterward.

Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns ended the show and was subpar at best. Of course, Roman had not become the Tribal Chief and figured out how to tell amazing stories in the ring at this point. Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss seemed like it could have been okay but the story going into it was, in our opinion, despicable. Fans wanted Jax to win as a result, but it felt like this was a mismatch the whole way, so we’re not sure why they did a “mean girls” story here.

It was nice to see Daniel Bryan return to professional wrestling after a multi-year hiatus too. Still, the match itself was pretty blah. Undertaker also had a squash match with John Cena. Other than the mixed tag featuring Ronda Rousey’s debut, this whole event felt just okay

We’ve clearly seen worse, but let’s not pretend this was an all-time PPV. It was mid, as the kids like to say.

WRESTLEMANIA 6

It’s hard to oversell just how big this Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan match was. Not since Hogan wrestled Andre at WrestleMania 3 did we have a main event with the big stakes feel that this one had. It was also the first time the company was putting two titles on the line in one match on the WrestleMania card. Warrior’s Intercontinental Title and Hogan’s WWE Championship were up for grabs.

These two guys weren’t known to be incredible in-ring technicians capable of putting on the kind of show you’d expect. It was an incredible display of power and kind of fun but we won’t show this match at any wrestling clinics. The rest of the card, by today’s standards, wouldn’t live up to expectations because the matches were too short.

However, a lot of matches were like that back then. Especially for bigger professional wrestling cards like this.

If it sounds like we’re being hypocritical for hating on some short matches and not others, there are levels to this thing, as they say. Not all matches under 5 minutes are created equal. We loved The Orient Express vs The Rockers which was just about seven minutes. We also liked Dusty Rhodes & Sapphire vs Queen Sherri & Randy Savage.

Mr. Perfect got about as much as he could have out of Brutus Beefcake too. Overall this is a good PPV and we’re entering the territory where they are all pretty good. It’s just a matter of what makes one slightly better than the next. You’ll see why this card lost out to others when you see the ones ahead of it.

WRESTLEMANIA 12

This could be the best WrestleMania main event of all time. That’s with all due respect to Michaels vs Undertaker, Rock vs Austin, Usos vs Sami Zayn, and Cody Rhodes vs Roman Reigns. All were great but this Iron Man Match was the goat before Bryan Danielson and MJF challenged that claim recently.

Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart for the WWE Championship in the first Ironman match was probably WWE’s first WrestleMania “classic.” They had a lot of big matches like Hogan/Andre. However, they did not have a clinical classic, a true masterclass, before this.

Of course, one match doesn’t make a good card, but this card had several good matches. Undertaker vs Diesel was good for what it was. The Six-Man Tag match and the WWF World Tag Team Title Tournament were also pretty good despite being a bit shorter than we would have liked.

Mileage may vary on this because it was a weird time in the business. It took place right around the change to the Attitude Era, but it wasn’t fully attitude yet. Still, it’s a very good card with a GOAT-level Main Event. What more can you ask for?

WRESTLEMANIA 7

It’s funny, but this is one of the best WrestleMania cards mostly for its undercard. Honestly, this part of the card really does save the main event from having to help it out in historical terms. We have a lot of fun, quality matches here. The Rockers vs The Heenan Family was great. We have the vintage Rockers here, putting on a freakin show!

The Hart Foundation faced off with The Nasty Boys in a fun match. The Hart Foundation was known for helping their lesser opponents look good often, that was kind of what Bret Hart was known for. However, the Nasty Boys were a relatively good team and held their own in the ring with them. It was a bit surprising to see, especially when the Nasty Boys won/

Ultimate Warrior, who we’ve dubbed the “Forest Gump of Pro Wrestling” had a good match with Randy Savage. These two went 20 minutes, giving Warrior his best WrestleMania match in terms of quality. How Savage pulled that out of Warrior really needs to be studied by NASA or some type of government science facility.

Hulk Hogan faced off with Sgt. Slaughter in the main event. The build to this was great, as Slaughter turned heel and went against America for the first time. It led to such heat that people actually tried to off the future Hall of Famer. Luckily, he lived through it and would turn babyface relatively soon after this.

Their match was ehhh. It was pretty disappointing after such a huge build. Yet the overall quality of the card was still good.

WRESTLEMANIA 35

Despite this feeling like the longest WrestleMania in the history of the universe, we loved this entire card. There are not many bad matches here, and outside of the pre-show, we challenge you to find two bad matches on this card.

This was the show with the first women’s main event. Becky Lynch would win both the RAW & SmackDown Women’s Championships when she faced off with Ronda Rousey & Charlotte Flair. Yet this show has often been referred to as Kofi-Mania, as Kofi Kingston beat Daniel Bryan to become the WWE Champion for the first time. It was an awesome match, probably even the best on the card. Most fans were happy for Becky, but we were pumped to the moon for Kofi.

Brock Lesnar vs Seth Rollins should not have been as good as it was. Looking at it, you would have expected it to be bad, especially knowing how Lesnar treated Ambrose a few years prior. Yet they told a good story and made the most of this match.

We weren’t the biggest fan of Kurt Angle vs Baron Corbin, but it was not a terrible match. We just felt like Angle deserved better. Plus, we’ve also learned to move past it thanks to proper therapy. Thank you, Dr. Dan, we now know life moves on thank to you!

WRESTLEMANIA 37 – NIGHT #2

Let’s address the elephant in the room. We cannot and will not defend the Randy Orton vs The Fiend match. We refuse to do so and you cannot make us, so there! That match was a terrible way to start this night of WrestleMania. Remember Owen vs Bret as the opener? This was the opposite. In fact, it was as if the Wrestling Gods were trying to find the perfect opposite to Owen/Bret. That said, we acknowledge this wasn’t very good.

We have to look at the card as a whole. Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn was really quite good, not that you would expect anything less from two of the best performers in the wrestling world today. They always have great chemistry. We love them as partners, but as enemies, they just destroy every single time.

Sheamus vs Matt Riddle was also really good, which was kind of unexpected for most of us. You should expect good things from good performers, but this was surprisingly good. Even Apollo Crews vs Big E was outstanding. Follow that up with the awesome Rhea Ripley vs Asuka match, and you have one hell of a card.

The main event was good and solidified the Tribal Chief run. It helps when you have Edge and Daniel Bryan as your ring partners but still, it was a great match. This is thought to be one of the best WrestleMania cards to date for a good reason.

WRESTLEMANIA 36 – NIGHT #1

The Internet rates Night #2 of WrestleMania 36 as better, but we don’t believe that was the case. In fact, we can make a case that Night #1 was the best of the bunch here.

Kevin Owens vs Seth Rollins was really good. They put on a great show that made you sad that they couldn’t have done that in front of a live audience.

We also have a good ladder match with John Morrison, Jimmy Uso, and Kofi Kingston. These three guys really sold out. Again, this was the kind of match that was begging to be done in front of people. The fact that they delivered in an empty room is incredible.

Sami Zayn vs Daniel Bryan was excellent, and then the main event was AJ Styles vs Undertaker in a Boneyard match. It was part of the “cinematic matches” concept, which did not work well for a lot of stuff. Yet this match certainly delivered. This was the best use of cinema in a match you could get. With all due respect to the Firefly Funhouse Match, this was way better.

Still, we thought that Undertaker and AJ did a great job of selling this. It was also a great match for Undertaker to end his career with. Thank you, AJ, for constantly delivering every dang time we see you.

WRESTLEMANIA 26

This card is really good—first, the obvious of Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels. WWE screwed themselves by having this go on in the Co-Main Event spot the year before, so they were not going to make that mistake again. This was the Career vs Streak match where Undertaker’s WrestleMania Streak would end or HBK’s career would come to an end. Something had to give and we really thought Michaels was going to pull it off.

Was it better than their WM25 match? That is up for debate but they pulled off an A+ match here too, so pick your poison here.

Chris Jericho vs Edge was excellent. As was John Cena vs Batista, which most felt wouldn’t deliver. These two matches either met or exceeded expectations, depending on what you thought going in.

Honestly, there were no disappointments here. Even earlier matches like Rey Mysterio vs CM Punk and Triple H vs. Sheamus were both very good. There just aren’t a lot of bad spots on the card.

Well, that is if you promise to close your eyes and forget about the Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon match, which was really just the worst.

This is one of the best WrestleMania cards in history, and you can see why. It’s hard to find anything to complain about besides that match we’d all like to forget.

WRESTLEMANIA 16

Honestly, WrestleMania 16 is often ignored despite how excellent it was. We often like to claim it was a sneaky good show. There is a great European & Intercontinental Title match with Kurt Angle entering the match as dual champion. He’d lose both in a triple threat to [Redacted] & Chris Jericho, never eating a pin or submission to lose either one. Seriously, it was a fun match. If you can handle a specific rabid wolverine, it’s worth a rewatch.

We also have the big three-way tag team ladder match involving Edge & Christian, The Dudleys, & the Hardy Boyz. This match was revolutionary and just had our minds blown. It still holds up today, so go back and see it when you can. It’ll be worth it. Sadly, it would set up a lifetime of pain for many of those involved.

Overall, this was a really good night of action. We feel like this one gets lost in the shuffle a bit because, beyond the three-way ladder match, there isn’t a crazy memorable match. The main event was also good but not incredible. Therefore, it’s easy to miss this one, but this was still in the heart of the Attitude Era. If you paid for this event, then you definitely got your money’s worth.

WRESTLEMANIA 38 – NIGHT #1

You would have thought that with the Usos vs. Rick Boogs & Shinsuke Nakamura as your opener, this would have ended up closer to the bottom. However, the show really climbs from there.

The overall card was really good. You had a great debut from Logan Paul against The Mysterios. We also had a fantastic Bianca Belair vs Becky Lynch match, and you had the debut of Cody Rhodes back in WWE which was easily the pop of the night.

Then you also had a good Charlotte Flair vs Ronda Rousey match. Plus, the return of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin to (sort) in-ring action for the first time in almost 20 years. That match was really good, and the was a memory fans will carry with them for a long time.

Overall this WrestleMania card had everything, and there wasn’t a bad match outside of the opener (where Boogs injured his knee). You could argue that the Usos vs Boogs and Nakamura was not great, but it was not terrible. Trust us, we’ve seen a lot worse, and if that’s the worst match you get then you’re in the front seat for a hell of a card.

This is why we rank it among the best WrestleMania cards of all time.

WRESTLEMANIA 39 – NIGHT #2

We are torn with this one. You have an excellent main event like Cody Rhodes vs Roman Reigns. You had an event-stealing match in Gunther vs Sheamus vs Drew McIntyre. Plus, we’re given a very good Women’s Title match. Yet, when looking at it as its own event, we think the entire card was really hurt by the night before. That night had momentum that concluded with Owens and Zayn winning The Tag titles from the unbeatable Usos.

That’s pretty incredible when you look at it. While this card was very good, it just couldn’t rise to the level of the night before. Maybe that makes us suckers for rooting for the good guys, but it’s what we liked. You probably deduct points for Shane blowing out his quad, but then you make up for it with a great Snoop Dogg audible where he punches the Miz. You even had a very good Hell In A Cell match between Edge and Finn Balor.

Overall, there’s not a lot on this card to criticize. Even the Fatal Four-Way Tag Team Match wasn’t terrible. As far as filler on a WrestleMania card it was pretty good, to be honest. There are no weak spots here. It just falls a bit short of what you got on Night #1. Still, it’s easily one of the best WrestleMania cards we’ve ever seen.

WRESTLEMANIA 31

It’s a classic and memorable WrestleMania—one of the best, to be sure. We loved it. Enough to put it in the Top 10? Probably not, but it came really close.

First, WrestleMania 31 is memorable for the heist of the century. Seth Rollins wins the WWE Championship in the main event by cashing in his MITB briefcase. This was incredibly unexpected and the best possible way to cash in the MITB.

Second, the ladder match was great. Ladder matches at this show might be a bit of a cheat code but they are pretty excellent and almost always deliver. This might have been the night’s best match had Rollins not cashed in for the main event.

Triple H vs Sting was awesome and a great nostalgia pop, even if some think Sting should have won. Randy Orton and Seth Rollins also had a great match earlier that night, and the two gave us one of the best RKOs in history. All in all, this was an excellent card, and you felt good walking away from this one. This is often why so many believe it still holds up as one of the best WrestleMania cards in history.

WRESTLEMANIA 28

We could have deducted points because their tagline “Once In A Lifetime” was a lie. However, this one lived up to the hype.

They spent a year building up to The Rock vs John Cena, and when it got there, it delivered. That match was awesome, and the crowd was wild and into the entire match. You also had an all-time great Hell in a Cell match from The Undertaker and Triple H. This was one of the best Undertaker matches in WrestleMania history and certainly the best Triple H match at WrestleMania.

CM Punk vs Chris Jericho got buried under the weight of the two matches we mentioned. However, the truth is that it was a great match featuring two guys with really good chemistry in the ring. Plus, they benefitted from a really good story going into the match.

It was just outstanding across the board. Did every match work? Nope, but it worked enough and didn’t detract from the fact that it was an entertaining show with memorable moments from top to bottom. How could this not be one of the best WrestleMania cards of all time, right?

WRESTLEMANIA 21

The Triple H vs Batista storyline was one of the better stories they were telling at this time. This was a weird period for WWE, where the old guard of the Attitude Era was on its way out. Meanwhile, the new guard was on its way in, with faces like John Cena were already establishing themselves.

The main event was really good, but there were also other really good matches on the card. For instance, the Money In The Bank Ladder Match was outstanding. It also really set up the eventual “Rated R” Superstar Era for Edge. You had an excellent Undertaker vs Randy Orton match too. Many of us felt like Orton was going to get the win here too.

However, the best match by far was Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels. That probably doesn’t surprise anyone. It takes nearly a half hour to watch these two artists work in the ring. Incredible. This is nearly a 10/10 event. You could not have asked for more, making it one of the best WrestleMania cards ever.

WRESTLEMANIA 24

Point blank: this card was excellent.

Of course, the MITB ladder match was great. That is probably because WrestleMania does not miss when booking ladder matches on the card. The Triple Threat Match between Orton, Cena, and Triple H probably deserved to be the main event, in this writer’s opinion. This was a peak point for heel Orton and one of the best times ever to watch him work. It was a great match.

The main event was outstanding. Undertaker was showing himself as a top-notch big-match performer. You’d see this in the next 6 WrestleMania events, as he showed out every chance he got. Edge was his dance partner on this night, who also walked in with an undefeated streak heading into the night. Therefore, one streak was guaranteed to end, which made things fun.

Even the matches you might not have loved on this card weren’t bad. Batista vs Umaga was better than most will rate it. Heck, they even managed to make Floyd Mayweather vs The Big Show something fun and entertaining to watch. There are no real low points on this card, and that’s sort of the point. It hits from top to bottom.

Of course, we have to mention the match of the night between Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels. The iconic image of Shawn telling Ric “I’m sorry, I love you” still gets us choked up. He then superkicks him to end his WWE career, giving us an iconic memory we’ll have forever from WrestleMania. It’s really clear that this is one of the best WrestleMania cards of all time.

WRESTLEMANIA 14

This was one of the most hyped PPVs of the Attitude Era, and in many ways, it really cemented the direction of the WWE. It’s hard to articulate just how huge this event was. You had “Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs Shawn Michaels with Mike Tyson as your outside referee. The build to this match was great, with Stone Cold and Tyson getting into it on RAW.

The card leading up to the main event was solid as well. Triple H vs Owen Hart was really enjoyable. The Rock vs Ken Shamrock was fine but not great, yet this match built to much more for these two. We also have a very good Kane vs Undertaker match that was awesome and one of Taker’s best matches in his early WrestleMania era.

The main event was everything you wanted it to be between Austin & Michaels. It gave the crowd the good feeling of going home, and it cemented the Stone Cold Era in WWE. The only bittersweet part of this match was that it would be years before we would see Shawn Michaels in a ring again. Still, he went out delivering a great performance as he always did.

WRESTLEMANIA 37 – NIGHT #1

Night #1 of WrestleMania 37 is outstanding, and one of the best WrestleMania cards ever. We’re at the point where all the cards going forward are above and beyond.

Let’s start with the opener here. It’s Drew McIntyre vs Bobby Lashley, which was unsurprisingly great. They gave this match a lot of time to breathe, and both performers showed up in a big way.

Cesaro vs Seth Rollins was good too, and gave fans a much-needed win for Cesaro. They were given ample time to work and made the most of it. You had the next few matches feel a little bit less than compared to how the card started.

Then we transitioned to Bad Bunny’s debut as a WWE performer, and he set the bar that only Logan Paul has since reached or surpassed. What an incredible show from a guy who, in his spare time, is one of the biggest recording artists on planet Earth.

We then end the night with arguably the greatest women’s match in WrestleMania history. Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks delivered a match that outperformed most male matches we’ve seen all time at this event. This was a historic moment for the business and two top-tier performers showing why they are both considered the best in the world at this. Giving Bianca the title was right, and both women deserve all the flowers.

Seeing Sasha smile as Belair is celebrating in the ring, feeling like she accomplished something great by “making” Bianca was sweet to see. It would also become the last WrestleMania we’d see her in, as she left WWE later that year.

WRESTLEMANIA 19

This is the official end of the Attitude Era. While WWE’s popularity is heading south, they manage a great card from top to bottom.

Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho steals the show in our opinion. We didn’t expect anything less from Shawn, but this is also one of the great feuds of that era.

Our main event was Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle. Lesnar memorably botched a shooting star press here, but this match was still awesome. The formula for a great WrestleMania appears to be to have prime Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle, or a Ladder Match on the card. Everything else will take care of itself.

The Rock and Steve Austin are together again for this event, but it will be for the last time. Austin is on his last legs and not feeling great for this one, but he soldiered through and put on a heck of a match.

Even Vince McMahon vs Hulk Hogan managed to be good for two guys who, even in their prime in-ring careers, could not move amazingly well. At least Hogan could move a bit, whereas Vince has always been an uncoordinated lunatic in the ring. This was one of the best WrestleMania cards of all time, with a few walk-away moments.

Of course, not every match was Michaels vs Jericho, but all were entertaining.

WRESTLEMANIA 30

The Yes! Movement is in its peak form here. The build to WrestleMania 30 was special as it truly felt organic. From the Royal Rumble PLE to the takeover on Monday Night RAW. Bryan didn’t just have “a” WrestleMania moment; he had THE WrestleMania moment.

Bryan actually opened the show fighting Triple H, which was an outstanding match. It set the stage for Bryan to do the impossible task. He beat Triple H, but at what cost? It would see him in the main event against Batista and Randy Orton, which was truly one hell of a moment. At that point, it felt like a foregone conclusion that he would win, but did we even care?

What about the rest of the card?

First, extra points for having an entertaining Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. A really fun event when it usually is a car wreck to watch.

John Cena vs Bray Wyatt was much better than Bray usually showed at WrestleMania. It wasn’t Cena vs Shawn Michaels, but it was a rather good match and one we can look back on fondly.

Of course, this was also famous for ending The Undertaker’s streak. We wish this match had been better, but despite what the internet rates the match, it’s not as bad as it could have been. Especially given that Undertaker was concussed during the match.

The fact that this match didn’t meet its lofty expectations of what we’d come to think of the Deadman’s matches at WrestleMania is why it’s not a spot or two higher on this list. Details matter, people. We were given one of the best WrestleMania cards of all time at this event, and we were happy to see it.

WRESTLEMANIA 3

You have to remember how important this WrestleMania was. This is THE WRESTLEMANIA that people think of when they think of the event’s early days. You had Vince finally get it right.

Let’s start by talking about the best match of the night: Randy Savage vs Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat. We have two incredible in-ring performers. This is like the Angle and Michaels of this generation.

This match set the standard for matches at WrestleMania and is still used as a measuring stick. You’ll hear someone say, “Well, it’s no Savage vs Steamboat,” and this is what they mean.

Your main event between Hogan & Andre was enormous and honestly lived up to the hype. Wrestling is not all about holds and sunset flips, so sometimes, the story and the moment within the story drive the match. Hogan slamming Andre is a moment that will live forever. These guys couldn’t do the kind of moves that Savage and Steamboat could, but that didn’t matter. That wasn’t what this match was about.

If you look past these matches, the rest of the card is very solid. The tag team match opener was good. Harley Race vs The Junkyard Dog was short but effective and entertaining. The Hart Foundation vs The British Bulldogs and Tito Santana were great as well. You had a lot of really good matches on this card and two moments that defined WrestleMania for an entire generation.

It’s hard to find an event that does that. Which is why it’s among the best WrestleMania cards of all time.

WRESTLEMANIA 17

Everything worked on this card, and that’s the reason it’s so high on our list. Let’s walk through this card a little bit:

We have a solid Chris Jericho vs William Regal match. Short? Yes. High Quality? Also yes. It’s followed by an impressive 6-man tag match.

There is a Hardcore Title match between Kane, Raven, & Big Show that was far better than it should have been. Truthfully, this title was formed to create terrible matches yet somehow talent delivered. Plus, they could have fun in these matches.

Eddie Guerrero vs Test for the European Title was fun. We’d also get Kurt Angle vs [Redacted]. Hate this Rabid Wolverine all you want, but he and Angle put on a clinic on this night. Shane and Vince would also fight on this card, and it turned out relatively well…somehow.

The show stealer was the Tag Team Ladder match, which lived up to the hype after what the same three teams did the year before together. Undertaker vs Triple H, the first one, was really good and probably could have been the main event. They beat the holy hell out of each other.

The main event is yet again Rock vs Austin, both at the height of their popularity. WWE was also on fire, having just purchased both ECW & WCW, so this event sort of sealed up what was a great year for WWE. It is one of the best WrestleMania cards of all time, yet narrowly misses out on the top spot

WRESTLEMANIA 39 – NIGHT #1

What. A. Card. We have one of the best builds we’ve ever had for a WrestleMania. The Bloodline story is at the peak of its popularity and interest. Sami Zayn fever swept the nation. Somehow, Zayn had supplanted Roman Reigns as the most talked-about Superstar in the company, so there was nothing but anticipation to see what was next.

This was also the beginning of the true fracturing of the Bloodline. It all culminated in a main event on this night that was as good as we’ve ever seen. The Usos vs Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens was a classic. You should go out of your way to watch it as we head into WrestleMania 40 if you want to watch high-level wrestling.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a bad match on the card. Logan Paul vs Seth Rollins was excellent and much better than a match with Logan Paul should be, given his relative inexperience.

We also had the awesome Rey Mysterio vs Dominik Mysterio match. Charlotte Flair vs Rhea Ripley was incredible and is perhaps the best Women’s Title match we’ve ever seen at WrestleMania.

The Fatal Four Way Tag Team match was outstanding as well.

The only two spots you could quibble with are Austin Theory vs John Cena, which was good but not great. Plus, the six-woman tag with Becky Lynch, Lita, and Trish Stratus vs Damage CTRL was just okay. Despite this, there is not a single bad match on the card.

What about Pat McAfee vs The Miz? What about it? It was a spot designed to let us all go to the bathroom and get snacks from the kitchen. No card is perfect. You were given near perfection here. Making this one of the best WrestleMania cards ever.