Photo Courtesy WWE
It is that time of year folks. WrestleMania is the biggest pro wrestling event of the year, so I wanted to do a top-five list. Now, there were so many matches you got to understand their 43 main events. Some good, some bad, but mostly good to fantastic. There were times I had to change my list over and over because of how good the matches were. I'm only doing the main events because if I ranked the best WrestleMania matches it would have been hard to come up with. With that in mind, this is my list of the Top five Greatest WrestleMania main events of all time.
5. WrestleMania 28 The Rock Vs John Cena
Photo Courtesy WWE
The Rock Vs John Cena WrestleMania 28 Once in a Lifetime. This match was hyped up for over a year. It was announced the Raw after WrestleMania 27. As a kid, I was rooting for John Cena. This was at a time when Cena was at its peak and was booked very strongly. Most of the crowd was cheering for The Rock heading into Mania.
Before the match, each man had a rapper representing them which was cool. Cena had Machine Gun Kelly and Rock had Flo Rida. Once that bell rang you felt the energy in the stadium as both men stood across each other. May not be the best match but I just love this match because it's something we had never seen. Two stars announce a match a year in advance.
In the end, Cena got cocky and went for the people's elbow but got caught with a Rock Bottom. The Rock got a mania win in his hometown. The next year Cena got his win back against The Rock for the WWE Championship. But that match wasn’t as good as the first one. That's why it belongs at number five.
4. WrestleMania 31 Brock Lesnar Vs Roman Reigns Vs Seth Rollins
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Heading into this match the fans did want this match at all. Roman Reigns won the Royal Rumble and the crowd booed not talking to him as a main event player. That rumble is regarded as one of the worst rumbles in the company's history. The build-up wasn’t good. I remember they had a tug-of-war for the belt. But what we got was something nobody expected.
For starters, this match was probably the best Lesnar Vs Reigns match I've ever seen. Before the cash in from bell to bell, it was chaotic. Lesnar was just throwing Roman around suplex after suplex after suplex. But Reigns fought and he wasn't going to give up. Lesnar hits an F5 to Roman, but he can’t make the cover because he was too tired. Then Seth Rollins came out to cash in his money in the bank contract and this was when it got interesting.
Rollins went for the curb stomp and Lesnar caught him. Reigns then spears Lesnar. Rollins hits a curb stomp to Reigns and Rollins becomes the new World Heavyweight Champion. Had Rollins not cashed in this would not have ranked anywhere near my list. Fans didn’t want Lesnar or Reigns walking out with the title; it would have felt forced. While Rollins was a heel at the time it doesn’t take away the moment itself. It was the first time ever a money in the bank cashed in on a WrestleMania show and it happened in the main event.
3. WrestleMania 30 Randy Orton Vs Batista Vs Daniel Bryan
Photo Courtesy Sportskeeda
The original match was Randy Orton Vs Batista but the fans voiced their frustration and pushed for Daniel Bryan to be in the main event. In the opening match of that same show Triple H took on Daniel Bryan the winner would be added to the main event. Bryan won in a great match.
As for the main event itself, is it overbooked? Yeah, I mean Triple H got involved in pulling the referee out of the match. This was during the Authority Era. Bryan took out Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and referee Scott Armstrong (He was the authority's referee) flying through the ropes taking out all three of them. My favorite part of the match was when Orton and Batista teamed up and on the announce table Batista hoisted Bryan up while standing on one table and threw him forward into a RKO through another table. This took out Bryan and as he was getting stretched out from the arena the crowd got really quiet. Bryan came back unstrapping himself from the gurney to get back into the match.
The ending had Daniel Bryan locking in the Yes Lock on Batista which caused Batista to tap out and we have a new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Michael Cole on commentary with an excellent line “The impossible dream has become reality”. While Bryan's title reign was cut short due to injury Bryan overcame the impossible and stood tall as the new champion.
2. WrestleMania 26 The Undertaker Vs Shawn Michaels
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WrestleMania 25 has one of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all time Shawn Michaels Vs The Undertaker. It was going to be hard to top that match. For Michaels Vs Taker II The build-up was great Michaels for months calling out The Undertaker, Taker refused Michaels’ challenge until the Elimination Chamber. When HBK hit a sweet chin music costing Undertaker his title. The next night on Raw Undertaker accepted Michaels' challenge but with one condition he put his career on the line. So, you had Undertaker's WrestleMania streak at 17-0 vs Shawn Michaels's career. If Michaels loses, he must retire.
While I like the WM25 match more, this is one of the best main events you will find. A fantastic match that told a great story. Michaels wasn’t going to stay down. A couple of highlights include Michaels's moonsult on the announcers table. Michaels hit a sweet chin music and then at the very last second Undertaker kicked out. The drama in this match is off the charts.
But the ending was picture perfect as Undertaker was about to do the cutthroat signal he stopped. Telling Michaels to stay down, Michaels got back up and slapped Taker, another tombstone by the Undertaker. Taker wins and is now 18-0 at Mania while Shawn Michaels’ career is over.
The two shake hands and Michaels walks up to the ramp waving goodbye to everyone capping off an incredible career. One of the saddest endings you will find at a WrestleMania.
1.WrestleMania 17 The Rock Vs Stone Cold Steve Austin
Photo Courtesy WWE
You take a fantastic build, a rowdy crowd, and two of the greatest characters in WWE history and put them into one match you get Rock Vs Austin WrestleMania X-Seven. I put this at number one because it told a compelling story. Stone Cold wins the Royal Rumble the story wrote for itself.
Right before the bell Howard Finkel announced the match is now a no DQ match. Jim Ross on commentary was confused because this was never announced prior to the show. In hindsight, it makes sense now. Once Rock and Austin were in the ring they went at it. Austin did whatever it took to win back the championship. There was never a dull moment full of action. You felt that emotion in the near falls. The crowd was hanging on every breath every time Rock hit a move the crowd was vocal in booing Rock. When Austin hit a move the crowd cheered. It's hard for me to describe this match but I really love the storytelling that it tells.
In the end, Austin turns heel and sides with evil boss Mr. McMahon after winning the WWF World Title. It's a moment that you will never forget. Many people are mixed about the heel turn. In my opinion, I like the twist. It left you on the edge of your seat waiting for the next episode of Raw and seeing what was going to happen next. That is why I believe that Rock Vs Austin II is the greatest WrestleMania Main event of all time.
Have an opposing viewpoint to this opinion? Let us know. All views are welcome. Send your thoughts to our Editorial Staff – Editor Dylan Hicks dhicks@student.dean.edu or Dean Daily Faculty Advisor, Professor John Rooke jrooke@dean.edu