WrestleMania turns 30 years old this year on April 6 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, and while there have been some great moments and some awful moments, we here at Sports World News will continue to countdown to the Top 10 best WrestleManias of all-time.
Updated WrestleMania XXX card, Scott Hall going into Hall of Fame as Razor Ramon
WrestleMania is the marquee event within the WWE every year and has created some of the greatest moments in the squared circle by offering classic matches, memorable title changes and mixing the celebrity world with the superstars of the WWE.
Last time around, we looked at the Top 9 worst WrestleMania events of all-time, and next time we'll look at the Top 10 greatest WrestleManias of all-time. This time around, however, we look at the middle of the pack and the 10 WrestleManias that weren't necessarily the best, but far from the worst as well.
Greatest WrestleMania moments from XI-XV
We ended the worst WrestleManias with WrestleMania XII at No. 21, so we'll continue in descending order starting with No. 20.
Quick recap of the order so far from least to greatest: (2, IX, XI, XXV, XXVII, 13, 2000, I, XII).
No. 20: WrestleMania XXIX from MetLife Stadium in New Jersey (4/7/13) "Rock vs. John Cena II:"
WrestleMania XXIX narrowly missed making the Top 9 worst list, but it's not much better as it cracks the Top 10 worst. After promoting John Cena vs. The Rock as "Once in a Lifetime" the year prior, the WWE decided to have them wrestle again at the biggest show of the year, this time with Cena doing the job. This installment was one of the most predictable cards in the show's history and save for CM Punk vs. The Undertaker putting on a thriller, the card was mostly bland. Cena beating Rock and Triple H defeating Brock Lesnar were very obvious outcomes, and nothing else really stood out aside from Punk vs. 'Taker.
No. 19: WrestleMania 23 from Ford Field in Detroit (4/1/07): "All Grown Up":
This WrestleMania had a lot of potential but didn't quite live up to the hype. The worst part about it was "The Battle of the Billionaires" that pitted Umaga vs. Bobby Lashley with Donald Trump and Vince McMahon's hair on the line, outshined everything else on the card as far as buildup. While Batista vs. The Undertaker was a solid yet predictable World Championship match, the WWE Championship match between Shawn Michaels (replacing an injured Triple H from the original plan) and John Cena should have and could have been much better. Add in an awful Kane vs. Khali match and a questionable decision to give Mr. Kennedy the Money in the Bank nod, and you have an average WrestleMania.
No. 18: WrestleMania IV from Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, N.J. (3/27/88) "What the World is Watching":
This was a solid event due to "Macho Man" Randy Savage winning his first WWE Championship in the main event and setting off a year-long storyline with Hulk Hogan, however with a 16-man tournament plus other matches outside of the bracket, this is also one of the more tedious and drawn out events. It is well-remembered for Savage winning the title rather than the predictable Hogan win, but the event is very long. The hyped Andre the Giant vs. Hulk Hogan rematch was also a dud that ended in a double disqualification, while Rick Rude taking on Jake "The Snake" Roberts to a 15-minute draw in an already long tournament make it a bit of a chore to get through. Solid WrestleMania for historical significance, but the show could have trimmed out some of the filler.
No. 17: WrestleMania 22 from the All State Arena in Chicago (4/2/06) "Big Time":
Much like 23 the following year, this pay-per-view had potential but for some reason never hit the high note but was still good enough to not be known as one of the worst events, falling right in the middle. The good parts included the second Money in the Bank match, a memorable heated clash between Triple H and John Cena for the WWE Championship and a great hardcore match between Mick Foley and Edge that saw Foley finally get his WrestleMania moment. While that was all solid, a waste of a match between The Boogeyman and JBL & Sharmell, a snooze fest between The Undertaker and Mark Henry and a rushed World Heavyweight Championship match that saw Rey Mysterio win his first title in the memory of Eddie Guerrero by defeating Randy Orton and Kurt Angle held this down. The WHC match could have been great had it not been held to just nine minutes, shorter than the United States Championship match on the same card.
No. 16: WrestleMania XV from the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pa. (3/28/99) "The Ragin' Climax":
This is one of the events that seemed great at the time but didn't age well thanks to the Vince Russo "crash T.V." format where the storylines didn't make any sense in the long run and actual wrestling took a back seat to crazy angles while the WWE built up its T.V. shows more than its pay-per-views. While there were a lot of nonsensical things going on such as Road Dogg and Billy Gunn switching places with each other in the Intercontinental and Hardcore title matches after weeks of buildup, this was still mostly a good show. The Undertaker vs. Big Boss Man match was one of the worst in history as they barely used the Hell in a Cell and the whole "hanging" of the Boss Man was ridiculous. While there was a lot of bad, the original "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. The Rock match on this show was hugely entertaining and a great main event that gave Austin the title belt back after a year-long battle with Vince McMahon. Triple H's heel turn on X-Pac was also hugely memorable from this show and set up an eventual run as top heel for "The Game."
No. 15: WrestleMania XXVIII from SunLife Stadium in Miami, Fla. (4/2/2012) "One in a Lifetime":
We've already gone into the ridiculous "Once in a Lifetime" slogan for the event, so we won't touch that again. This was overall a solid event with three strong matches that saw The Undertaker defeat Triple H for the second straight year, CM Punk defeat Chris Jericho for the WWE Championship and The Rock beat John Cena in a match that was awesome to see since no one ever believed these two would ever be in the same ring once The Rock's acting career took off. It was nice to have The Rock close a WrestleMania on top for once after he lost all of his other main event matches between XV-X-7, getting screwed over in two of them. The worst part on this card was when Sheamus defeated Daniel Bryan in 18 seconds for the World Heavyweight Championship to kick off the show. Jobbing out the champion after building it up as one of the premier matches was terrible.
No. 14: WrestleMania XXVI from University of Phoenix Stadium, Arizona (3/28/10) "Get All Fired Up":
The WWE learned from their mistake from the year before by having The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels close out the show rather than put them in the middle of it. The two clashed in one of the best and most memorable matches in WWE history. It proved to be Michaels' last match as 'Taker retired him by winning the epic encounter. The show was also memorable due to another great Money in the Bank ladder match and a solid bout between Edge and Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship, while the Batista vs. John Cena match for the WWE Championship was decent as well. It was also nice to see Bret Hart at WrestleMania for the first time since 13 (1997), though his match with Vince McMahon was awful yet poetic given their history. While like with most 'Manias not every match was a classic, this was still overall a decent show.
No. 13: WrestleMania V from Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, N.J. (4/2/89): "The Mega Powers EXPLODE!":
There was a great storyline heading into this WrestleMania as Hulk Hogan had helped Randy Savage win the WWE Championship in the very same building the year prior and after their tag team fell apart over the course of the next year, the two ended up back in the same building as opponents for the title. It was a very memorable main event that saw Hogan defeat Savage to win back the championship. A lot of feuds were settled here as "Ravishing" Rick Rude defeated The Ultimate Warrior to pick up the Intercontinental Championship and give Bobby Heenan's stable its first singles title while Demolition gained some revenge on Mr. Fuji by defeating him and the Powers of Pain in a 3-on-2 match for the tag gold. Not every match was good, such as Heenan vs. The Red Rooster or Dino Bravo vs. Ronnie Garvin for example, but this was still a solid early edition of WrestleMania.
No. 12: WrestleMania VII from Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in California (4/24/91): "Stars and Stripes Forever":
This event was originally supposed to be held outdoors but bad ticket sales called for the WWE to move it with the excuse that they feared for Sgt. Slaughter's safety and fear of terrorism. This was at the height of the Gulf War, and WWE decided to make it a patriotic event by donning the arena in red, white and blue all over. Slaughter played an Iraqi sympathizer and took on Hulk Hogan in the main event, which ultimately saw Hogan win the WWE Championship in what was a "patriotic moment" for the WWE. This event is mostly revered for the awesome career ending match between "Macho King" Randy Savage and The Ultimate Warrior that saw the Warrior win and Savage turn back to a babyface by reuniting with Miss Elizabeth. This is also a notable event because The Undertaker debuted and defeated Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka to go 1-0 at the event and the Nasty Boys defeated the Hart Foundation for the Tag Team Championships, jumpstarting Bret Hart's singles career.
No. 11: WrestleMania XX from Madison Square Garden in New York City (3/14/04) "Where It All Begins Again):
WrestleMania returned to MSG for the third time (I, X) and delivered a mostly memorable card. It's obviously hard to watch due to what Chris Benoit would eventually do in the final moments of his life, however the end with Benoit and Eddie Guerrero hugging as champions as confetti rains down on them is one of the most memorable moments in history. While there were a lot of matches shoved into this card such as two four-way tag title matches and a cruiserweight open, as well as a dud pitting Goldberg and Brock Lesnar against each other, this still had its strong points. The triple threat match between Benoit, Triple H and Shawn Michaels and the Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle match both delivered and were very well booked. Add in The Undertaker finally shredding that awful biker gimmick and The Rock & Sock Connection returning in a losing effort against the up-and-coming Evolution, and this was one of the best WrestleManias of all-time, though it didn't quite fit the Top 10.
These are the middle of the pack WrestleMania events that weren't the worst but also didn't quite crack the Top 10. Next time around, we'll march towards WrestleMania XXX by revealing the 10 greatest WrestleMania pay-per-views of all-time.
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