WrestleMania ranked part 2
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

Check out Part 1 in our series here!

It’s WrestleMania week! To get you ready for the big two-night spectacle this weekend, we’re counting down and analyzing every WrestleMania. Here at Horror Geek Life, we broke down every Mania and ranked each one on a forty-point scale based on four criteria (ten points each): Historical Relevance (did something monumental happen at the event); Atmosphere (venue, set-up, and crowd); Match Quality (both work rate and card lineup); and Main Event (how did it look on paper and how was it in execution). We also awarded a bonus point if the event had a classic match (Savage-Steamboat at WrestleMania III, Austin-Hart at WrestleMania 13, etc.). If one or more events had the same score, personal preference served as a tiebreaker. We have broken the list into three parts: Part 1: 35 through 23, Part 2: 22 through 11, and Part 3: 10 through 1.

Without further ado, here is Part 2:

22. WrestleMania IV: Score 25.5 out of 40

Location: Atlantic City, NJ
Date: March 27, 1988
Attendance: 18,165
Celebrities: Bob Uecker, Vanna White, Gladys Knight, Donald Trump (audience)

Key Matches: Randy “Macho Man” Savage vs. “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase (Finals of WWF Championship Tournament, Main Event); Strike Force (WWF Tag Team Champions) vs. Demolition; The Honky Tonk Man (Intercontinental Champion) vs. Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake; 20-Man Battle Royal (Bad News Brown wins)

The big draw of the follow-up to the extremely successful WrestleMania IV was a 14-man tournament for the vacant WWF Heavyweight Championship. Due to some chicanery at February’s The Main Event, which aired on primetime NBC, Hulk Hogan’s four-year title reign came to an end at the hands of Andre the Giant. The controversy over the end of that match led to the title being vacated and decided here. Savage won by defeating four men, the last being the despicable multi-millionaire DiBiase. The tournament was fun, but due to the number of matches, most of the bouts were short and not very substantial. The finals were solid and had the feel-good moment of Savage becoming champion. Demolition’s first tag title win and the Battle Royal were other highlights of an otherwise average show defined largely by the Savage title win.

21. WrestleMania 33: Score 26 out of 40 (1 classic match point)

Location: Orlando, FL
Date: April 2, 2017
Attendance: 75,245
Celebrities: Rob Gronkowski, Pitbull, Flo Rida

Key Matches: Bray Wyatt (WWF Champion) vs. Randy Orton; Goldberg (Universal Champion) vs. Brock Lesnar; The Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns (Main Event); AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon; Chris Jericho (US Champion) vs. Kevin Owens; Seth Rollins vs. Triple H; Gallows and Anderson (Raw Tag Team Champions) vs. Enzo and Big Cass vs. The Bar (Sheamus and Ceasaro) vs. The Hardy Boyz (Fatal 4-Way Ladder Match); Bayley (Raw Women’s Champion) vs. Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax (Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match)

My third WrestleMania, the big highlight from this one was the surprise return of The Hardy Boyz and their subsequent Raw Tag Team Title win in the Fatal 4-Way Ladder Match. The pop for their return was one of the biggest I have ever witnessed first-hand. The other talking point was the apparent end of The Undertaker’s career following his second WrestleMania loss, this time at the hands of Roman Reigns. Of course, this “retirement” only lasted a year, as Taker would return the following year to defeat John Cena in a squash at WrestleMania 34. Elsewhere, Brock Lesnar finally defeated Goldberg, taking the Universal Championship in the process, Kevin Owens exacted revenge on Chris Jericho, and Bayley retained her Raw Women’s Championship.

20. WrestleMania I: Score 27 out of 40

Location: New York City, NY
Date: March 31, 1985
Attendance: 19,121
Celebrities: Mr. T, Muhammad Ali, Cyndi Lauper, Liberace, Billy Martin

Key Matches: Hulk Hogan and Mr. T vs. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff (Main Event); Andre the Giant vs. Big John Studd; Leilani Kai (WWF Women’s Champion, with The Fabulous Moolah) vs. Wendi Richter (with Cyndi Lauper)

The very first WrestleMania took place in New York City at Madison Square Garden, the home arena for the WWF at the time. The hype and excitement heading into the event was off the charts, evidenced by the rabid crowd at the Garden and the number of celebrities involved. The main event was the culmination of a lengthy feud between WWF Champion Hulk Hogan and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, with Mr. T and Paul Orndorff involved in the tag team affair as well. The only other notable match featured “The Eighth Wonder of the World” Andre the Giant defeating his on-screen and real-life rival Big John Studd. Not much to write home about regarding match quality and work rate, the inaugural Mania went all-in on spectacle over substance.

19. WrestleMania 23: Score 27.5 out of 40

Location: Detroit, MI
Date: April 1, 2007
Attendance: 80,103
Celebrities: Donald Trump

Key Matches: John Cena (WWE Champion) vs. Shawn Michaels (Main Event); Batista (World Champion) vs. The Undertaker; Bobby Lashley vs. Umaga (Battle of the Billionaires); Money in the Bank Ladder Match (Mr. Kennedy wins)

20 years later, the WWE returned to Detroit for the first time since WrestleMania III, only this time it took place at the fairly new Ford Field instead of The Pontiac Silverdome. WWE Champion John Cena was originally slated to face Triple H in a rematch of their WrestleMania 22 match. Injuries forced HHH out and his good buddy Shawn Michaels took his place. Not surprisingly, Michaels (an excellent in-ring performer) and Cena had an outstanding main event match. World Champion Batista lost his title to The Undertaker, who stretched his legendary WrestleMania streak to 15-0 with the win. The night’s big spectacle match was The Battle of the Billionaires hair match, a showdown between Vince McMahon and Donald Trump, with Umaga and Bobby Lashley as their in-ring representatives, respectively. The contest, which was refereed by “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, was won by Lashley, meaning McMahon’s head had to be shaved bald in the middle of the ring.

18. WrestleMania 35: Score 28 out of 40

Location: East Rutherford, NJ
Date: April 7, 2019
Attendance: 82,265

Key Matches: “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey (Raw Women’s Champion) vs. Charlotte Flair (SmackDown Women’s Champion) vs. “The Man” Becky Lynch (Winner Take All, Main Event); Brock Lesnar (Universal Champion) vs. Seth Rollins; Daniel Bryan (WWE Champion) vs. Kofi Kingston; Triple H vs. Batista; AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton; The Miz vs. Shane McMahon (Falls Count Anywhere Match)

Last year’s edition of WrestleMania was a marathon, clocking at nearly seven hours (including the pre-show). The show was main-evented for the first time ever by a women’s match, with former UFC superstar Ronda Rousey (who was played to the ring by Joan Jett and The Blackhearts) defending her Raw Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair (the SmackDown champ, who was also defending) and Becky Lynch. It was Lynch, the WWE’s ascendant star, who won and was crowned “Champ Champ.” Elsewhere on the card, Seth Rollins did the seemingly impossible, defeating Brock Lesnar in a scorching show opening title match, The New Day’s Kofi Kingston became the first African-born WWE Champion by defeating Daniel Bryan, and Batista closed out his professional wrestling in a loss to his real-life mentor Triple H. No “classics” (although you could argue either Kofi’s win or the main event deserve consideration), but a very memorable show all-around.

17. WrestleMania V: Score 28 out of 40 (1 classic match)

Location: Atlantic City, NJ
Date: April 2, 1989
Attendance: 18,946
Celebrities: Run-DMC, Morton Downey, Jr., Donald Trump (audience)

Key Matches: Randy “Macho Man” Savage (WWF Champion) vs. Hulk Hogan (Main Event); The Ultimate Warrior (Intercontinental Champion) vs. “Ravishing” Rick Rude; Jake “The Snake” Roberts vs. Andre the Giant

For the second straight year, WrestleMania took place in Atlantic City, New Jersey, at Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino. Savage, who won the WWF Championship one year prior at the same venue, was defending the title against Hogan in the culmination of a captivating 18-month long storyline that saw Hogan and Savage unite as The Mega-Powers and then violently split due to Savage’s jealousy of Hogan’s relationship with his wife/manager Elizabeth. Their main event match is widely considered a classic and one of, if not the, best matches of Hogan’s career. Earlier in the night, Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior shockingly lost his title to challenger Rude and Roberts defeated Andre the Giant by disqualification.

16. WrestleMania 21: Score 29.5 out of 40 (1 classic match)

Location: Los Angeles, CA
Date: April 3, 2005
Attendance: 20,193
Celebrities: (In-Audience) Adam Sandler, Sylvester Stallone, Billy Corgan, Anthony Kiedis, Ice Cube, The Black Eyed Peas, Matt Greoning, David Arquette, Macaulay Culkin      

Key Matches: Triple H (World Champion) vs. Batista (Main Event); JBL (WWE Champion) vs. John Cena;  The Undertaker vs. Randy Orton; Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels; Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero; The 1st Money in the Bank Ladder Match (Edge wins)

WrestleMania Goes Hollywood was the tagline for this, the 21st WrestleMania, which took place at Los Angeles’ Staples Center. The main event saw Batista defeat his former Evolution mentor Triple H in a 21-minute affair while John Cena captured the first of his record-tying 16 world championships by defeating John “Bradshaw” Layfield. The real highlights were further down the card, though. In an absolute classic between two excellent workers, Shawn Michaels cemented his “Mr. WrestleMania” moniker in defeat to Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle. And in what would become a yearly staple of Mania for the next five years, the multi-man Money in the Bank Ladder Match, which guaranteed the winner a world title shot, anytime and anyplace), made its debut, with future WWE Hall of Famer Edge (making his return this weekend to WrestleMania for the first time in nine years) capturing the briefcase suspended above the ring.

15. WrestleMania XXIV: Score 30 out of 40 (1 classic match)

Location: Orlando, FL
Date: March 30, 2008
Attendance: 74,635

Key Matches: Edge (World Champion) vs. The Undertaker (Main Event); Randy Orton (WWE Champion) vs. Triple H vs. John Cena (Triple Threat Match); Shawn Michaels vs. “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair; Floyd “Money” Mayweather vs. The Big Show; 4th Money in the Bank Ladder Match (CM Punk wins)

Emanating from The Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida, WrestleMania returned to an outdoor venue for the first time in 15 years with WrestleMania 26. The main event featured The Undertaker defeating Edge to become World Champion, Randy Orton retained his WWE Championship over Triple H and John Cena, and undefeated boxing champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather defeated The Big Show. But the true highlight of the night was the highly anticipated matchup between Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair. In an absolute masterpiece of storytelling, Michaels reluctantly defeated Flair, forcing the 16-time world champion into retirement. Just before delivering the final blow via his superkick finisher, Michaels told Flair “I love you. I’m sorry.” Perfection.

14. WrestleMania XXV: Score 30 out of 40 (1 classic match)

Location: Houston, TX
Date: April 5, 2009
Attendance: 72,744
Celebrities: Mickey Rourke, Kid Rock

Key Matches: Triple H (WWE Champion) vs. Randy Orton (Main Event); Edge (World Champion) vs. John Cena vs. The Big Show; Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker; Chris Jericho vs. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, and Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka (Legends Handicap Match); Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy (Extreme Rules Match); 5th Money in the Bank Ladder Match (CM Punk wins)

Returning to Houston for the first time in eight years, WrestleMania XXV will forever be defined by The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels masterpiece. Widely regarded as the greatest (or, at worst, second greatest) match in Mania history, Michaels and Taker put on a five-star 30-minute classic that has not been topped since. WrestleMania XXV was headlined by Triple H retaining the WWE Championship over Randy Orton in an average main event WWE match and also featured Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat returning to WrestleMania for the first time in 21 years, John Cena winning the World Championship from Edge in a Triple Threat Match, and CM Punk winning his second straight Money in the Bank match.

13. WrestleMania XII: Score 30.5 out of 40 (1 classic match)

Location: Anaheim, CA
Date: March 31, 1996
Attendance: 18,853

Key Matches: Bret “The Hitman” Hart (WWF Champion) vs. Shawn Michaels (60-Minute Iron Man Match, Main Event); Diesel vs. The Undertaker; “Rowdy” Roddy Piper vs. Goldust (Hollywood Backlot Brawl)

The WWF’s first of two trips into Anaheim, California for WrestleMania, WrestleMania XII was main-evented by the stellar Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels Iron Man Match. Sorry if this sounds repetitive, but Michaels once again was involved in a Mania classic match, this time defeating Hart for his very first WWF Championship after nearly 65 minutes. Roddy Piper and Goldust had a very entertaining “Hollywood Backlot Brawl” match and The Undertaker’s WrestleMania undefeated streak hit 5-0 after defeating former WWF Champion Diesel, who would soon be leaving the company with good buddy Scott Hall, aka Razor Ramon, to form the nWo in WCW.

12. WrestleMania X-8: Score 31 out of 40 (1 classic match)

Location: Toronto, ON, Canada
Date: March 17, 2002
Attendance: 68,237

Key Matches: Chris Jericho (Undisputed WWE Champion) vs. Triple H (Main Event); “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock; “Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. Scott Hall; “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair vs. The Undertaker

Following a highly successful run in WCW, Hulk Hogan returned to WrestleMania for the first time in nine years. In the same venue where Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior waged their classic battle twelve years earlier, Hogan (this time as his nWo alter-ego, “Hollywood” Hogan) battled WWF mega-star The Rock. Although The Rock emerged from the match as the winner, Hogan saw his career and popularity revived by the raucous Canadian crowd (which had future WWE Universal Champion, and current superstar, Kevin Owens in attendance). The main event, which had to follow the electric Hogan-Rock encounter, failed to engage the emotionally spent crowd with Triple H’s win over Undisputed Champion Chris Jericho (Jericho had unified the company’s top two titles months earlier). In addition to these two matches, The Undertaker continued his WrestleMania win streak by defeating Ric Flair and Steve Austin had a lackluster bout (by his own admission) with the returning Scott Hall, who was accompanied by buddy and nWo teammate Kevin Nash.

11. WrestleMania VI: Score 31 out of 40 (1 classic match)

Location: Toronto, ON, Canada
Date: April 1, 1990
Attendance: 67,678
Celebrities: Steve Allen, Mary Tyler Moore (audience)

Key Matches: Hulk Hogan (WWF Champion) vs. The Ultimate Warrior (Intercontinental Champion) (Title For Title, Main Event); “Rowdy” Roddy Piper vs. Bad News Brown; The Colossal Connection (Andre the Giant and Haku, WWF Tag Team Champions) vs. Demolition

In a return to a larger dome venue after WrestleMania IV and V, WrestleMania VI headed north of the border to Canada for the first time. Taking place at the recently opened Toronto SkyDome, the passionate WrestleMania VI crowd had several future WWE personalities in attendance, including Edge, Christian, Renee Young, and Lance Storm. They witnessed one of the best Mania main events in the history of “The Showcase of the Immortals”: Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior, Champion vs. Champion. The two most popular stars in the company put on a classic, widely considered Warrior’s best (or at least second-best) match. The finish saw Hogan miss his patented leg drop move, only to be hit by a big splash by Warrior, who won the match and both titles. Elsewhere on the card, Mr. Perfect’s undefeated streak came to an end at the hands of Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake and the legendary Andre the Giant wrestled his final televised match.

That does it for Part 2 of our ranking. Stay tuned for Part 3, covering 10 through 1!


Related Article: Top 5 Strangest Unlockable Characters in WWE Games

Feature image by Free-Photos from Pixabay.

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