Ranking every WWE WrestleMania of all time: Where each of the 41 events lands after 2025 edition

Since 1985, WrestleMania has been the premier event in professional wrestling. Every year, WWE swings for the fences with events that feature top stars, and often, stars from outside the world of wrestling.

With decades of WrestleMania history, there are obvious highs and lows in terms of event quality. Some events also provide a higher quality of “WrestleMania Moments,” or events that define not only the event itself but the careers of the men and women who take part.

With 41 WrestleManias in the books, we took the time to sit down and rank every WrestleMania from worst to best, taking into account the impact of the event and the quality of the viewing experience from a match quality standpoint.

Logan Paul says he offered ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin $1M to wear Prime bottle costume at WWE WrestleMania 41

Shakiel Mahjouri

The next WrestleMania, WrestleMania 42, takes place in 2026 from New Orleans. This list will be updated after the event to place it into context for where it ranks in the history of this huge event.

Let’s take a look at the rankings.

41. WrestleMania IX

Match worth watching: Shawn Michaels vs. Tatanka

Despite a recent WWE documentary propping WrestleMania IX up as a great and revolutionary event, the card is undisputedly one of the low points in WrestleMania history. The Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez is terrible, Razor Ramon is wasted in a sub-four-minute match with Bob Backlund and Hulk Hogan wins the world title from Yokozuna moments after Yokozuna beat Bret Hart to capture the belt was the promotion giving in to its worst instincts. WrestleMania IX is the worst WrestleMania in history. Even the best match on the card, Shawn Michaels vs. Tatanka, is nothing memorable.

40. WrestleMania IV

Match worth watching: Randy Savage vs. Ted DiBiase

WrestleMania IV gets overlooked too often in conversations about the worst WrestleMania ever, but it really is an abysmal event, and I say that as someone who rented the double VHS regularly as a child. There are no stand-out matches despite a tournament filled with big names, but there are plenty of truly awful matches scattered throughout, such as Jake Roberts vs. Rick Rude phoning in a first-round time limit draw that saw more than seven minutes spent in rest holds. Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant were matched up in the quarterfinals one year after their epic WrestleMania III clash just for a double disqualification in less than six minutes. Even Savage vs. DiBiase in the tournament finals doesn’t scratch the surface of what those two men were capable of, though it’s worth watching simply to see Savage get his moment.

39. WrestleMania II

Matches worth watching: The British Bulldogs vs. The Dream Team, Terry & Hoss Funk vs. Tito Santana & Junkyard Dog, Ricky Steamboat vs. Hercules Hernandez

The second edition of WrestleMania tried to amp everything up, with the event being held in three different cities, which gave the whole experience a very uneven feeling. While there are some solid matches, there are also some truly terrible bouts scattered across the three cities. Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper in a boxing match was terrible and even being held in a steel cage couldn’t save the main event between Hulk Hogan and King Kong Bundy from being a titanic disappointment.

38. WrestleMania XV

Matches worth watching: Steve Austin vs. The Rock

This was the first of three WrestleManias headlined by Austin vs. Rock. It was also arguably the worst of their three WrestleMania matches, though still a perfectly good match. Beyond Austin vs. Rock, the only other memorable things from WrestleMania XV are The Undertaker hanging Big Boss Man at the end of their terrible Hell in a Cell match and Brawl for All winner Bart Gunn being brutally knocked out by Butterbean in a boxing match.

37. WrestleMania XI

Matches worth watching: Shawn Michaels vs. Diesel, Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Lawrence Taylor

The problem with this show is not Bigelow vs. Taylor being given the main event slot over the excellent Michaels vs. Diesel title match. That decision made sense given how desperately WWE was looking for anything to get the biggest event of the year any mainstream attention during a real low point for the promotion — and Taylor did his job well in a pretty entertaining main event. The problem is that, beyond the top two matches, the rest of the card was simply bad. The lows weren’t as low as WrestleMania II or IX, so this event ranks slightly higher.

36. WrestleMania XXVII

Matches worth watching: Triple H vs. The Undertaker, Edge vs. Alberto del Rio, CM Punk vs. Randy Orton

WrestleMania XXVII featured some solid matches, most notably Triple H vs. The Undertaker in an excellent No Holds Barred match. Edge also wrestled his last match before retiring due to injuries, with that retirement sticking for nearly a decade. The show also featured Jersey Shore star Snooki in a match, Michael Cole vs. Jerry Lawler and a bad championship main event between The Miz and John Cena.

35. WrestleMania V

Matches worth watching: Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage

Make no mistake, WrestleMania V is a bad show. Even a match like Mr. Perfect vs. Blue Blazer, featuring two great wrestlers, doesn’t even slightly live up to its potential. And Hercules vs. King Haku, Dino Bravo vs. Ron Garvin, Jake Roberts vs. Andre the Giant, among others, are outright terrible wrestling matches. But the main event between Hogan and Savage is such an iconic main event that it ranks higher than an event like XXVII, which had better wrestling overall.

34. WrestleMania 36

Matches worth watching: The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles, Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena

WrestleMania 36 almost doesn’t belong on this list at all. A bizarre product of the COVID-19 pandemic, the show was pre-taped in an empty WWE Performance Center. Matches were able to be edited or even stopped and started to deliver a good “product,” but the whole thing felt lifeless as a result, and understandably so as a global pandemic had sent the whole world into shock. Great WrestleManias are infinitely rewatchable and WrestleMania 36 does not tick that box. The two cinematic matches featuring Undertaker vs. Styles and Wyatt vs. Cena are the most memorable things to come out of the event. Even though they aren’t true wrestling matches, they’re the only things really worth revisiting.

33. WrestleMania 2000

Matches worth watching: The Dudley Boys vs. Edge & Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz

WrestleMania 2000 isn’t a good show. The low points are pretty damn low, with matches like the “catfight” between Terri Runnels and The Kat or Al Snow & Steve Blackman vs. Test & Albert being truly miserable viewing experiences. Even matches that are potentially fantastic on paper such as Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho fell a bit flat. The main event featured Triple H vs. The Rock vs. Mick Foley vs. Big Show with “a McMahon in every corner” and was not very good. WrestleMania 2000 did feature the fantastic triple threat ladder match between The Dudley Boys, The Hardy Boyz and Edge & Christian that would set up two similar matches down the road, the best of the bunch coming at WrestleMania X-Seven.

32. WrestleMania VIII

Matches worth watching: Roddy Piper vs. Bret Hart, Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage

Piper vs. Hart and Flair vs. Savage are great matches and that’s enough to overcome the rest of the card, which ranges from “meh” to “really bad.” Hulk Hogan vs. Sid Justice is arguably the worst main event in WrestleMania history. Some people get hung up on WWE failing to deliver Flair vs. Hogan in a long-awaited dream match, and the reasons why are a long story, but we got Flair vs. Savage out of it and that is certainly better than the quality of match Hogan vs. Flair would have delivered.

31. WrestleMania 29

Matches worth watching: The Undertaker vs. CM Punk, John Cena vs. The Rock

Undertaker vs. Punk is a really fantastic match that seemed as though it would be Punk’s final WrestleMania appearance until a variety of circumstances led to his WWE return. Meanwhile, Cena vs. Rock was the sequel to their match the year before and it lacks the same level of atmosphere as that first meeting, though it is probably a better match on a technical level. Beyond those two pairings, there’s not much meat, with plenty of big names in somewhat disappointing matches.

30. WrestleMania 32

Matches worth watching: Men’s intercontinental title ladder match, Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks

The show kicked off with a bang, with Ryder winning the intercontinental championship in a wild ladder match. Jericho and Styles followed that up with a perfectly solid wrestling match. The real problem with WrestleMania 32 is that it was a point where the shows began to run too long. Fans wanting to catch everything from the kickoff show to the main event were in for a seven-hour viewing experience and there wasn’t enough momentum across the card to carry that length. Brock Lesnar seemed completely disinterested during his street fight with Dean Ambrose and Triple H battled Roman Reigns in a 30-plus-minute slog at a point where fans were continuing to rebel against the idea of Reigns as the top guy being forced on them. Thankfully, Charlotte, Lynch and Banks delivered a memorable match that was also a key moment in WWE history, battling to be the first WWE women’s champion after the diva’s title was retired earlier in the day.

29. WrestleMania I

Matches worth watching: Matt Bourne vs. Ricky Steamboat, Hulk Hogan & Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper & Paul Orndorff

It feels like we’ve put off the original WrestleMania long enough. It’s the milestone event in professional wrestling history. It is also not a particularly great card when you get past the pageantry of it all. It’s easy to argue that the only good wrestling match on the card is Bourne vs. Steamboat, which wasn’t even as good of a match as the two were capable of and is hurt by a crowd entirely disinterested in two men still relatively new to the promotion. The main event isn’t really easily defined as a wrestling match but if you’re watching the first WrestleMania, you are going to watch Hogan and Mr. T taking on Piper and Orndorff. The card gets a big boost for historical importance, but not much more than that.

28. WrestleMania 41

Matches worth watching: Jey Uso vs. Gunther, Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns, Iyo Sky vs. Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley, Bron Breakker vs. Dominik Mysterio vs. Penta vs. Finn Balor

After the excellent event that was WrestleMania XL, 41 was a major letdown. Night 1 started and ended well, with Uso winning his first world title and Paul Heyman turning on Punk and Reigns to align with Seth Rollins. The rest of Night 1 was largely forgettable. Night 2 was a better show and kicked off with Sky vs. Belair vs. Ripley in one of the best matches in WrestleMania history. The show ended on a flat note with John Cena breaking the record for most world title reigns with the help of Travis Scott, not The Rock. The match was not very good and the ending was a massive disappointment. Overall, WrestleMania 41 was just an incredibly uneven event and the main event fell so flat that it left the event ranked fairly low for a modern Mania.

27. WrestleMania 34

Matches worth watching: The Miz vs. Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins, Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka, Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H & Stephanie McMahon

This show featured a 10-year-old named Nicholas being crowned Raw tag team champion after Braun Strowman plucked him from the crowd. There was also a strange squash match with Undertaker running through John Cena in minutes after Cena spent the show hyping himself up for a potential match with the man who had been “retired” the previous WrestleMania. Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns also failed to live up to the magic they’d conjured at WrestleMania 31. There were still some good matches with Miz vs. Balor vs. Rollins getting the show going in a really positive direction and a great match between Flair and Asuka, though the decision to have Flair win was a bad one and took a bit of steam out of the live audience.

26. WrestleMania VI

Matches worth watching: Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior, The Rockers vs. The Orient Express

The main event between Hogan and Warrior was massive, the stuff of endless playground debates. Shockingly, Hogan and Warrior delivered a very good match despite neither ever being particularly good in-ring talent. The rest of the card is mostly fine, with the bad matches not hitting the lows of many other early WrestleManias. There’s also the solid Rockers vs. Orient Express match, which would be topped by their clash at the following year’s Royal Rumble (with Kato replacing Sato and elevating the Orient Express’ work). Additionally, there’s a sneaky good match between Brutus Beefcake and Mr. Perfect. On a less positive note, this WrestleMania also features Roddy Piper in blackface, painting half his body and face black for his match with Bad News Brown.

25. WrestleMania 22

Matches worth watching: Money in the Bank ladder match, Mick Foley vs. Edge, Rey Mysterio vs. Kurt Angle vs. Randy Orton

You could throw John Cena vs. Triple H in the main event on the matches worth watching list, but it doesn’t make my personal list. While still entertaining and with some memorable spots, the Money in the Bank ladder match was not nearly as good as the inaugural version. The real stand-out match from WrestleMania 22 was the hardcore match between Foley and Edge. That match was a callback to everything that made Foley special and proved there was still a little gas in his tank. The rest of the card is a mixed bag of matches ranging from pretty good (Shawn Michaels vs. Vince McMahon) to bad (Mark Henry vs. Undertaker, because there has never been a good casket match) to embarrassing (the “Playboy Pillow Fight”).

24. WrestleMania XII

Matches worth watching: Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels

WrestleMania XII was a show that didn’t see many deep lows across the card, aside from The Ultimate Warrior beating Hunter Hearst Helmsley in 96 seconds. The card also doesn’t feature any particularly great matches aside from the 60-minute ironman match between Hart and Michaels. The Hollywood Backlot Brawl between Goldust and Roddy Piper is memorable in its way, but doesn’t hold up tremendously under modern viewings and also dominates far too much of the show after the entertaining opening brawl. In all, XII is a perfectly middle-of-the-road WrestleMania that is easy enough to watch without providing too many memorable moments.

23. WrestleMania 13

Matches worth watching: Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart, Faarooq, Crush & Savio Vega vs. Hawk, Animal & Ahmed Johnson

WrestleMania 13 was not a great top-to-bottom show. However, the show also featured arguably the greatest match in WrestleMania history — and one of the greatest wrestling matches of all-time — in Austin vs. Hart. The submission match was done to perfection, turning both wrestlers and further building Austin into the industry-changing superstar he would become. Once you get past that truly amazing match, there’s not a lot of meat on WrestleMania 13’s bones. The Chicago Street Fight with Faarooq, Crush, Vega, Hawk, Animal and Johnson is a fun watch but everything builds toward a pretty terrible main event of Sycho Sid vs. Undertaker.

22. WrestleMania XIV

Matches worth watching: Shawn Michaels vs. Steve Austin, The New Age Outlaws vs. Cactus Jack & Chainsaw Charlie, Triple H vs. Owen Hart

This is a show that lacks a great match. What WrestleMania XIV does have is a generally solid card and a main event that completes a transition to a new era as Austin defeated Michaels with Mike Tyson as guest referee. This kicked off Austin’s first run as world champion and set the tone for the next several years. Both Austin and Michaels were dealing with being less than 100% physically and it did hamper the match, though they still turned in solid performances in front of a ravenous crowd. The rest of the card was perfectly fine, nothing more, nothing less.

21. WrestleMania 33

Matches worth watching: AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon, Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho, The Hardys vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. Cesaro & Sheamus vs. Enzo & Big Cass, Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg

There is a lot to like about WrestleMania 33, but also plenty not to like. Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt was comical in its failed attempt to be “spooky” with images projected onto the canvas and the SmackDown women’s title match was extremely flat. What Styles was able to do with McMahon to deliver one of the best matches of the night was superhuman work on his part and the tag team match that saw the Hardys return to WWE was a blast. The real gem of WrestleMania 33 is Lesnar vs. Goldberg, a nasty sprint between the brutes that lasted less than five minutes but had more entertainment packed in than most matches.

20. WrestleMania 35

Matches worth watching: Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston, Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair

WrestleMania 35 saw women main event the show for the first time, having built up Lynch and Flair over years and getting the over-the-top profile of Rousey in the mix. The three women delivered a good, not great match, but the importance of them being given the main event stage and the quality of the work make it notable. The other big takeaway from the event is the culmination of “Kofimania” as Kingston had received a massive swell of fan support reminiscent of Bryan five years prior and then defeated a heel version of Bryan for a great WrestleMania moment and payoff for Kingston’s years of quality work in WWE. Beyond those two matches, there’s nothing to cling to that makes 35 special.

19. WrestleMania 25

Matches worth watching: Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker, Money in the Bank ladder match

Considering it was the 25th WrestleMania, the event is a disappointment. Michaels vs. Undertaker is a truly great match. However, the pair would arguably outdo themselves the following year, and the Money in the Bank ladder match brought the quality back up after XXIV was something of a disappointment. Beyond that, there are few standout matches, though Ricky Steamboat was excellent in carrying his team with Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka in a handicap match against Chris Jericho. The event also featured Santino Marella winning the “Miss WrestleMania” battle royal.

18. WrestleMania XXIV

Matches worth watching: Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton vs. John Cena vs. Triple H, Edge vs. The Undertaker

The strength of WrestleMania XXIV is that it has very little in the way of “bad” matches. There is a “Playboy BunnyMania Lumberjill Match,” which continued WWE’s embarrassing use of women, something that is true of decades of WWE’s history. Once you get that out of the way, you get into a card where no other match is really worse than “OK” and plenty of stuff that is memorable. The lasting memory for many coming out of XXIV was Flair vs. Michaels, which was Flair’s retirement match (at least within WWE) and had the classic “I’m sorry, I love you” moment of Michaels putting the final nail in Flair’s career at the time.

17. WrestleMania 23

Matches worth watching: Batista vs. Undertaker, Money in the Bank ladder match, John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels

Great Khali vs. Kane and Melina vs. Ashley are simply bad matches. Remove those from the card and there’s plenty to like. Money in the Bank delivered again, not yet as formulaic as it would become as the years ticked by. But Cena vs. Michaels and Batista vs. Undertaker are standout matches. Undertaker’s streak was at 14-0 coming in, and every year the matches felt bigger, and he raised his level of performance to meet those moments. In Batista, he had a perfect opponent for a physical match to present a legitimate threat to “the streak.” Donald Trump was also there, shaving Vince McMahon’s head.

16. WrestleMania X

Matches worth watching: Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart, Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon

WrestleMania X is a two-match card, which is better than many WrestleManias, which were one-match cards at best. Those two standout matches are really incredible and elevate this show well beyond what the rest of the card deserves. Bret vs. Owen is a great match built on a very good story. It was also not the best the Hart brothers could manage as their SummerSlam cage match brought a level of nastiness missing at WrestleMania. Michaels vs. Ramon in a ladder match was revolutionary at the time and set the stage for so many matches we would see in the future. The two men went all-out in a match style that basically no one in the audience had seen before. There weren’t many other good matches on the card but with a top two matches this strong, WrestleMania X gets boosted up the list.

15. WrestleMania 37

Matches worth watching: Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins, Bad Bunny & Damian Priest vs. The Miz & John Morrison, Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair, Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn, Big E vs. Apollo Crews, Asuka vs. Rhea Ripley, Roman Reigns vs. Edge vs. Daniel Bryan

The first “real” two-day WrestleMania after the pre-taped WrestleMania 36, WrestleMania 37 was still not held in front of a capacity crowd as pandemic restrictions were still in place. Not everything hit perfectly across the two nights, with Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt being an especially bizarre bit of booking, but there were so many great and memorable matches. With women being given more and more of the stage, Banks vs. Belair and Asuka vs. Ripley were fantastic. Bad Bunny was a surprisingly fun performer as he teamed with Priest against Miz and Morrison. The Night 2 main event with Edge and Bryan attempting to end Reigns’ title run before it hit the points it would in the future is one of the best WrestleMania main events ever.

14. WrestleMania 38

Matches worth watching: Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair, Seth Rollins vs Cody Rhodes, Steve Austin vs. Kevin Owens, Edge vs. AJ Styles

WWE continued their retro lean into celebrity matches one year after Bad Bunny impressed at WrestleMania 37 with matches featuring Johnny Knoxville and Logan Paul. Paul would go on to become a member of the WWE roster and has continued to impress as a seemingly natural professional wrestler, but the Knoxville vs. Sami Zayn match is memorable for being a strange slapstick approach to wrestling. Pat McAfee also had his WrestleMania in-ring debut against Austin Theory in a fun bout. Austin returned to the ring for a single night for a brawl with Owens, who was the perfect opponent for an extremely retired Austin. In the main event, Roman Reigns extended his power by unifying the universal and WWE championships with a win over Brock Lesnar in a match that felt like much of the magic between the two men was gone. Lynch and Belair delivered a truly standout match and Rhodes returned to WWE to face Rollins in a match that kicked off a feud and started the march to Rhodes eventually standing atop the WWE mountain.

13. WrestleMania XXVI

Matches worth watching: Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker, John Cena vs. Batista, Chris Jericho vs. Edge

Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon on this show was not necessary, nor was it good. It felt like a too little, too late situation of McMahon allowing himself to face consequences for the Montreal Screwjob, but only in storyline. There were three great matches at XXVI, however, with Michaels vs. Undertaker outdoing their WrestleMania 25 performance with arguably the greatest WrestleMania match in history. Cena vs. Batista and Jericho vs. Edge were both very good matches that were given the appropriate amount of time, not overstaying their welcome and burning the crowd out before the Michaels vs. Undertaker main event.

12. WrestleMania XXVIII

Matches worth watching: Undertaker vs. Triple H, CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho, The Rock vs. John Cena

It is indefensible to have Sheamus defeat Daniel Bryan in 18 seconds, especially considering how great their match was at Extreme Rules one month later. Once you get that bad taste out of your mouth, there is plenty to like about the event. Undertaker and Triple H tore things up inside Hell in a Cell, continuing a run of WrestleManias with a true standout match. Punk and Jericho had a very good match that would be topped by their rematch at Extreme Rules. But the standout moment was Rock vs. Cena in their “Once in a Lifetime” match (which was a lie as WWE knew the pair would rematch at WrestleMania the following year).

11. WrestleMania XX

Matches worth watching: Mick Foley & The Rock vs. Randy Orton, Batista & Ric Flair, Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle, Triple H vs. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels

The 20th WrestleMania ended on what was, at the time, an emotional high note as WWE champion Eddie Guerrero celebrated in the ring with newly-crowned world heavyweight champion Chris Benoit. That Benoit would go on to commit the most heinous act possible three years later has an undeniable impact on how it feels to watch the event now. Divorced from that reality, the main event is great, just like Guerrero’s match with Angle earlier in the show. Ultimately, WrestleMania XX is an uneven event with a few very good matches and a lot of below-average action. The event also includes the truly bizarre match between Goldberg and Brock Lesnar where the crowd turned on both men as it became public knowledge both were about to leave WWE.

10. WrestleMania 21

Matches worth watching: Money in the Bank ladder match, Randy Orton vs. Undertaker, Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle

WrestleMania 21 introduced the Money in the Bank ladder match with a bang, laying the groundwork for a key match for WWE every year going forward. Orton and Undertaker met in an underappreciated match at a time where Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak was really starting to be a focal point of the show. Also, Michaels and Angle had a match considered by some to be a classic and others to be somewhat overrated. Either way, it’s at least a good match that is worth checking out. Trish Stratus vs. Christy Hemme, Akebono vs. Big Show and JBL vs. John Cena were varying degrees of bad over a four-match stretch, dragging the show down a bit from the highs of those three aforementioned matches.

9. WrestleMania III

Matches worth watching: Roddy Piper vs. Adrian Adonis, Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat, Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant

Look, Hogan vs. Andre is not a “good wrestling match” in the modern sense. It really wasn’t a “good wrestling match” in its day either, unless you view wrestling matches as being about more than the moves being done, which you probably should. Hogan vs. Andre was the match and the atmosphere was unbelievable, even with Andre’s clear physical limitations in 1987. Nothing that has come since has actually compared to it, and I doubt anything ever will as times have simply changed too much to ever be that way again. The match is iconic, and the moment of Hogan bodyslamming Andre will forever live on. Savage vs. Steamboat was the early measuring stick for “great WrestleMania matches,” and if you aren’t familiar with wrestling at the time, it’s absolutely worth checking out.

8. WrestleMania 31

Matches worth watching: Daniel Bryan vs. Bad News Barrett vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper vs. R-Truth vs. Stardust, Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins, Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns

WrestleMania 31 is one of the few WrestleManias to have no real low point. Every match serves its purpose, even Sting vs. Triple H, which was not the Sting at WrestleMania match anyone wanted and is not a great match, is at least entertaining and delivers memorable moments. The intercontinental championship ladder match is high-octane fun, even if it’s a shame to see Bryan in that match a year after a WrestleMania built entirely around him breaking through to the top of WWE. But the real gold on the card is Lesnar vs. Reigns, an incredibly physical match with a great surprise finish. Even as the crowd was fully resisting Reigns’ spot after he won the Royal Rumble to the displeasure of the WWE fanbase, it was impossible not to get swept up in what he and Lesnar did before Seth Rollins’ emergence to cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase.

7. WrestleMania VII

Matches worth watching: Randy Savage vs. Ultimate Warrior, The Hart Foundation vs. The Nasty Boys, The Rockers vs. Barbarian & Haku, Mr. Perfect vs. Big Boss Man

WrestleMania VII suffers from some of the problems of the early WrestleManias in that there are some bad matches on the card, but there is a great variety of truly good wrestling as well. Savage vs. Warrior is the best match of Warrior’s career and hit that height because Savage may have given the best performance of his own to get Warrior there. Savage’s reunion with Elizabeth is also one of the great WrestleMania moments. The tag matches are very good and Perfect vs. Big Boss Man is a solid singles match. The goofy Jake Roberts vs. Rick Martel blindfold match is something that will hit differently depending on your particular tastes, but I find it to be the good kind of nonsense. Honest viewers will also admit that Hogan vs. Sgt. Slaughter in the main event is technically a better match than Hogan vs. Savage at V and one of the better matches of Hogan’s career. Also, VII is the start of The Undertaker’s legendary WrestleMania streak, though his match with Jimmy Snuka is not good.

6. WrestleMania X8

Matches worth watching: Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock, Undertaker vs. Ric Flair, Chris Jericho vs. Triple H

There is a fair argument to be made that Hogan vs. Rock is the most successful match in WrestleMania history. Hogan was far past a prime and was never considered much of an in-ring worker, but he and Rock met in an electrifying atmosphere and allowed that atmosphere to carry them to a surprisingly effective match that sits among the most iconic in WrestleMania history. Flair also worked through shaking off rust to deliver a compelling match with Undertaker, with Flair bleeding in trademark fashion. Jericho and Triple H had the unenviable job in the main event of having to follow Hogan vs. Rock and delivered a fine match that would be remembered more fondly had those two matches had their position on the card flipped.

5. WrestleMania 39

Matches worth watching: Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul, Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio, Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley, The Usos vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn, Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus, Bianca Belair vs. Asuka, Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes

While there are reasons some may dislike the two-night approach to WrestleMania, spreading things out keeps cards from being bloated slogs and gives appropriate time for matches to shine. And there were a lot of matches shining at WrestleMania 39. Somehow, Rey vs. Dominik outperformed all reasonable expectations. Flair, Ripley, Belair and Asuka all showed out in their matches. Gunther vs. McIntyre vs. Sheamus was a match that featured incredible physicality and is one of the best matches in WrestleMania history. And the two main events, with Owens and Zayn beating the Usos and Reigns fending off Rhodes’ first attempt at his championship belts, were extremely memorable, even with the controversy that came from not pulling the trigger on Rhodes getting the victory.

4. WrestleMania XXX

Matches worth watching: Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H, Daniel Bryan vs. Batista vs. Randy Orton, Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar

WrestleMania XXX is The Daniel Bryan WrestleMania. Bryan opened the show with a great 25-plus minute match with Triple H to earn his way into the main event triple threat against Batista and Orton. Bryan then won that main event to deliver the moment Bryan and the fans had made inevitable. Bryan’s championship victory is one of the great “WrestleMania Moments,” and proved that fans could push WWE into directions the promotion was resisting. Bray Wyatt and John Cena had a fine match on the show, but the other real standout is the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, which was the first time the match had taken place and had a deserving winner in Cesaro. Oh, WrestleMania XXX also saw Undertaker’s legendary streak come to an end at the hands of Lesnar in one of the most shocking results in the history of the event.

3. WrestleMania XIX

Matches worth watching: Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar, The Rock vs. Steve Austin, Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels

XIX is a great WrestleMania. The Undertaker vs. Big Show & A-Train is the low point, but it’s not that bad compared to the low point of most WrestleManias. Jericho and Michaels put on a fantastic match in what was a clear effort to try and steal the show. Angle and Lesnar put on a barnburner of a main event that also featured a terrifying moment when Lesnar landed on his head while attempting a shooting star press. But it is the final showdown of Rock and Austin, which was also Austin’s final match until a one-off match with Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38, that is the true highlight of the show. Their X-Seven match is probably better from a pure wrestling standpoint, but the XIX match is more emotional and with even more history to play off of to make the whole thing feel even more meaningful and epic.

2. WrestleMania X-Seven

Matches worth watching: Steve Austin vs. The Rock, Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle, The Dudley Boys vs. Edge & Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz, Triple H vs. Undertaker

WrestleMania X-Seven is a fantastic event with several memorable matches and moments. Turning Austin heel in the main event will forever be a controversial choice, but it would be far less controversial if WWE executed better in the aftermath. The TLC match between the Dudleys, Edge & Christian and the Hardys is an all-timer of excess in the WWE style. Matches like Triple H vs. Undertaker and Angle vs. Benoit (whose horrific legacy may stain the match for many) are simply good wrestling matches. Add a hot crowd to a good show, and WrestleMania X-Seven exists in the rare air of the best WrestleManias of all time.

1. WrestleMania XL

Matches worth watching: Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch, Gunther vs. Sami Zayn, Six-pack tag team ladder match, Logan Paul vs Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens, Iyo Sky vs Bayley, Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes, The Rock & Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins

WrestleMania XL did so many things right, none more so than the handling of Rhodes vs. Reigns. Rhodes first had to team with Rollins on Night 1 against Rock and Reigns, with Rock’s return to the WWE bubble coming as a violent, dominant “Final Boss.” Rhodes then faced Reigns one-on-one on Night 2 under Bloodline Rules and ended Reigns’ incredible run as champion. Ripley and Lynch kicked the two-night event off with an absolute banger with Bayley and Sky matching them in their Night 2 outing. As far as WrestleManias go, XL has every bit of an argument for being the best that has ever taken place.