Welcome to part one of David Jacobus’ list of the top 10 WrestleMania events of all time. There have been 34 of them, and in preparation for this year’s showcase of the immortals, he’s gonna rank them. Enjoy the countdown!
#10: WrestleMania 33
We’re starting off the list with a fairly recent WrestleMania. Yes, this WrestleMania started the trend of being seven hours long including the preshow. However, from start to finish this WrestleMania was, “The Ultimate Thrill Ride.”
WrestleMania 33 took place at the legendary Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. This was the second time that the Citrus Bowl had hosted WrestleMania, the other being WrestleMania 24.
The preshow kicked off with a thrilling match for the Cruiserweight Championship between Neville and Austin Aries. Neville being the “The King of the Cruiserweights” dominated everyone who looked to dethrone him as Cruiserweight Champion.
However, Aries was a new challenger, and despite his best efforts, was unable to dethrone the “King of the Cruiserweights.”
There was some lackluster action in the Andre the Giant Memorial battle royal, which was won by Mojo Rawley. The highlight was when NFL star, Rob Gronkowski, had a WrestleMania moment that will live on when he hopped the barricade and bullrushed Jinder Mahal.
Then, Dean Ambrose retained the Intercontinental Championship in a solid matchup against Baron Corbin.
The main show kicked off with an eventful opening in a match between AJ Styles and Shane McMahon. This match was highlighted with an impactful coast to coast by Shane McMahon. Then, a missed Shooting Star Press attempt by Shane which led to AJ hitting the Phenomenal Forearm for the win.
The next match pitted the former best friends Kevin Owens & Chris Jericho against each other for the United States Championship. Jericho cost Owens the Universal Championship at Fastlane.
Kevin paid him back by taking his Championship on the grandest stage. The match was decent but things heated up when Owens hit a powerbomb on the apron which led him to win the United States Championship.
The next matchup was a fatal four way elimination match for the Raw Women’s Championship between Bayley, Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax & Sasha Banks. The match showed the future of women’s wrestling and showed why the future is bright.
The three of the Four Horsewomen took down the larger Nia Jax. Then, Charlotte took down Sasha Banks.
The last two were the young Bayley who had the heart of the entire WWE Universe behind her facing off against the woman who had dominated Raw over the last year, Charlotte. Bayley was able to overcome the odds and fend off Charlotte to retain the Championship.
Now to arguably the biggest return in WrestleMania history. It was originally going to be a triple threat ladder match for the Raw Tag Team Championships between Enzo & Cass, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson, and Sheamus & Cesaro.
However, the WrestleMania hosts The New Day announced there was one more team to be added to the match. That team being, Matt & Jeff, The Hardy Boyz. It had been almost a decade since the WWE Universe saw the Hardy Boyz and the WWE Universe showed its appreciation with one of the loudest reactions in history.
The Hardyz showed their appreciation by putting on a ladder match only they know how to put on. From massive Twists of Fate off of tops of ladders to a massive Swanton Bomb through Sheamus and Cesaro on ladders.
This led to the Hardyz icing on the cake which was winning the Raw Tag Team Championships, a moment that will always be remembered and returned to.
As of this moment, the clip of their return on YouTube has 30 million views. On a side note, this win was Jeff’s very first WrestleMania win.
From one WrestleMania moment to another, the next match pinned arch rivals The Miz & Maryse against John Cena & Nikki Bella. These two couples had disdain for each other and it showed in this matchup.
John & Nikki were able to write Miz and Maryse out of their lives by picking up the victory. However, the moment did not end there. After the match, John Cena dropped to a knee and proposed to Nikki, which she said yes to. It was a moment that has been overshadowed by the many other big moments that happened during WrestleMania 33.
The next match was almost two years in the making. The protege versus the mentor, Seth Rollins vs. Triple H. Triple H trained and mentored Seth to become the face of the WWE. From NXT to the main roster, Seth Rollins was always under the wing of Triple H. Being his protege led Seth Rollins to become the WWE Champion.
However, with the weight and pressure of being the face of the company on his shoulders, it led to a collapse. Seth suffered a gruesome knee injury which made him relinquish the WWE Championship.
When Seth got back, he climbed the mountain again. He was moments from winning the Universal Championship until Triple H stabbed him in the back. Seth then scratched and clawed to get to Triple H. He invaded NXT and did everything he could do to send his message.
Which led to WrestleMania. A non-sanctioned match between Triple H & Seth Rollins was announced. The two went back and forth, but Seth outsmarted his mentor.
Triple H accidentally knocked Stephanie through a table, which led to Seth to hit Triple H’s own Pedigree for the win. Seth’s road led back to WrestleMania to burn down the kingdom.
The first World Championship match of the night was for the WWE Championship between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt. Randy was the winner of the Royal Rumble match and vowed to eliminate his once Wyatt Family brother. In by far one of the weirdest matches in WrestleMania history, Randy Orton was able to defeat Bray Wyatt and win his 13th World Championship.
From one World Championship match to now the WWE Universal Championship. The Beast, Brock Lesnar against the Universal Champion, Goldberg; a WrestleMania rematch 13 years in the making. Goldberg since the first encounter has had the number of Brock Lesnar. He beat him at the previous year’s Survivor Series in seconds. Then, he eliminated Brock in the Royal Rumble match.
However, at WrestleMania, Brock Lesnar out performed his opponent. He did so again by defeating Goldberg to win the Universal Championship. This was day 1 of an over 500 day reign as Universal Champion for Lesnar.
The last Championship match of the night was a 6-pack challenge for the SmackDown Women’s Championship between Alexa Bliss, Becky Lynch, Naomi, Natalya, Mickie James and Naomi.
Naomi had returned to her hometown looking to reclaim the Championship she never lost. Naomi found redemption by making Alexa tap out and winning the Championship in front of her hometown; a moment she will never forget in her lifetime.
It is now main event time. The Big Dog, The Phenom, The Undertaker taking on the new Big Dog, Roman Reigns. The Undertaker sought out to prove that the ring is still his yard. Roman looked to become the Big Dog and take over the Undertaker’s yard. In a hellacious match, Roman Reigns was able to defeat The Undertaker after hitting multiple spears for the win. After the match, as Roman basked in the light, The Undertaker stood in the ring.
The Undertaker soaked in the appreciation of the WWE Universe. Thank You Taker chants flooded the Citrus Bowl as The Undertaker folded his signature coat and laid his hat in the middle of the ring. He then kissed his wife and saluted the crowd as clocked stuck midnight.
As WrestleMania closed, the lights went black which concluded one of the most eventful WrestleManias in history.
#9: WrestleMania 31
From the East Coast to the West Coast. WrestleMania 31 took place at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. WrestleMania 31 was a night that shifted the landscape of WWE as we see it today.
WrestleMania 31 kicked off on the preshow with a solid fatal four way match for the WWE Tag Team Championships. Cesaro and Tyson Kidd retained, defeating the New Day, Los Matadores and The Usos. Then, The Big Show outlasted 29 men to win the second ever Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
The main showed started off with a gruesome ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship. The match involved: Daniel Bryan, R-Truth, Stardust, Luke Harper, Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler and Wade Barrett.
Over the past weeks, these men stole the Intercontinental Championship from one another. It was now to find out who truly is the Champion. In a hellacious match, Daniel Bryan was able to climb the ladder and win his first Intercontinental Championship.
A year prior he won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of WrestleMania. However, he had to give it up due to injury. But, what a way to find redemption by winning the Intercontinental Championship and becoming a career grand slam champion at WrestleMania.
The next match pitted Randy Orton against Seth Rollins. Randy defected from The Authority and looked to take out each of them one by one. Which led to Seth Rollins. Years ago, Randy Orton was the protege of Triple H and now the new protege was Seth Rollins. Seth was the current Mr. Money in the Bank and looked to show Randy that the New Era of WWE is led by him.
Both men slugged out everything in their arsenal. Seth looked to hit Randy with the Stomp, but Randy was able to catch Seth in mid-air with a RKO for the win.
It was now time for a WrestleMania debut that no one ever saw coming. The King of Kings, Triple H took on The Icon, Sting. Sting made his way to WWE 14 years after WCW closed its doors in 2001. Sting made his way to WWE to take down Triple H to defend the name of WCW.
The match reignited the Monday Night Wars with the battle of the NWO against D-Generation X. The battle led Triple H to level Sting with a sledgehammer for the win. Two icons and two eras in time collided in a match for the ages.
In the next match, John Cena took on Rusev for the United States Championship. In by far one of the coolest WrestleMania entrances in WrestleMania history, Rusev entered the WrestleMania on a tank. It was a really cool scene. John Cena truly shifted from the main event scene and won the United States Championship in a very powerful matchup.
Cena winning the United States Championship led to Cena creating the United States open challenge. His open challenge led to the development of the future stars of the company.
The next match was a year in the making. A year prior, Paige made his WWE debut by defeating AJ Lee to win the Divas Championship. This year, they team up to take down Brie and Divas Champion Nikki, The Bellas. They did so in a solid match. This ended up being AJ Lee’s final WWE match.
Before the next match continued, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon came out to celebrate the accomplishment of WrestleMania. They also came out to gloat about defeating Sting as if they defeated WCW again. They continued until The Rock made his surprise return. The Rock, Triple H & Stephanie McMahon jabbed back and forth until The Rock found some backup. At ringside was future UFC Hall of Famer, Ronda Rousey. Ronda came in and hip-tossed Triple H out of the ring. Then, locked eyes with Stephanie McMahon, thinking of breaking her arm. However, Ronda thinks better and stands tall with The Rock.
The next match put Bray Wyatt against The Undertaker. The Undertaker looked to find retribution after losing his WrestleMania undefeated streak a year prior. While Bray looked to defeat The Undertaker to become the New Face of Fear. The Undertaker found his retribution defeating Wyatt in a hard hitting match.
As the sun began to set, it was now time for the main event. The WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesnar defending against the winner of the Royal Rumble match, Roman Reigns. There was a divide in the crowd not knowing who they would want to win this match. The two destroyed each other only for no one being able to capitalize, which led to a moment no one saw coming.
With both men lying, Seth Rollins stormed down to the ring to cash in his Money in the Bank opportunity. The main event was now a triple threat match. Seth Rollins was then able to hit the Stomp on Roman Reigns and leave WrestleMania as WWE World Heavyweight Champion. A WrestleMania moment that will never be duplicated again. Seth Rollins cemented the future of WWE on the biggest stage in the biggest match. The sun set, not with Roman nor Brock as champion, but with Seth Rollins standing tall as WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
After two modern WrestleManias, the list will jump back a decade to a time of great transition in WWE. Which shows will get the nod for the #8 and #7 spot? Keep an eye out as the countdown continues next week!
David Jacobus
Staff Writer