Best WrestleMania Matches Of All Time: Top 7 Face-Offs, According To Fans -

WrestleMania is the biggest event in the world of sports entertainment. The first WrestleMania took place in 1985 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Every year for the last 39 years, around the end of March and the beginning of April, the spectacle of WrestleMania invades living rooms around the world. The event turns 40 years old in 2024, so to help celebrate, we’re breaking down the best WrestleMania matches of all time.

With the roaring passion of fans that surrounds WWE culture, which WrestleMania matches are considered the greatest in history? StudyFinds did some digging, consulting 10 sports and wrestling entertainment websites in an effort to bring you a consensus list of the best WrestleMania matches of all time. Our list comprises the seven most listed matches from across these sites. Think one of your favorite WrestleMania moments was left off the list? Feel free to share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!

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The List: Best WrestleMania Matches, Ranked

1. Bret “The Hitman” Hart vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13

The top spot on the list of the best WrestleMania matches of all time belongs to the classic matchup of Bret “The Hitman” Hart taking on “Stone Cold” Steve Austin at WrestleMania XIII (13). This legendary wrestling match featured two of the best wrestlers of all time squaring off in a submission match in which Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) superstar Ken Shamrock was the guest referee. As Bleacher Report explains, the winner of the match is the first wrestler to make his opponent tap out or quit via a submission hold – Bret Hart’s specialty.

Despite being considered one of the worst WrestleManias of all time, this match truly stole the show at WrestleMania XIII, notes The Sportster. Hart and Austin were bitter rivals, so the build-up to this match was a lot of fun and fans anticipated a great match. However, no one expected the level of match these two great wrestlers put on.

Hart was the traditional “babyface” or good guy while Austin was a classic “heel” or bad guy. The two went back and forth in a grueling match that saw Austin get busted open and bloodied. Hart was finally able to get Stone Cold in his patented Sharpshooter finishing submission move but Austin just wouldn’t quit.

Austin eventually passed out from the pain and Shamrock had no choice but to stop the match. Hart kept beating Austin well after the match was over while his resilience and toughness garnered cheers. As BuzzFeed describes, the two wrestlers pulled off a double turn in which Hart left the ring a heel, and a bloodied Austin left to a barrage of cheers as the face. The match changed wrestling forever and the Attitude Era had begun.

2. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 25

The next match on the list of the top WrestleMania matches in history features The Undertaker taking on “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels in one of the most anticipated WrestleMania bouts of all time. Although these two wrestlers were older and a bit past their prime, they put on one of the greatest wrestling matches fans have ever seen, explains Cleveland.com.

Michaels and The Undertaker are and were two of the biggest names in all of professional wrestling, but this was their first-ever match at WrestleMania. The two put on a show that would steal the thunder of that WrestleMania’s main event, notes Give Me Sport. The match featured each wrestler hitting the other numerous times with their finishing move and each kicking out of a pin. The match went back and forth with each wrestler’s spectacular moves.

By this time in The Undertaker’s career, he was undefeated at WrestleMania and his “streak” had garnered mainstream attention. If anyone could end The Undertaker’s vaunted streak, it was Mr. WrestleMania, Shawn Michaels. Add to this that The Undertaker hadn’t really had a signature, legendary WrestleMania to this point, explains WrestleTalk. The Undertaker would eventually win the match, setting the stage for an equally thrilling and legendary rematch at WrestleMania XXVI (26).

3. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage at WrestleMania 3

The third match on the list of the greatest WrestleMania bouts in history takes us all the way back to 1987 and WrestleMania III (3) in a battle between Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat and “Macho Man” Randy Savage. This is the first match on the list that was a championship match as Savage was putting his Intercontinental Championship on the line against “The Dragon.” While Savage was the champion and the “heel,” Steamboat was clearly the crowd favorite as fans chanted for Savage’s demise, notes Complex.

The two legends of the ring went back and forth in one of the most exciting and fast-paced matches in wrestling history, certainly to that point. As Bleacher Report adds, Steamboat was seeking revenge for Savage’s cowardly attack on him in which the “Macho Man” supposedly crushed Steamboat’s throat with the ring bell. The match also featured an appearance from the legendary George “The Animal” Steele who had a feud with Savage over his infatuation with “Macho Man’s” long-time ring companion Miss Elizabeth.

This epic match stole the show at WrestleMania III as the card also featured Hulk Hogan taking on Andre “The Giant” in one of the most important matches in the history of professional wrestling, notes BuzzFeed. The fast-paced, back-and-forth match featured near fall after near fall left fans gasping after each attempted pin. Finally, Steele intervened and shoved “Macho Man” off the top rope as he was about to attempt his patented flying elbow drop finisher. Steamboat rolled up Savage in a small package pin and emerged victorious. The match gave fans an appetite for quick, fast-paced wrestling matches and helped change the course of professional wrestling forever.

4. Hardy Boyz vs. Edge & Christian vs The Dudley Boyz at WrestleMania 17

The next match on the list of the top WrestleMania matches ever goes to the Triple Threat match for the tag team championship between the Hardy Boyz, Edge and Christian, and The Dudley Boyz at WrestleMania XVII (17). This match was epic for a lot of reasons, mainly because it was the first time the tag team championship would be decided in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs (TLC) Triple Threat match at WrestleMania, notes Yahoo. The three tag teams all participated in the first-ever TLC match earlier that year at SummerSlam 2000 and fans would be privileged to a repeat at WrestleMania.

The way these six men put their bodies on the line in this match is truly astounding. Perhaps the defining moment of this epic Triple Threat match was Edge spearing Jeff Hardy from the top of a ladder while Hardy was hanging onto the belts hanging high above the ring, notes The Sportster. The three legendary tag teams ensured they would steal the show at WrestleMania XVII, and they did just that.

As WrestleTalk explains, these three teams would take their rivalries to the pinnacle in this match. The match still stands as one of the best of its kind, setting and destroying the bar for tag team matches at WrestleMania moving forward.

5. The Rock vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin at WrestleMania 17

The next match on the list of the top WrestleMania bouts in history is another big-time battle from WrestleMania XVII (17) – Rock and Austin. These two megastars are widely regarded as two of the best wrestlers and two of the best characters in sports history. It’s no surprise that their No Disqualification match from WrestleMania XVII is considered one of the greatest matches in history, says Sportskeeda.

This was the second WrestleMania match between The Rock and “Stone Cold,” and this time the Heavyweight Championship was on the line in another brutal No Disqualification match. The unique aspect of this match was neither wrestler coming into it as the “heel” or villain, explains Yahoo. Both wrestlers were fan favorites and garnered heavy reactions from fans. That’s also part of what made the finish so spectacular.

Austin’s character was mostly built on his anti-authority persona, so when “Stone Cold” aligned himself with his arch-nemesis Vince McMahon, owner of WWE, it was beyond shocking, adds Give Me Sport. Austin did the unthinkable to beat The Rock and win the title. The match helped catapult The Rock’s popularity with fans to new heights while Austin took his career in a new direction as a true heel.

6. Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) at WrestleMania 10

The next match to make the list of the top WrestleMania matches of all time is the legendary battle between Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon, later known as Scott Hall, at WrestleMania X (10) in the first-ever Ladder Match. The first match of its kind, the Ladder Match, Bleacher Report explains, evolves from the storyline between the two superstars where each claimed they were the rightful Intercontinental Champion with each man having a belt.

Since each wrestler had a belt, the two belts would be hung high above the ring and the winner would be the superstar who climbed the ladder and retrieved both titles – riveting. However, it was the in-ring genius of the participants that truly made this match spectacular. Both Michaels and Razor found unique, inventive ways to use the ladder while still performing in a professional wrestling match, notes BuzzFeed.

The two wrestlers went back and forth, and for the first time, fans caught a glimpse of just how special Shawn Michaels was as a WrestleMania performer. Michaels’s high-flying ability and willingness to put his body on the line is apparent throughout this match. Although Michaels had some great WrestleMania moments following this match, Razor would win this match with Michaels being tied up in the ropes, describes Spinnable Sports. The significance of this match can’t be overstated as it set the stage for many more great ladder matches to come.

7. The Undertaker vs. Triple H at WrestleMania 28

Rounding out the list of the best WrestleMania matches of all time is The Undertaker taking on Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match at WrestleMania XVIII (28). As Give Me Sport explains, this match also featured Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee and was aptly titled “End of an Era.” This was the second meeting between Triple H and The Undertaker at WrestleMania with the first match happening at WrestleMania XVII (17). This time the two would battle it out with the ring and its immediate surrounding area encased top to bottom in a large steel cage – Hell in a Cell.

Wrestling Inc. acknowledges that a lot of wrestling fans might be surprised to see this match considered one of the greatest WrestleMania bouts ever, but the supreme storytelling and crowd-pleasing aspects of this match made it an instant classic. These three superstars are three of the best to ever step in a ring and, at the time, The Undertaker’s WrestleMania winning “streak” was on the line. Of course, Michaels and Triple H were the founding members of the popular wrestling group Degeneration X (DX), so the odds were stacked against The Undertaker.

By this time, as Sportskeeda explains, Michaels was pretty much retired from wrestling while Triple H was moving into his role as a behind-the-scenes director and The Undertaker was mostly wrestling once a year to defend his “streak” at WrestleMania. The three icons had been responsible for so many great WrestleMania moments and this was the culmination of their work together. Despite their best efforts, The Undertaker emerged victorious, undefeated WrestleMania streak intact, and the three wrestling megastars gave fans one lasting image from their legendary careers together.

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Tags: wrestling