WWE.Com's 30 Greatest Wrestlemania Matches

[Jack-Hammer]

Earlier today, WWE.com ran an article listing the top 30 matches in the history of "The Showcase of the Immortals." All in all, it's a pretty good list and, just as with me, I'm sure there'll be many disagreements as to which matches made the cut, which didn't and where those that made the cut ultimately landed.

#30 - #21

30. Bret "Hitman" Hart vs. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper - WrestleMania VIII
29. Money in the Bank Ladder Match - WrestleMania XXIII
28. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. The Rock - WrestleMania XV
27. The Undertaker vs. Edge - WrestleMania XXIV
26. Money in the Bank Ladder Match - WrestleMania XXI
25. Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle - WrestleMania XX
24. Mick Foley vs. Edge - WrestleMania XXII
23. The Undertaker vs. Triple H III - WrestleMania XXVIII
22. Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar - WrestleMania XIX
21. The Undertaker vs. CM Punk - WrestleMania XXIX

#20 - #1

20. John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels - WrestleMania XXIII
19. The Undertaker vs. Triple H II - WrestleMania XXVII
18. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho - WrestleMania XIX
17. Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair - WrestleMania XXIV
16. The Ultimate Warrior vs. "Macho Man" Randy Savage - WrestleMania VII
15. Hulk Hogan vs. "Macho Man" Randy Savage - WrestleMania V
14. "Macho Man" Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair - WrestleMania VIII
13. The Rock vs. "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan - WrestleMania XVIII
12. Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior - WrestleMania VI
11. The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudley Boyz vs. Edge & Christian TLC Match - WrestleMania XVII

The Top 10

10. Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle - WrestleMania XXI
9. Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon Ladder Match - WrestleMania X
8. Bret "Hitman" Hart vs. Owen Hart - WrestleMania X
7. Bret "Hitman" Hart vs. Shawn Michaels Iron Man Match - WrestleMania XII
6. Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant - WrestleMania XXX
5. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels II - WrestleMania XXVI
4. Bret "Hitman" Hart vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin - WrestleMania XIII
3. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. The Rock - WrestleMania XVII
2. "Macho Man" Randy Savage vs. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat - WrestleMania III
1. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels I - WrestleMania XXV

All in all, as I said, a pretty damn good list. HBK & Taker made the list 7 and 6 times respectively, Hogan, Hart & Savage each had a total of 4 matches on the list and Austin & The Rock both had 3 matches make the list. One of the biggest oversights was the triple threat match at WrestleMania XX featuring Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit, though I'm not surprised. Benoit's name isn't gonna be dropped for obvious reasons. My biggest disagreement was Hulk vs. Andre. The match might be iconic but, in my opinion, I thought it downright sucked ass. It was amazingly dull and consisted of mostly a punch fest from Hogan, Andre holding Hogan in a bear hug for about 10 minutes, the body slam and the leg drop. Personally, I think the match was rated so high because of the iconic image of Hogan slamming Andre.

 

[Hakushi]

Hard to argue with that list. Overall pretty dead on. I amy swap a few and make them higher/lower, but pretty precise with, what I assume, the main stream opinion would be.

 

[MCMG]

It's a pretty good list. I'd have the triple threat in the top 10 but that is beside the point. I'd also have Flair vs HBK a lot higher. If Hogan vs Andre is 6th then they are clearly not going in bell to bell action. It is about "Wrestlemania" matches and all that entails. HBK looking at Flair and telling Ric he loves him was an incredible moment and I'd have that higher.

I also loved Triple H vs Taker inside Hell in a Cell. The winner might have been obvious but they made it work and they made me, even for a second, to believe. It was brutal, entertaining, enthralling and HHH, Taker and Shawn all played their roles perfectly. Plus, them hugging it out at the end was another fantastic Wrestlemania moment.

From the most recent my top 10 would be:
HHH vs Taker (28)
HBK vs Taker (25)
HHH v HBK v Benoit (20)
Hogan vs The Rock (18)
Rock vs Austin (17)
TLC 2 (17)
Bret v Austin (13)
Bret v Owen (10)
Hogan v Andre (3)
Steamboat v Savage (3)

I don't accept grading a match bell to bell. Ignoring everything else just doesn't make sense because it is just as vital. Unless it is a match of exceptional quality like Steamboat/Savage or TLC2. The who, the when and the where is important hence Hogan vs Andre/The Rock.

 

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

-Taker vs HHH II too high
-Eddie vs Angle was meh.
-Austin vs Rock III > Austin vs Rock I
-HBK vs Bret Iron Man match sucked.
-Savage vs Steamboat Extremely overrated.

HBK-Taker number 1? LOL!


This is what happens when the PG kids vote.




Austin-Rock II Greatest WM Match Ever!!

 

[FlairFan2003]

You cant rate matches just on the in ring action alone. What makes a match "big" really has nothing to do with the actual match itself, it's the storyline that builds the match. Otherwise all you have is two characters you are not invested in having a match you dont care about.

This list is subjective of course, though it seems to consider both in ring performance and storyline, though how much weight each gets is hard to say.

Hogan-Andre should be #1, Hogan was at the height of his popularity which was huge, bigger than Austin, Goldberg, Rock, and Andre was a living legend with a 20 plus year undefeated streak (making Hogan's tiny 3 yrs without a pinfall loss seem miniscule as impressive as it was), Andre had done everything imaginable except be World Champ, and as the most popular wrestler in WWE behind only Hogan, the idea of him putting his Streak against Hogan for the title, adding in his shocking heel turn and alliance with Hogan's arch nemesis Bobby Heenan, this was the biggest match maybe in the whole decade. Moreover, although W-Mainia had been successful it's first two years it really wasnt 'must see' TV, in fact it wasnt even better than Starrcade, the event it was based on and created to compete against. W-Mainia became a cultural event, covered nationally in mainstream press, after breaking the North American Indoor Attendance Record drawing over 93,000 fans live while easily breaking all PPV buyrate records at the time. W-Mainia became 'The SuperBowl of Wrestling' after WM 3 and the biggest attraction at the show was Andre-Hogan.

 

[Loveless]

#30 - #21

6. Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant - WrestleMania XXX

That's happening at Wrestlemania 30? I'd pay to see that

It's certainly not a bad list but I would say it needs rearranging. I get that people love HBK Vs Taker at 25 but for me, the camera-spot fuckup ruined it's rhythm for a good 5 minutes at least.
I think for sense of occasion and match quality, the Iron-Man match at XII should probably be number 1 but my personal favourite is Angle Vs HBK at 21.

On a personal note, 6 months ago I had planned to run a big (287 matches to date) tournament to find out what the favourite Wrestlemania match on this site is, but those in charge shut me down. It's up to them now.

 

[Pedigree1]

Very impressive list,I agree with it. Hard to pick a favorite they all had iconic moments to them,very great matches. Benoit not being included on the list is fine with me considering the circumstances. Andre vs Hogan is too high IMO,only reason its so high,is because Hogan slammed Andre (Didnt he tear all his deltoid muscles in doing so?).. I have no issues with HBK vs Taker WM25 as the No1 match of all-time.. It was an incredible battle and the streak was in legit danger for the first time.

My personal favorite though is Macho Man vs Steamboat WM3! Very hard to argue with that match as the best of all-time. Being planned out and such,does not diminish the match for me at all!

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

Respectable list but yeah Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit was horribly left out. A lot of fans still consider this the best WM match ever, and I really think the WWE needs to once in awhile acknowledged a match or a feud Benoit was in because. hey it actually happened and no matter what Benoit did it's something they can't really erase no matter how hard they try.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Pretty good looking list. I can't argue against most of it. Could switch a few but none of those matches "sucked". Hogan/Andre wasn't a technical masterpiece, but they told a story and it made sense and it had the crowd on the edge of their seat and it created an iconic moment people talk about. Plus it wouldn't make any damn sense for them to chain wrestle.