The 10 Greatest WrestleMania Matches of All Time

#2

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock — WrestleMania 17 (2001)

If WrestleMania 25 is the greatest match, WrestleMania 17 is the greatest show, and this main event is the reason why. Austin vs Rock at the Astrodome in Houston was the peak of the Attitude Era, a No Disqualification match that combined incredible in-ring action with one of the most shocking storyline twists in history.

For 28 minutes, Austin and Rock beat the absolute hell out of each other. The chair shots, the Rock Bottom on the announce table, the blood pouring down Austin's face — it was controlled chaos that felt genuinely dangerous. Then came the twist: Austin, the ultimate anti-authority rebel, aligned with Mr. McMahon to win the WWF Championship. The audience's shock was palpable. The biggest babyface in wrestling history just turned heel at the biggest WrestleMania ever. It was bold, it was controversial, and it remains one of the most debated creative decisions in wrestling history.

The match itself would be a classic even without the heel turn. The pacing, the physicality, the crowd heat — everything about it was perfect. The heel turn just elevated it from a great match to an all-time moment.

#3

Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat — WrestleMania 3 (1987)

The match that proved WrestleMania could produce genuine in-ring classics. While Hogan vs Andre drew the 93,000 fans to the Silverdome (the official, if disputed, attendance figure), Savage vs Steamboat was the match that wrestling purists went home talking about. And nearly four decades later, it still holds up.

In an era when most matches were built around simplistic brawling, Savage and Steamboat choreographed a 14-minute match with over 20 near-falls, seamless transitions, and a pace that was years ahead of its time. Every move led logically to the next, every near-fall built on the one before it, and the finish — Steamboat rolling through a slam into a small package — was as perfectly executed as anything in wrestling history.

This match set the template for what a WrestleMania classic could be. Every great WrestleMania match that followed owes something to Savage and Steamboat proving that athletic, story-driven wrestling could steal the show from the biggest spectacles in the business.

#4

Bret Hart vs Stone Cold Steve Austin — WrestleMania 13 (1997)

The double turn. In one match, Austin went from hated villain to beloved anti-hero, and Hart went from respected champion to bitter heel. And it happened organically, through the story the match told, without a single scripted promo or backstage segment. Just two men wrestling, and the audience deciding in real time who they wanted to cheer for.

The submission match told a simple story: Austin would not quit, no matter what Hart did to him. Hart targeted the knee, applied submission after submission, and grew increasingly frustrated and vicious as Austin refused to surrender. The iconic image of Austin's blood-soaked face screaming in agony while trapped in the Sharpshooter is the single most famous image in WrestleMania history. Austin passed out rather than submit, and in doing so, he became the toughest man in wrestling.

This match changed the trajectory of WWE. Austin's rise to the top of the industry and the subsequent Attitude Era can be traced directly to this 22-minute classic. It is the most consequential WrestleMania match ever wrestled.

#5

Cody Rhodes vs Roman Reigns — WrestleMania 40 Night Two (2024)

The culmination of the longest-running storyline in modern WWE. Cody Rhodes finishing the story — winning the Undisputed WWE Championship that his father Dusty never held — was the most emotionally satisfying WrestleMania moment in at least a decade. The match itself was a spectacle, featuring interference from The Rock, the reunification of The Shield to help Reigns, and ultimately the entire locker room rallying behind Cody.

Was it the cleanest, most technically perfect match on this list? No. But WrestleMania moments are not just about workrate. They are about emotional payoffs, and nothing on this list delivered a bigger emotional payoff than the image of Cody Rhodes holding the championship belt and weeping while the crowd sang along to his entrance music. The fact that Randy Orton now wants to take it from him makes this moment even more significant in hindsight.

#6

The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels — WrestleMania 26 (2010)

The sequel that somehow lived up to the original. With Shawn Michaels' career on the line (per the stipulation), the emotional stakes were even higher than the first encounter. Michaels' desperation throughout the match — especially the iconic moment where he slapped the Undertaker and motioned "cut throat" while on his knees — was some of the finest performance art in wrestling history. The Tombstone finish, followed by Michaels' retirement, was devastating and beautiful.

#7

Razor Ramon vs Shawn Michaels — WrestleMania 10 (1994) — Ladder Match

The match that invented the modern ladder match. Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels did not create the concept, but they perfected it. The Madison Square Garden crowd had never seen anything like this, and the innovative spots — Michaels riding the ladder like a see-saw, the superplex off the top of the ladder, the dramatic climbs and falls — set the template for every ladder match that followed.

Beyond the innovation, the match told a compelling story about two men who would do anything to prove they were the rightful Intercontinental Champion. Every ladder spot served the narrative, and the finish — Ramon pulling Michaels off the ladder and claiming both belts — was a satisfying conclusion to one of 1993-94's best feuds.

#8

Daniel Bryan vs Triple H / Bryan vs Batista vs Orton — WrestleMania 30 (2014)

We are counting Daniel Bryan's two matches at WrestleMania 30 as one entry because the story was one continuous narrative. Bryan defeated Triple H in the opener to earn his spot in the main event, then overcame both Batista and Randy Orton in the triple threat to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The image of Bryan celebrating atop the ramp with 75,000 fans doing the "Yes!" chant is one of the most joyous moments in WrestleMania history.

This entry represents something bigger than just match quality. It represents the power of the audience to change the direction of a wrestling company. Bryan was not the chosen one. The crowd demanded he be elevated, and WrestleMania 30 was the ultimate validation that the fans' voice matters.

#9

Becky Lynch vs Ronda Rousey vs Charlotte Flair — WrestleMania 35 (2019)

The first women's match to main event WrestleMania. Regardless of what you think of the match's execution (the finish was slightly botched), the historical significance cannot be overstated. Three women closing the biggest wrestling show of the year was a watershed moment for the industry, and Becky Lynch's coronation as "The Man" was the culmination of one of the best organic pushes in recent memory.

The fact that this match happened at all is a testament to how far women's wrestling has come. A generation earlier, women's matches were bathroom breaks on WrestleMania cards. At WrestleMania 35, they were the main event. That matters.

#10

Edge vs Mick Foley — WrestleMania 22 (2006) — Hardcore Match

The match that made Edge a legitimate main eventer. Foley, the hardcore legend, put his body on the line one more time to give Edge the most physically brutal match of his career. The flaming table spot, the thumbtacks, the barbed wire — it was controlled chaos that told the story of Edge proving he belonged among the all-time greats by surviving the most punishing match of his life.

This match does not have the emotional depth of others on this list, but it has something equally valuable: it is impossible to forget. Every fan who watched WrestleMania 22 remembers the image of Edge spearing Foley through a flaming table. That is the power of a WrestleMania moment.