Ranking All 287 Wrestlemania Matches Ever

10. Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair at Wrestlemania 24 Flair’s Retirement MatchIn Michaels-Flair, you have one of the truly great pure wrestling matches in Wrestlemania history. The story going into the match was that Vince McMahon declared Flair would have to retire the next time he lost a match. Flair proceeded to engage in a winning streak, topping folks like Mr. Kennedy and MVP, McMahon himself, and even making reigning champ Randy Orton tap out in a tag match right before ‘Mania.

The buck stopped with HBK.

This showdown fundamentally worked on so many levels. Two of wrestling’s all-time greats squared, each well past his prime, but both wise and ready to give his all for one last spectacular showdown. In the storyline, as in real-life, the two men were acknowledged as friends. Michaels told Flair he didn’t want to retire him. Flair was insulted that Michaels assumed he would.

The match to follow was the best of Flair’s last WWE run, and I would argue the best performance he had given in at least twelve years. HBK more than held up his end of the bargain. It was a great back and forth encounter that pivoted on Michaels going for and missing a moonsault outside the ring onto an announce table, storyline injuring himself in the process, and perfectly setting up Flair to finish him off with a figure four leglock.

It wouldn’t be Flair’s night though. Michaels dominated the late stages of the match, then, in a truly iconic moment, stared down the old man as he rose to his knees. Michaels hesitated. Flair told him to come on. Michaels mouthed, “I’m sorry. I love you,” and proceeded to superkick The Nature Boy into next week for the pinfall victory.

Second only to the number one match on this list, I’d rate that the most emotional moment ever at ‘Mania. I can’t justify including the hero’s sendoff WWE gave Flair the next night as a part of this match, but let’s just say it was fitting epilogue to a wonderful capstone match to an amazing career.

9. Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock at Wrestlemania 18 The wrestling world is no stranger to hyperbole along the lines of “legend versus legend” and “icon versus icon,” but I don’t know that the hype was ever more true than for this showdown.

You can’t talk about Hogan-Rock without acknowledging the “third man” in this encounter: the crowd. Watch this one with the sound muted and it may just barely crack to the top 50 percent of this countdown. But drink in the atmosphere of the crowd losing its mind on the initial stare down, coming unglued when Hogan hulked up, or celebrating the aftermath of the match, and you understand why this one is an all-time classic.

The Rock was The Rock, wrestling competently and brawling full throttle. I’d actually argue this was one of Hogan’s better ‘Mania in-ring performances from a purist perspective, as Rock forced him to keep the work rate up and he held up his end of the bargain as a superficial heel, with enough hints of his face self to shore up that the crowd would be in his corner during the post-match fracas.

So let’s get to the aftermath. Yes, Rock won the match, in no small part due to Hogan ordering his NWO buddies Hall and Nash not to interfere. The Outsiders were upset with Hogan’s loss and went after their comrade. Rock made the save and, all at once, it was Hogan and Rock battling side by side to clear the ring, and they shook hands not unlike Warrior and Hogan in Toronto 12 years earlier. There were poses to follow, and the crowd’s explosive reaction to the whole event rightly unleashed a brief return of Hogan as superstar face and world champion that spring into early summer.

Rock-Hogan was less about the match, more about the moment—and it was s, without question, one of the greatest moments in Wrestlemania history. 

8. Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage at Wrestlemania 3 Intercontinental Championship Match In an otherwise cartoonish WWF landscape, Steamboat-Savage was the feud for wrestling purists to latch onto. Yes, it was a program centered on two men competing over a championship, but all the more so, it became a blood feud after Savage drove a ring bell into Steamboat’s throat on TV, putting him out of action for a period of months.

Steamboat returned with revenge on his mind.

Thus, the stage was set for two of the great in-ring performers of the day to square off.

The ensuing match was a classic on every level—fast-paced, technically beautiful, and featuring enough aerial moves and brawling to offer a taste of something for everyone. The match featured no fewer than nineteen two-counts, threatening to end time and again before Steamboat pulled off the final pinfall to have his revenge and his richly deserved title belt.

While fans love this match, it may be even more notable for its influence upon wrestlers themselves as contemporary stars like Chris Jericho continually cite as the template they aspired to in becoming wrestlers themselves, and making every effort to build a more compelling in-ring product for generations to follow.

7. Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant at Wrestlemania 3 WWF Championship Match And so we arrive at arguably the most famous match in wrestling history. With an audience of 93,000 plus looking on, the hero off of whom WWF had built an empire clashed with the largest wrestler in the world.

If this countdown were based on work rate alone, this match would not crack the top 100. But considering the drama, the build, and the moment when Hogan bodyslammed Andre (not for the first time, but on the biggest stage imaginable) the match became the stuff of legend—the moment that, more than any other, apotheosized Hogan and cemented Andre’s status as a legend. When it comes to pure drama, this was the greatest match of all time, and an easy pick for the top ten in this countdown.

6. Steve Austin vs. The Rock at Wrestlemania 17 No Disqualification WWF Championship Match In the pantheon of icon versus icon matches in which the legit top two performers of the day go head to head, this match succeeded as not only a spectacle and the subject of drama, but as an unforgettable match. There was no stare down. No feeling out period. No stalling. From the moment both men were in the ring, they went at one another, fists flying for a heated brawl that evolved into a wrestling match, culminating in a legitimately shocking finish when Austin turned heel, teaming with Vince McMahon to steal the title.

Yes, this match was great, and yes the aura around it was near peerless. Perhaps best of all, the match was symbolic of a unique time in wrestling. This was a clash between the two icons of The Attitude Era, the two parties most responsible for WWF winning its war with WCW, and two men who remarkably rose to prominence concurrently and each solidified a legacy as one of the top five biggest stars ever in wrestling history. Matches don’t get much bigger than that. And what on earth can you say when a match is that significant and that good, and it’s still reasonable to debate whether the match or the iconic promo video WWF used to sell it was more successful.

5. The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudley Boyz vs. Edge and Christian at Wrestlemania 17 Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match for the Tag Team Championship In the fourth spot we have my pick for greatest six-man match of all time. At the heart of this encounter were six dudes who wanted very badly to entertain the crowd, make a moment, and, perhaps most prominently, get themselves noticed.

Various permutations of these three teams had feuded for over a year, trading the titles between them many times over and winning over the crowd in ways that few tag teams ever had, or would up through modern day. You had The Hardy Boyz—reckless daredevils who loved to jump from high surfaces (and had a particularly affinity for jumping off of ladders onto opponents). You had The Dudley Boyz, the old school bruisers who weren’t flashy, but seemed like spiritual successors to teams like the Miracle Violence Connection and Demolition (and they loved to throw opponents through tables). And then there were Edge and Christian, legit best friends since childhood, storyline brothers who could take risks like the Hardys, but were more technically sound than them, and positively oozed obnoxious-heel charisma (and their trademark move was the con-chair-to, in which case they stood one to an opponent’s right, the other to an opponent’s left and slammed steel chairs against opposite sides of his head at the same time).

The teams had a very good three-way ladder match at Wrestlemania 16 (see 21) and a phenomenal TLC match at SummerSlam 2000. This match was the follow up—TLC 2 and, in theory, the epic conclusion to an epic rivalry.

The guys didn’t disappoint, staging a thrilling match that seamlessly intertwined chaos, brutality, and high spots. Men went through tables and were hit with ladders and smashed with chairs. Then came the spear.

Jeff Hardy climbed the ladder and had his fingers on the title belts, while Edge scaled an adjacent, taller ladder. Bubba Ray stole Hardy’s ladder right out from under him, leaving him hanging from the mechanism that suspended the belts of above the ring. And Edge speared him—a full on shoulder tackle from 15 feet in the air all the way down to the mat for the most electrifying physical spectacle ever at a Wrestlemania.

The TLC gimmick isn’t a favorite of traditionalists, but in its purest form—as it was demonstrated here—it can capture the imagination like few other match-types. The Hardys, Dudleys, and Edge and Christian made art out of the least likely form, and in this match cemented a new institution in the lexicon of specialty matches.

4. Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin at Wrestlemania 13 I Quit Match Ladies and gentlemen, the art of the double switch.

Step one: recognize the flagging popularity of one of your biggest heroes.
Step two: recognize the swelling popularity of one of your top villains.
Step three: capitalize.

The story of this match was Hart’s character growing increasingly whiny after he fell victim to numerous screwjobs (foreshadowing?). Austin’s character represented a younger generation that threatened to pass Hart by—not to mention an asshole who Bret could not comprehend the fans cheering.

Austin—well, he just didn’t give a damn.

And so Hart as a submission specialist went head to head Austin as a man with a never-say-die attitude in a match that could only be won via submission (incidentally, refereed by newly debuted MMA star-turned pro wrestler Ken Shamrock). A truly special match followed with the guys interspersing perfectly executed submission holds between periods of wild brawling.

Then came the iconic moment. Austin had been reduced to a bloody mess and found himself trapped in the middle ring, locked into Hart’s signature sharpshooter hold. There wouldn’t have been much shame in Austin submitting at that point. Instead, the Texas Rattlesnake pushed up on his arms, screamed and bled.

The match ended after Austin had passed out and Shamrock had to call for the stoppage. In that moment, Austin became the most courageous of figures, living up to his word and never giving up. Meanwhile, Hart became not only a complainer, but a heartless bastard as he first refused to release the hold, then went so far as to kick Austin when he was down and completely defenseless. He teased a brawl Shamrock, only to back away like the chiken heel he suddenly was. Like puppets on strings, the fans booed Hart out of the building and formally anointed Austin as their new hero.

When it comes to sheer drama and impact, it’s hard to rival this moment. Austin would go on to become the biggest star in WWF history. Hart’s career would find new life for the year to follow as a villain. The war between the two sides would function as a vanguard for the wildly successful Attitude Era.

3. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H at Wrestlemania 20 Triple Threat Match for the World Heavyweight Championship There are plenty of factors working against the inclusion of this match at such a high place in a countdown of this nature.

Chris Benoit is the perpetual elephant in the room in conversations of wrestling’s greatest stars and matches on account of his final days on this earth—the period in which he apparently lost his mind, murdered his wife and young son, then committed suicide. It’s hard to canonize a man after such actions, and thus, difficult to celebrate this match since it was the crowning moment of Benoit’s career—the point at which he finally, with no qualifiers or controversies, won a world championship (contrary to his phantom WCW title win the night before he left the company).

Meanwhile, wrestling traditionalists tend to balk at multi-man matches. While the thinking that all matches should be one-on-one is a bit archaic, and the thinking that “the more wrestlers the better” is a recipe for success was a late 90s/early 2000s fad, this matche standss as a perfect example of a match that logically warranted the participation of three performers.

And it’s one of the greatest matches of all time.

In the lead up to this match, Chris Benoit won the Royal Rumble, beating the odds by surviving all twenty-nine other competitors from the number one spot. Storyline logic would suggest that he would use the win to challenge long-time rival Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Championship at Wrestlemania. Instead, in the relatively early days of the brand extension, Benoit opted to jump shows, switching from the Smackdown roster to the Raw roster to challenge their champion, Triple H.

One problem: Shawn Michaels.

Michaels and Triple H were in the middle of a blood feud peppered with indecisive finishes, thus Michaels was campaigning for his own world title shot at ‘Mania. Benoit effectively blocked his chance. Michaels tried to reason with “The Rabid Wolverine,” but Benoit brushed him off. So Michaels superkicked him unconscious at his contract signing and signed his own name in Benoit’s place.

In anything resembling actual contract law, the idea that Michaels could squeeze his way into the match via such means is pretty absurd. Through the wonder of wrestling logic, though, putting his name on the contract was enough to throw the whole situation into turmoil. The final ruling was that all three men would square off against one another, which presented two compelling stories. Yes, this was long-time friends turned long-time rivals Triple H and Shawn Michaels squaring off in the main event of the biggest show of the year. But this was also the story of Chris Benoit, a small, unlikely wrestler who, in real-life had learned his trade through apprenticeships in Canada, Mexico, and Japan, survived the political chaos of WCW, and made his way to WWE finally getting his shot at the most significant wrestling title in the world, at the biggest event of the year. In doing so, he would challenge the establishment—a pair of guys who between the two of them, had dominated the WWF/E main event scene for nearly a decade.

Got goosebumps yet?

The resulting match was epic. There were moments of Benoit and Michaels, as faces, working together to punish the dastardly Triple H. More telling were the moments when Michaels and Triple H formed an unholy and uneasy alliance to take out their common enemy, so they could settle their own issues uninterrupted.

In the most epic moment of the match, Michaels and Triple collaboratively slammed Benoit through a table outside the ring, apparently incapacitating him for good. A bloodied Michaeled rolls into the ring, stood at centerstage and pointed at Triple H to make one last challenge, one-on-one, with their titles and the legacy of their rivalry on the line in the middle of Madison Square Garden.

Michaels and Helmesley got their brawl, but in the end, Benoit proved too tenacious to keep down, not only returning to action, but ultimately locking Triple H in his signature Crippler Crossface. Triple H—arguably the most established star of the day and the guy with the most political clout—tapped out clean, in that single motion making Benoit the new supreme player.

The aftermath of the match was the third emotional moment ever at a Wrestlemania (see 10 and 1). Confetti rains from the rafters. Eddie Guerrero, who won the WWE World Championship one month earlier and retained it earlier that night snuck into the ring and embraced his long-time real-life and storyline best friend, Benoit. Finally, two of wrestling’s last great traditionalists, and two of the very best in-ring performers of their day also held the two most important wrestling titles in the US. And WWE had, uncharacteristically, elected to venerate a pair of undersized, underdog workhorses, rather than a couple of muscle heads, in the finale to their twentieth annual big show.

Tragically, both Benoit and Guerrero would be dead inside four years, and thus this match has been largely erased the annals of WWE history. But those who lived the moment can’t forget what it meant at the time, and that this match itself stands out as truly exceptional.

2. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 25 No one expected this match to be bad. It’s just that, contrary to most of the other bouts in the top ten, I don’t think anyone expected it would be this darn good.

I attended Wrestlemania 25 live and it was one of the most fun experiences of my life. Even a lackluster Wrestlemania is still Wrestlemania, and sitting amidst 70,000 fellow fans on the biggest night of the year for your chosen form of entertainment is pretty special.

And then this match happened, and the event went from objectively forgettable to historic.

Michaels and ‘Taker had a history, feuding on and off in the early days of the Attitude Era and then coming to blows consecutive years at the Royal Rumble. Michaels, even at the tail end of his career, was still among WWE’s top five in-ring performers and top five men on the mic. Undertaker had cultivated his aura of invincibility over the course of eighteen years as a WWE star at that point, and of course, carried his vaunted undefeated streak into this Wrestlemania.

The lead up was epic. Though both men were faces, Michaels edged toward de facto heel, taking physical cheap shots at ‘Taker, and taking several measures to mock “The Dead Man’s” persona in the weeks leading up to the show, all under the pretty logical excuse that he wanted ‘Taker angry and unfocused.

Despite now standing at 21-0 at Wrestlemania, in the best of The Undertaker’s streak matches, WWE still manages to create a sliver of doubt about whether his foe might actually beat him that year. No one played that part better than HBK, unloading his full artillery on The Phenom.

Michaels wouldn’t stay down. In the match’s greatest moment, Undertaker finally managed to hit his opponent with the ultimate finisher—the Tombstone piledriver. The referee counted one. The referee counted two. And just before he could count three, Michaels kicked out, shocking us all in Houston and giving way to the greatest Undertaker facial expression of all time as he went wide-eyed and all but said, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The war raged on with false finishes galore, and competing audience chants of “Under-taker” and “HBK,” for a full half hour before another Tombstone connected and Undertaker finally scored the pin. Yes, my perspective on this match is skewed by the sheer electricity of observing it in-person with such an awesome crowd. That said, there’s no doubt in my mind it’s worthy of a top five spot on this list. I hereby declare it the second best ‘Mania match ever.

1. Randy Savage vs. The Ultimate Warrrior at Wrestlemania 7 Retirement Match A clash between two icons? Check.

The greatest match in The Ultimate Warrior’s career? Check.

The culmination of the greatest love story in wrestling history? Check.

The end of an era? Check.

To revisit the criteria for this countdown, if I were to rank matches purely on in-ring action, this match would be a borderline top 50 candidate. But when you take into account everything that the match meant in its original context, paired with the match itself—there you find its apotheosis to my pick for the greatest match in Wrestlemania history.

From roughly 1988 to 1992, “The Macho Man” Randy Savage was in elite company as one of the top three biggest names in WWF alongside Hulk Hogan, with Andre the Giant, The Ultimate Warrior, and arguably Ted Dibiase occupying the other spot. Moreover, of all of these huge stars, Savage was the runaway choice for best in-ring performer.

Then there was Warrior. The handpicked successor to Hulk Hogan who didn’t quite thrive in the role of champion enough to really cut it as the company’s top star, but who remained a big enough name to hang out among the big three. In many ways, Warrior was more Hogan than Hogan himself—a ridiculously muscular dude who got by on charisma, stage presence, bonkers promos, and a unique look without ever actually being an exceptional wrestler.

But on to the storyline. In the short-term, these guys established a collision course when Savage challenged Warrior to a world title match and Warrior said he wasn’t worthy. Savage proceeded to attack Warrior mid-match when he was defending his title against Sgt. Slaughter at Royal Rumble 1991, costing him the match and his championship. Thus to the two set off on a heated feud, leading to the ultimate stipulation for their Wrestlemania encounter: the loser would be forced to retire.

Retirements don’t mean a ton in wrestling, as evidenced by the fact that both of these guys were in the ring again one year later at Wrestlemania 8. Just the same, the circumstances around the match felt grave, and by all indications WWF actually did intend to transition “The Macho Man” out of active performance to a broadcasting role.

That’s the short-term, but there’s an important, longer story arc at play here. See when Savage debuted in the mid-80s, he brought along his real-life wife Miss Elizabeth as his manager. In his early WWF career, Savage was a mean-spirited, vaguely misogynistic character and the presence of good and pure Elizabeth at his side only underscored his villainy by contrast. Then Savage made a face turn, and he and Elizabeth were the most popular couple in company history. Savage went on to win a world title with Elizabeth by his side, and it was Savage’s protectiveness of Elizabeth against his new buddy Hulk Hogan that ultimately led to his heel turn. With “The Macho Man” playing a villain, Elizabeth played conflicted, refusing to turn her back on him, while she also no longer accompanied him to the ring or demonstrated any visible attachment to him.

Fast forward a couple years. Savage lost his title to and his feud with Hogan, but proceeded to win the King of the Ring tournament and rechristen himself “The Macho King,” taking on Sherrie Martel as “Queen Sherrie,” his new manager.

That all set the stage for Wrestlemania 7. Just prior to the performers entering the ring, the camera panned the audience, and the commentators made note that Miss Elizabeth, unseen in WWF TV for a year, was in attendance to watch her ex’s highest stakes match.

In real life, Savage was notorious for choreographing matches, wanting to plot out every move and practice it. Critics, including a number of his contemporaries, knocked his approach because it didn’t allow for spontaneity or for them to react organically to the crowd. The fact remains that Savage’s planning resulted in a number of fantastic matches, including this, the best Warrior ever had. The action was fluid, dramatic, and built logically to ebb and flow, with the momentum vacillating between the two performers, culminating in Savage dropping five consecutive elbow drops from the top rope, only for The Warrior to take over and dominate the finish.

Post-match, a disappointed Queen Sherrie kicked Savage when he was down. A simplistic response would have been for Warrior to have saved Savage to demonstrate their mutual respect and end Savage’s career realigned with the good guys. The more nuanced, sublime choice was for Miss Elizabeth to get involved.

For over five years, Elizabeth had been a peaceful, dignified bystander to all of the mayhem in the WWF ring. On this night, she jumped the barricade, stormed the ring, grabbed Sherrie by her hair and flung her out to ringside.

Savage rose to his feet, at first confused and disoriented. Then he hugged Elizabeth. Lifted her up on his shoulder like he had in the old days. Held the ropes so she could leave the ring in a gesture akin to holding the door. The camera cut to audience members actually weeping with joy. 

Nowadays, it’s rare to see a wrestling love story go longer than a couple months. This story played out over a span of over six years, peaking at this moment. Fans would go on to observe the proposal on TV, the Macho wedding at SummerSlam, and Savage’s return to the ring and top-notch feuds with Jake Roberts and Ric Flair in the year to follow—each ignited when Savage’s rival dared to dishonor Elizabeth (more specifically, in Jake’s case, attacking her with a snake).

But that was all in the future. For one night, The Warrior reigned supreme and looked poised to challenge the world. And Savage looked ready to ride off into the sunset, a humbled version of The Macho Man, at peace with his career, the fans, and the love of his life. That my friends, was the greatest story Wrestlemania has ever told.