10 Wrestlers Who Spent The Most Time In The Ring At WWE WrestleMania

3. Shawn Michaels: 6 Hours, 13 Minutes, 17 Seconds

Shawn Michaels Undertaker Wrestlemania
WWE

The show hadn't stopped at WrestleMania XII, but thousands of bored fans left anyway.

The Iron Man match was a tedious slog - effectively what RAW wrestlers do in ad breaks for the first 40 minutes of a WrestleMania main event - but it remains the sole disaster in a seminal run. And legions of fans still adore a match Dave Meltzer rated ****1/4. Some even rate it as an all-timer.

Everything else Shawn Michaels did at WrestleMania - beyond one middling tag and two examples of a very uneven early singles run - ranged from good to sensational.

He worked two ace and very different tags across 'Manias VI and VII, revolutionised the Ladder and indeed the weapons match at 'Mania X, and politicked his way into Vince's heart by outworking Diesel at XI. The last match of his first singles run - opposite Steve Austin at 'Mania XIV - was a painstaking, worthy effort that did enough to get the new Ace over.

When he returned, he was undeniable as Mr. WrestleMania.

His match with Chris Jericho (XIX) was an intricate, twisting thing of beauty richly informed by the generational gap. He was incredible at 'Mania XX in timing his spoiler role to dramatic inch-perfection. His mischievous wit drew the best of Kurt Angle's killer intensity at 'Mania 21, and beyond that, he boasted unbelievable range in hilarious plunder (22), heartbreaking melodrama (XXIV) and elite-tier classic pro wrestling executed to and registered with near-perfection (25, XXVI). Longevity can be good!

Just not with so many chinlocks.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick (Creative Writing BA Hons) is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over a decade of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential UK institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!