100 Greatest WWE WrestleMania Moments

Nostalgia will always be an impossible to ignore lure for many lapsed wrestling fans when they see the latest 'Mania advertised. It conjures up images of happy childhood memories, and has become woven into the fabric of countless lives. So, imagine the faces on any lapsed viewers who happened to check out their first WWE show in years come 2024's WrestleMania 40. This wasn't just XL, it was a supersized helping of retro fun.

The Rock, who had worked a tag match alongside Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins the night before, ran in with everyone from The Usos, Rollins, John Cena and The Undertaker during night two's much-anticipated main between Roman and Cody. Rocky, Cena and 'Taker were all treated like nostalgic blasts from the past coming back to haunt one another, and it was glorious.

Reportedly, WWE wanted to have Steve Austin run in too, but he had to be replaced by Undertaker late on. That's some replacement, to be fair. A few grumbling campers on socials barked that the headliner was "overbooked", but that's missing the point. Was it bloated? Yes. Over the top? No denying it. Utterly wonderful and exciting? Also true. That's what everyone needed to focus on rather than forced negativity for the sake of it.

WWE know they can't go all in on nostalgia-fests like this at every show, but this was the 40th WrestleMania and the time for Rhodes to "finish his story". Things had to be OTT, if only to keep drama at a fever pitch and to differentiate this sequel from 'Mania 39's bitterly disappointing (albeit totally mandatory in hindsight) result.

WrestleMania 40's nostalgia overload worked.