Ranking All 35 WWE WrestleManias From Worst To Best
Not all Showcases of the Immortals are created equal.
Every year, WWE presumably pulls out all the stops to deliver their biggest show of the year, WrestleMania.
Big stars return. Celebrities appear. Enormous venues are filled. Elaborate stages and sets are erected. A plethora of fireworks, smoke and pyro are utilized. Ostentatious ring entrances are conceived. (Well, maybe not this year…)
The all-out effort presumably would lead you to believe that WrestleMania each year is a phenomenal show that blows away fans and leaves them wanting more, or breathlessly anticipating watching the show again on the WWE Network.
But that’s not always the case.
WrestleMania can be an incredible show with action-packed, entertaining matches. But it also can be a slog: drawn-out video packages, entrances, musical performances, skits and other hoopla the causes the show to drag on and on and on. And worse, the matches might not deliver as promised. When that happens, watch out.
When longtime fans start discussing their favorite WrestleManias, some are obvious, as are some of the least favorite PPVs. But trying to figure out how each Mania stacks up against each other is a difficult, subjective task. There are different views on what makes a good WrestleMania, but we’ll attempt to break it all down here.
Of course, this is just one writer’s opinion, so feel free to offer differing views in the comments.
OK, 35 WrestleManias, ranked. Let’s get to it…
35. WrestleMania 9
When you think of awful WrestleManias, this one immediately comes to mind.
Whether it’s the poor location (an outdoor “arena” concocted solely for the event), the lackluster wrestling or the horrendous booking, very little went well with WM 9.
The show started with two decent matches (Shawn Michaels/Tatanka, and Steiner Brothers/Headshrinkers), but it went off the rails pretty quickly, as nothing else rose to the level of watchable. Hulk Hogan losing in a tag match. Undertaker’s worst match of The Streak – a DQ win over Giant Gonzalez, who used a chloroform-soaked rag. And then Bret Hard losing the WWF Championship to Yokozuna after being blinded by Mr. Fuji’s salt.
Oh, but that wasn’t it.
Hogan re-emerged to check on Bret, but Fuji challenged Hulk to face Yoko for his newly won title. Less than 30 seconds later, we had a new champ.
Yep.