6. WrestleMania XIX
If you want to know what would top the list of "best" WrestleManias, then look no further. On a card featuring a virtual who's who of wrestling history with a combined 80 reigns with the World Championship to their collective names, Mania XIX was the superlative WrestleMania in regards to performance. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho, The Rock vs. Steve Austin III, and Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar engaged in a fascinating competition for Match of the Night, with opinions varying on who actually claimed the honor. Many would state that the Showstopper came back for the first time in five WrestleManias and stole the show with Y2J. It would be hard to argue. Their match ages like a fine wine. Angle gutted out a herniated disc in his neck to the tune of a wonderful piece of work with Brock, who provided the most memorable moment of the night when he nearly killed himself with an attempted moonsault in the pinnacle spot of the main-event. As time has passed, no more historically significant a happening occurred than Austin's final match. It was not billed as such, but Stone Cold never wrestled again...and to think it came after the night from hell when he took a dangerous combination of energy drinks and coffee and spent the Saturday before Mania in the hospital recovering from a panic attack. Vince McMahon vs. Hulk Hogan and Triple H vs. Booker T added differing styles to the unprecedented five headliner card, while several bouts from the undercard excelled despite limited time. Matt Hardy vs. Rey Mysterio was a great opener, Undertaker surprised many with his work against Big Show and A-Train, Trish Stratus combined with Jazz and Victoria for a satisfying women's match, and the triple threat for the WWE Tag Team Championships was what one would have expected it to be (fast, furious, and quite good). The only thing keeping Mania XIX out of the running for the #1 spot on the list is its very disappointing business numbers. A year earlier,
The Royal Rumble had drawn 640,000 buys. Mania XIX, despite its unbelievably stacked cast of characters, could only muster 540,000. It was wild, but a product of the times. Interest in wrestling had simply dwindled away to a shell of what it had been even a year earlier.