In essence, WrestleMania is the season finale for that season/year in WWE and, as such, topping the billing with a Main Event that is the culmination of your year's biggest story is the ultimate honor in professional wrestling. Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Roman Reigns, John Cena, Shawn Michaels: the list of WrestleMania headliners reads like a who's who of every name that's ever mattered in the history of this game.
That said, it takes two (or sometimes three) to make the thing go right. A good main event will make even the most disappointing WrestleMania better, while ending the night (or the two nights, in recent history) on a low note could taint an otherwise excellent Showcase of the Immortals. Among the epic WrestleMania Main Events that live in fans' memories, however, some stand above the rest.
15 Hulk Hogan vs Andre The Giant
WrestleMania 3
This isn’t the only match on this list to be outshone by a greater bout on its respective card but, no matter the historical relevance of the main event, the disparity between Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant and Ricky The Dragon Steamboat and Macho Man Randy Savage’s generation-defining match for the Intercontinental Championship on the same evening is enormous. Nevertheless, if pro wrestling is all about the hero of the day overthrowing the domineering villain, Hogan vs Andre is the best example of that playing out.
In of cultural relevance and investment of the fans, it's hard to top this one. The match itself is a bit of a slog but Jessie Ventura’s constant selling of the dominance of the seven-foot-four monolith from Coulommiers, , and how pitiful Hogan looks as he’s beaten and bear-hugged within an inch of his life is a masterclass. Hulkamania would ultimately prove too strong for Andre, with Hogan’s body slam on the over 500lbs giant writing itself into WWE folklore forever.
WrestleMania 3 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan is the second-highest-attended event in WWE history behind WrestleMania 32 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
14 Sasha Banks vs Bianca Belair
WrestleMania 37
It’s somewhat swept under the carpet because it’s such a difficult subject but to say that black performers were not treated in a way that was befitting of their talent or popularity in Vince McMahon’s WWE doesn’t feel like it can be met with any credible opposition. In the seconds after the bell rings, Bianca Belair is overcome with emotions and exchanges a nod of acknowledgment of the moment itself as the first WrestleMania Main Event to feature only black performers played out. It is one of the most culturally significant and powerful images in WrestleMania history.
The match itself moves at a relentlessly ferocious pace and is fueled by a real sense of occasion and high stakes, with Banks continually trying to put down the tenacious and determined Belair. Not enough time has ed to deem Bianca’s eventual victory a ing of the torch moment, but it's unquestionable that it elevated her standing in the eyes of the audience and the wider world of pro wrestling.
13 Roman Reigns vs Cody Rhodes
WrestleMania 39, Night Two
One of the most controversial endings to any WrestleMania Main Event but a finish that is going to age like the finest of wines. If long-term storytelling reaps the greatest rewards, this is proof. The love was just as strong for Cody, sure, but there’s always the chance that, given time, people would resent someone who came in at number 30 in the Royal Rumble, won it, and then waltzed to victory in the Main Event of WrestleMania. Though leaving a bitter taste on the evening, this remains one of Roman Reigns' best WWE matches and it elevated the following year’s contest on every possible metric.
Following the previous night, in which Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn would take the tag-team gold from The Usos, the stage was set for Cody to finish the story and topple The Bloodline by taking out The Head Of The Table. Enter Solo Sikoa. After a dramatic, out-and-out war, and with Rhodes set to land the killer blow on the wobbling 950-day reign of the Champion, a fatal Samoan Spike/Spear combo would see Reigns retain the title and the challenger needing to write a few more chapters before. Y’know.
They hung their hopes and dreams on him. Roman Reigns took that away from Cody Rhodes and the audience. They blame Roman Reigns for it. They appreciate how close Cody came and they know, that the next time Cody Rhodes steps in the ring with Roman Reigns, this will be the one. - Paul Heyman, Ariel Helwani Meets: Paul Heyman
12 John Cena vs The Rock
WrestleMania 28
Perhaps best known for being the only WrestleMania match to ever be announced a full year in advance, the legitimate feeling of bad blood between the two led to a tension that was inescapable and a main event that felt as high-stakes as a non-title match can possibly be. They used Twitter and interviews to stoke the fires and it felt fresh as hell because of it.
The two biggest superstars of their respective eras and a heated clash of cultures that reflected that, led to unmissable one-on-one mic battles, blurring the lines of kayfabe. The match itself proved that Dwayne Johnson could spend a decade being fast and furious in Hollywood and still go in the squared circle. The whole thing holds up much better if you decide to ignore the whole “once in a lifetime” rib of them repeating the match (but much worse) just one year later.
The Rock vs John Cena at WrestleMania 28 remains the biggest show in WWE PPV history with 1.3 million buys worldwide.
11 Hulk Hogan vs Ultimate Warrior
WrestleMania 6
If you were to watch this match back with zero context and learn that it’s an all-time classic, you could be forgiven for thinking that someone was messing with you, but this is a serious contender for the biggest wrestling match ever. With Hulk Hogan’s red-and-yellow popularity riding as high as ever, plus The Ultimate Warrior’s nonsense-riddled promos and high-octane tenacity proving to be an equally potent combo with the public, the stage was set for Hogan's World Heavyweight Championship and Warrior's Intercontinental Championship to be both on the line in the same match.
As such, this lumbering, pedestrian-paced bout will always be spoken about in glowing . Every high-stakes match dreams of having a moment as iconic as “the double clothesline”. The WWE and pro wrestling at large tries to work that spot into its biggest matches, such is its game-changing impact. There is also a good argument to be made for enjoying it that little bit more, knowing how much The Hulkster would have hated losing this match cleanly.
10 Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins
WrestleMania 31
The heist of the century, a classic WrestleMania moment, and perhaps the best Money In The Bank cash-in in the history of the briefcase. Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns may have headlined WrestleMania more than any other bout in history (with mostly disappointing results) but this first meeting of the two felt fresh way back in 2015. The night, however, was destined to belong to Seth freakin’ Rollins.
Just hours after taking the best RKO of all time and with both Reigns and Lesnar exhausted and sprawled out on the canvas, The Architect seized the moment for the first-ever WrestleMania Money In The Bank cash-in to make the match a triple threat. Less than 2 minutes later, he was WWE champion for the first time. If the perfect end to WrestleMania is to make you desperate for Monday Night Raw the next day, this was exemplary.
9 Shawn Michaels vs Stone Cold Steve Austin
WrestleMania 14
Sometimes the match itself is secondary to the bigger picture and this still wildly entertaining WrestleMania headliner between Shawn Michaels and an ascending Stone Cold Steve Austin is one such occasion. With the Monday Night Wars beginning to turn in the favor of the WWE, the company’s decision to bring in attention magnet Iron Mike Tyson for the build-up was one of the most critical moments in restoring that balance of power for good. Indeed, Tyson and Austin’s first meeting felt bigger than wrestling itself. It feels like one of 90s pop culture’s biggest moments.
A match in which Michaels nurses a legitimate back injury and ruthlessly attacks the left knee of The Rattlesnake, it has the sort of nonsensical finish that would’ve made the internet melt entirely in today’s age. Referee Mike Chioda is laid out and, after a few counters of one another’s finishing moves, Steve Austin gives HBK The Stunner and Mike Tyson, who’d spent months in DX’s corner and is absolutely not a licensed WWE official, counted to 3. Austin was WWE Champion for the first time. Somehow. It’s maddening and yet all so very wrestling.
8 The Usos vs Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens
WrestleMania 39, Night One
The first (and currently only) tag-team titles match to headline WrestleMania featured a battle between brothers in blood and lifelong friends who are brothers in everything but. The Bloodline storyline is one of the greatest angles in the history of this game and Sami Zayn is an almighty reason for that accepted truth.
Pushing away his lifelong friend and confident Kevin Owens in the name of pursuing the acceptance of Roman Reigns and his gang, the sheer level of emotional investment that came with Sami’s lightbulb turning on at the 2023 Royal Rumble gives goosebumps even this far removed from it. From Sami and KO’s reunion to the match itself and one of the best performances of Michael Cole’s illustrious career on the call, this isn’t just a modern classic WrestleMania Main Event. It’s an all-time classic.
7 The Undertaker vs Edge
WrestleMania 24
The magic of The Undertaker's legendary winning streak at WrestleMania became his match's ability to make you suspend your pre-match prediction and believe that his opponent was going break that streak like The Dudley Boyz break tables. Edge may have come into the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, FL as World Heavyweight Champion but, despite the twist that The Undertaker had been unable to get the better of him in singles competition up to this point, the veteran was 15-0 at WrestleMania going into this contest and thus an overwhelming favorite.
Edge’s gritty and deranged performance, however, had everyone convinced this could be the night, especially when a lethal spear landed after interference from his cohorts at the time, Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins. If a classic match with The Undertaker was the internal mark of greatness within the WWE locker room for over 20 years, this WrestleMania Main Event is the moment that Edge went from being a top-tier performer to being a future Hall of Famer.
6 Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle
WrestleMania 19
You simply have to look past the moment that Lesnar misses his attempt at a top-rope Shooting Star Press that this match is best known for. Putting that aside, this is the most academically decorated duo to ever headline a Wrestlemania. Both men have been NCAA wrestling champions, Angle in 1990 and 1992 and Lesnar in the year 2000. Lesnar had an amateur record of 106 wins and 5 losses, Angle won a gold medal for the USA with a broken freakin’ neck. Both men made the transition to the WWE look effortless. They simply had to meet.
Competing for the Smackdown title, their ring work was every bit as masterful as hoped for. The mat wrestling was clean, and the one-upmanship was captivating, but the way these elements would combine with pro wrestling psychology and storytelling was the definition of elite. The Angle Slam-F5-Ankle Lock sequence is poetry. If pro wrestling rests a lot on the two performers making what happens in the ring credible, there is no one who did it better than these two. The finish should not define this match.
