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Credit: WWE.com
What are the most rewatchable matches in WWE WrestleMania history?
They are not necessarily the best, but being the best goes a long way in making fans want to return every year to that magical, roller coaster ride of emotion, drama, athleticism and showmanship.
The better the match, the more likely the audience will find its way back to it every year, right around this time as the WrestleMania buzz reaches a fever pitch and fans are eager to relive the contests that helped define the event.
Still, being an all-timer is not a prerequisite for being rewatchable. It may have to do with the magic that was conjured by the performers involved, the nostalgia effect or the historical significance of a bout that lands it on this list ahead of other, perhaps better contests.
From a five-star great in the Silverdome to an iconic encounter that would spark an entire era and antihero for audiences to root for, the Showcase of the Immortals has been home to some extraordinary matches that remain among the most reviewable in sports-entertainment history.
These are the top 10.
1 of 10
Toronto’s SkyDome hosted WrestleMania 6 in 1990, headlined by a colossal showdown between the top two babyfaces in the sport as The Ultimate Warrior put his Intercontinental Championship on the line against Hulk Hogan and the WWE Championship in a match so epic it was dubbed “The Ultimate Challenge.”
The dramatic encounter had fans of both Superstars on the edge of their seats, hanging on every near-fall as they awaited the final outcome.
Would Hulkamania reign supreme and continue its dominance over the wrestling scene or would the Warrior overcome the biggest star the industry had ever seen to that point and firmly entrench himself as the new face of WWE entering the 1990s?
The answer? Warrior, who rolled out of the way of Hogan’s famed leg drop and delivered a big splash to earn the win and both titles.
A better-than-expected match between two larger-than-life personas proved that two babyfaces could clash on the grandest stage and still provide incredible storytelling and the drama fans expect out of high-profile main events.
It makes this list ahead of better matches, such as the End of an Era Hell in a Cell match at Wrestlemania 28, because of the nostalgia factor and the iconic Superstars involved.
Whereas Triple H vs. The Undertaker was expected to be great based on their previous encounters, this came from out of nowhere to be extraordinary and was essential to those early days of WrestleMania and laying the groundwork for what made a great match on that particular stage.
2 of 10
The story entering the show may not have been up to par but the 2005 match between Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 21 is one of the best matches in event history and proof that a no-frills match between two of the best to ever lace a pair of boots can still leave a lasting impression on a rewatch.
It was fitting that the tagline for that year’s event was “WrestleMania Goes Hollywood” because the ride Michaels and Angle took the audience on in their classic would have made Speilberg proud.
A sports-entertainment masterpiece with raw athleticism, epic storytelling, unbridled aggression and a dramatic conclusion in which Angle trapped Michaels in the ankle lock for what felt like an eternity, the babyface fighting through pain before finally giving into the agony.
It was an extraordinary professional wrestling match that added to Michaels’ legacy as one of the pillars of WrestleMania and gave Angle that truly classic match at the event that he lacked.
The counters and reversals alone make the match worth revisiting.
3 of 10
Like Michaels vs. Angle, the opener of WrestleMania 10 between brothers Bret and Owen Hart had the athleticism and in-ring storytelling necessary to be a classic match. What it added was the sibling rivalry storyline that helped elevate it past what HBK and the Olympic gold medalist were able to accomplish.
A red-hot crowd in New York’s famed Madison Square Garden, one of the best calls of Vince McMahon’s commentary career and an easy-to-follow story accompanied the superb in-ring action between two of the best wrestlers of all time.
Owen’s desire to prove that he was his brother’s equal fueled the story and in the end, he did just that with a defining victory that instantly elevated his star and propelled the feud forward, especially after Bret went on to capture the WWE Championship in the main event and enjoy a hero’s celebration.
The heel’s relentless work on his brother’s injured knee is fantastic, as is Bret’s selling of it for the rest of the show.
4 of 10
The Rock and Hulk Hogan transcended professional wrestling during their time on top, crossing over to mainstream media and becoming recognizable beyond the sports entertainment bubble. At WrestleMania X-8 in Toronto’s SkyDome, home to Hogan’s greatest defeat, he squared off with The Great One in a match appropriately billed as Icon vs. Icon.
The industry giants did not disappoint.
The electricity was apparent from their initial staredown, a face-to-face confrontation made all the more epic by a loud and engaged audience. What followed may not be as aesthetically beautiful as Angle vs. Michaels or the clash of Harts, but it was a fantastic display of showmanship that captured the imaginations of fans both young and old.
The nostalgic fan rooted for Hogan, happy to see him back in a WWE ring where he belonged. Fans of the Attitude Era threw their support behind Rock, the guy who had become their generation’s version of The Hulkster.
The crowd interaction, the performers’ ability to recognize what spot to put where, and a dramatic conclusion that saw Rock earn the victory and the passing of the torch moment from his childhood hero is the stuff of legend and helps make this such a fan-favorite encounter.
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There are some matches that do not need 10 variations of suplexes, 20 high spots and 37 near-falls to achieve classic, rewatchable status. A great story will do just fine and at WrestleMania 7 in 1991, that is exactly what The Ultimate Warrior and “Macho Man” Randy Savage delivered.
Savage delivered five top rope elbows, only to have Warrior kick out and fire up.
With his career on the line in a Retirement Match, the face-painted babyface openly questioned at one point whether the higher power wanted him to continue his journey in professional wrestling. He looked at his hands, then to the sky, clearly conflicted as to what to do.
He got his answer, though, and put away Savage following a barrage of shoulder tackles.
It was the post-match activities that helped elevate this one, though. After years apart, Miss Elizabeth rushed to Savage’s aid as the future Hall of Famer found himself berated by the evil Sensation Sherri. After dispatching of the heel, Elizabeth reunited with her former charge in a moment that left fans teary-eyed.
I dare you to try not to feel emotional when Savage offers to hold the ropes open for his love for the first time in their WWE run.
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Credit: WWE.com
The two biggest stars of the Attitude Era, generation-defining competitors, squared off in the main event of WrestleMania X-7 when “Stone Cold” Steve Austin challenged The Rock for the WWE Championship.
It was the second of three headlining bouts for the pair on wrestling’s grand stage, a tribute to their ability to tell stories that kept fans coming back for more. It was also the best of their countless encounters.
Drawing on previous matches and perfectly executing the Attitude Era style that had engrossed that period’s main event contests, they sucked the audience in and had the Houston fans hanging on every spot. From Austin pulling out the Million Dollar Dream in an attempt to beat The Great One to Rock looking to force a submission on the bloodied Texas Rattlesnake with the same Sharpshooter that felled him back in 1997, the match was a masterclass in sports entertainment.
Throw in interference from Mr. McMahon, a shocking heel turn by Austin and a finish that essentially served as the end of the era as fans knew it and you have a match worthy of an annual rewatch.
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There are other ladder matches in WrestleMania history that upped the ante, and risk, but none ever captured the power of storytelling quite like Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels did in 1994 as WWE celebrated 10 years of WrestleMania.
Tasked with introducing a brand new match type to the masses, Ramon and Michaels crafted an instant classic that many would consider the company’s best match ever for a very long time.
Good, sound psychology from both men, Michaels’ willingness to bump around the ring and Ramon’s selling of his ribs came together to create a match unlike any the fans in Madison Square Garden had ever seen before.
Ultimately, it was Ramon who would win the match but the victor was seemingly irrelevant. Michaels emerged a bigger star following his performance but both men etched their names in the history books, the first real innovators of a match that would become a staple of WWE programming by the time the company celebrated another 10 years of the Showcase of the Immortals.
8 of 10
Randy Savage destroyed Ricky Steamboat’s throat and nearly ended his career to set up an intensely personal Intercontinental Championship match between the two in Detroit’s Pontiac Silverdome at WrestleMania 3.
On a night in which Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant clashed in a much less rewatchable main event that was responsible for drawing 93,173 fans to the stadium and setting an all-time indoor attendance record, it was Savage and Steamboat who delivered the in-ring excellence and produced a match that many still feel is the greatest ever.
With more counters, reversals and near-falls one can count, generally speaking, Savage and Steamboat engaged the audience and left them wondering when or if either was actually able to put the other away. A well-timed ref bump and some much-deserved karma accompanied a finish that saw Steamboat catch Savage with a small package for the win and title.
A beautiful professional wrestling match between two of the greatest to ever do it, it remains a rewatchable classic if for no other reason than the seamlessness and fluidity of the action. There may be workers today with a greater propensity to twist, fly and throw their bodies around the ring but one would be hard-pressed to find two better athletes on any given night than Savage and Steamboat were on that March night in 1987.
The cardio level is off the charts, the drama is higher than a Daniel Day-Lewis flick and the outcome is one of those great feel-good moments in WrestleMania history.
9 of 10
Speaking of drama…
The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels had a long history of extraordinary in-ring encounters prior to WrestleMania 25 so expectations were reasonably high. The future Hall of Famers saw those expectations, flipped them the bird and proceeded to have a match that may very well be the greatest of all time.
A masterclass in crowd manipulation, it provided more twists and turns in its 30-minute run time than imaginable, thanks to some incredible false finishes. Undertaker kicked out of Sweet Chin Music. HBK somehow got his shoulder off the mat following a Tombstone. The crowd in Houston ate it all up and the great Jim Ross’ call enhanced the action along the way.
Ultimately, Michaels threw caution to the wind and tried a late moonsault, only to be caught in the grasp of his opponent and driven to the mat with one last Tombstone piledriver as The Deadman extended his WrestleMania streak and two of the most celebrated performers in WWE history strengthened their legacies with another iconic bout.
10 of 10
Bret “Hitman” Hart and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin changed the wrestling landscape forever with their WrestleMania 13 submission match.
Hart entered Chicago’s AllState Arena (then, the much cooler Rosemont Horizon) as the babyface while Austin was the ruthless heel. By night’s end, their roles would be reversed, the Texas Rattlesnake taking on the role of the beloved antihero who refused to quit even in the face of agony while Hart would become the bitter heel, unaccepting of an industry that had evolved.
Before the unforgettable finish that would see Austin pass out from blood loss while trapped in his opponent’s Sharpshooter finisher, the two engaged in a physical encounter that would go through the stands, around the ringside area and back inside the squared circle before culminating with the Hitman’s victory.
The brutality of the match will appeal to fans who love that sort of hardcore wrestling but it is the story of these two gladiators, fighting for their convictions against their hated foes, that keeps fans coming back every one of the 25 years since it captured the imagination of the WWE faithful in 1997 and altered the course of sports-entertainment history.
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