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When the present is depressing (Wrestlemania 31), you can always go back to the past. And that's what we'll do today. During 2012, following my Wrestlemania 28 review, I reviewed the "Top 28" Wrestlemania shows. At the time, oddly enough, I really liked Wrestlemania 28 and I quickly ranked the show following my review. Time has passed on that show and others, but I'll be honest, lots will be recycled from that 2012 column. For me, Wrestlemanias 1 through 21 are recorded in my head and ready for playback whenever I need them. I don't need WWE Network to remind me of their highs and lows. I watched most (besides 1-4) when they happened and had them on video/DVD. After Wrestlemania 21, however, it is all a blur for me and my opinions on Wrestlemanias 22 through 30 are always changing. Seemed that during 2012, I liked Rock vs. John Cena I during my review. However, that match has not aged well and its rematch at Wrestlemania 29 was worse. However, what may keep Wrestlemania 28 strong on my list was Triple H vs. Undertaker. Bret Hart and many snarky internet fans may have disliked it, but myself and many Miami fans live in attendance loved it. In all honestly, I'm still unsure about Wrestlemania 30. The paint is still fresh on that event and yet I actually have a problem with what happened to Daniel Bryan BEFORE and AFTER that event. WWE officials will point out "hey, we let him beat HHH, Batista, and Orton and made him WWE Champion" but then I'd point out how rigged Bryan's insertion into the WWE Title was after months of screwing him with the booking. Then, fighting Kane after Wrestlemania 30 when there were obvious rematches with Orton/Batista that should have been done (although I loved Shield vs. Evolution). I just don't know how to fully assess this show yet and maybe a few more repetitions will let it sink in better. I just don't know. But what I do know is that this column is of MY OPINION. Doesn't have be yours... Your comments are HIGHLY encouraged and this column has been posted for fun. It's Mr. Tito's list and Mr. Tito's list alone. I'm one of many columnists at LoP or online, while one of many internet fans. If you lose your shit because of how I ranked you favorite Wrestlemania, well, that's your blood pressure going up and not mine. I have placed all 30 rankings in one convenient column for you to enjoy. Anyway, enjoy... --------------------------------------- MR. TITO'S PHAT TOP 30 WRESTLEMANIA RANKINGS #30 - Wrestlemania 9 - Was that the toilet flushing or was that Wrestlemania 9? The worst, by far, Wrestlemania of all time... First of all, the environment was incredibly flawed... An outdoor arena on a cloudy day allowed for a very gloomy show. Then, you have the sad display of a main event which featured Yokozuna winning the WWE Title and then foolishly putting the belt on the line with Hulk Hogan thereafter. But actually, that part of the show is something to remember as the rest of the show was not. Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez is BRUTAL and possibly the worst Wrestlemania match of all time with the Undertaker trying to work with a 7'7" tall stiff. WWE tried to relive Megabucks vs. Megapowers with Money Inc. vs. Beefcake/Hogan, and it was a decent attempt at a good match, but the match seems to just not work. Shawn Michaels vs. Tatanka was probably the best match of the show, but was not enough to save this turd of a show. #29 - Wrestlemania 11 - Probably the most overhyped Wrestlemania with Pamela Anderson/Jenny McCarthy and Lawrence Taylor getting more publicity than the show itself. Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund provides the show with a great match, and "I Quit" match no less and Diesel vs. Shawn Michaels is decent overall. Too much hype around the Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Lawrence Taylor match which did nothing for the WWF in the long-run. #28 - Wrestlemania 24 - Other than Shawn Michaels retiring Ric Flair and maybe Edge/Undertaker, this show was a chore to get through. Just a boring, overall, show that just didn't have that feel of importance to it as it should. #27 - Wrestlemania 1 - Yes, I'm hating on the first Wrestlemania. This show felt dated back when I watched it annually during the 1990's and only the Piper/Wonderful vs. Hogan/Mr. T match does anything for me, as the rest of the show is incredibly cheesy and is actually a very short show time-wise. To me, the issue with this show was how the WWE focused too much on hyping the main event and barely introducing fans to the rest of the card. WWE improved with that by Wrestlemania 3 which was a much bigger show by comparison. #26 - Wrestlemania 4 - I'm nicer to this show than most, as putting on a large tournament for one night is quite a task for any promotion. Seeing the WWE crown a new star in Randy Savage was a complete treat and the battle royal on this show is very fun with Bret Hart turning face by attacking Bad News Brown after the match. #25 - Wrestlemania 2 - The "forgotten" Wrestlemania, as I always call it, as Wrestlemania 1 set the stage for the WWE to become huge and Wrestlemania 3 made them huge. Yet, this show, which spanned across multiple cities, is in the middle and it's not bad. Hogan vs. King Kong Bundy is OK, as the storyline surrounding it was actually better. I love the sheer chaos of Roddy Piper versus Mr. T in a boxing match. That fight is incredibly fun to watch. Then, I really like Macho Man Randy Savage vs. George "the Animal" Steele as it immediately showed the potential of Savage to rule Wrestlemanias for years to come. Oh, and who can forget Andre "the Giant" winning a battle royal with Bret Hart as the runner-up no less? #24 - Wrestlemania 29 - This event had lots of hype heading in... It was in the New York City area (New Jersey Metlife Stadium, home of the Jets/Giants), the rematch between Brock Lesnar and Triple H, the rematch between Rock and John Cena, and CM Punk vs. the Undertaker. Those matches, alone, should have boosted this Wrestlemania to be an All Time great. However, only CM Punk vs. Undertaker panned out... Rock and Cena struggled to get any momentum going while Triple H and Brock Lesnar had no chemistry together. Or in other words, Triple H acted like he could handle a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and actually won the match... CM Punk vs. Undertaker was excellent, though, and was "Match of the Year" on several publications for 2013. The midcard, however, was weak. Del Rio vs. Swagger was hyped hard by WWE mangement as a legit World Title match but it was mostly a joke. Chris Jericho actually lost to Fandango... Think about that as you see Fandango on his second gimmick already... Good win for the Shield, though, as those 3 might be the best pushed developmental stars from the start of their careers ever. #23 - Wrestlemania 6 - This show is very top heavy with Warrior/Hogan and doesn't have a standout midcard match below it. However, the show has a collection of good midcard matches that helps paint a picture of the end of the Hulkamania era of the WWE before attempting to rehash it for the next 3 Wrestlemanias. #22 - Wrestlemania 26 - Very top heavy with Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker but with an overall decent midcard with Edge/Jericho probably being second best. Seems like most other matches on this show are too rushed and poorly planned. The card looks better than the overall show, but the main event is strong at the top. #21 - Wrestlemania 27 - Awesome Triple H/Undertaker match that is historically great, while the event featured two other solid matches including the hot opener between Alberto Del Rio vs. Edge and Randy Orton vs. CM Punk. John Cena vs. Miz wasn't as thrilling of a main event during the first half of the match, but the second half improved and after the countout ending, the match was restarted with the Rock screwing John Cena. That's four good parts to a Wrestlemania, while the rest of the show was just alright or mildly entertaining. The internet hates this show much more than I do. #20 - Wrestlemania 13 - Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart, DAMN that was a great match! I have no problems with Sid vs. Undertaker, and the Bulldog/Owen vs. Mankind/Vader is a fun tag match. Both Rock and Triple H are midcarders on this show, but I really liked Triple H's 1997 year as a midcarder as he finished his feud with Mick Foley and his feud with Goldust was solid. The Austin/Hart match was amazing then and has only improved since. Match of the Year for 1997, by far. #19 - Wrestlemania 23 - Just solid matches, all around, on this show... Cena vs. Michaels was as good as it could have been, but possibly 10 minutes too long... Benoit and MVP put on a fast paced 10 minute match, many like Undertaker vs. Batista, and the Money in the Bank and ECW vs. New Breed collections of many wrestlers in one match each were fun. #18 - Wrestlemania 12 - I know that I've called the Iron Match match overrated, so thus this pick is probably catching a few off guard... But I don't see a single bad match on this show, even though Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart is 1 hour of the show. I like the Ultimate Warrior vs. Triple H jobbing, as it was supposed to springboard Jim Hellwig back into the WWE and gave oldschool Warrior fans something to root for. Seeing the Warrior no-sell the Pedigree is a thing of beauty... I've always liked Savio Vega and Steve Austin working together, as they always had great chemistry together. The six man opener between Vader/Owen Hart/British Bulldog and Yokozuna/Jake Roberts/Ahmed Johnson was fun, Goldust and Roddy Piper throughout the show was highly entertaining, and I have no problems with Diesel vs. Undertaker. If only Shawn vs. Bret had more falls during the 1 hour Ironman match, this would be a highly ranked Wrestlemania, in my opinion. #17 - Wrestlemania 28 - Overall, the "big 3" matches with CM Punk/Chris Jericho, Undertaker/Triple H, and John Cena/Rock delivered well enough and the show, overall, is a fun one to watch. Sure, we didn't get Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan as we wanted, but the rest of the show is pretty decent. The Undertaker vs. Triple H "Hell in a Cell" match is a historically great Wrestlemania match and the Miami fans are going bonkers for it. Bret Hart wishes he had matches with that kind of loud reaction for any of his matches. Horseshit on him calling these HHH/Taker matches as "overrated". #16 - Wrestlemania 16 - 2000 is arguably the best WWE year of all time, wrestling-wise, but you wouldn't know that from Wrestlemania 16. Complete clusterf*ck booking, as the WWE shoved as many wrestlers into this event as they could and ruined the main event with McMahon overbooking. The Dudleys/Hardys/Edge & Christian Ladder Match is AWESOME and Jericho/Benoit/Angle was very cool with the 2 falls for both of Kurt Angle's titles. Otherwise, this show is sad to see considering the loaded talent the WWE had during this year. #15 - Wrestlemania 30 - As you watch Wrestlemania 30 again, ask yourself what happened to Cesaro (who won the Andre the Giant Battle Royal) and Daniel Bryan (who beat Triple H, Randy Orton, and Batista) following this show. While Bryan got injured, he was immediately served old man Kane and to start 2015, he was pushed out of the way for Roman Reigns. Cesaro had organic babyface momentum before Wrestlemania and bodyslammed Big Show out to win this Battle Royal. Nothing afterward... Turned heel and lost repeatedly. Great moments at the Wrestlemania show, though... Treated to 2 Bryan matches on one show and clean wins, too... The Triple H bout was a good hot opener and the main was just OK with everyone holding their breath to see Bryan win. I thought Shield was wasted in this event with their Kane/New Age Outlaws match while John Cena and Bray Wyatt didn't have much chemistry with their match. Amazing opening segment, though, with Hulk Hogan, Rock, and Steve Austin saluting each other in the ring. Especially with the heat that Austin has with Hogan, if you told me 15 years ago that this happened during 2014, I would have called you crazy! #14 - Wrestlemania 20 - The show that the WWE wants you to forget, but the main event between Triple H/Shawn Michaels/Chris Benoit is AMAZING. Kurt Angle vs. Eddie Guerrero took a while to develop, as they never had good chemistry in the ring, but those two struggling to work a mach out is better than most Wrestlemania undercard matches. Christian/Chris Jericho is pretty good, while Goldberg/Lesnar is an incredible Wrestlemania moment for being a total trainwreck. Undertaker returns, Molly Holly loses a female "hair vs. hair" match, and a ton of crazy undercard matches round out this show. #13 - Wrestlemania 7 - This is actually a show that has improved with time, in my opinion. Take away the whole insulting Desert Storm crap, Sgt. Slaughter vs. Hulk Hogan is actually a pretty good match and/or main event. Then, of course, there's the Ultimate Warrior vs. Randy Savage, which is quite the match-up and retired Randy Savage. Then, in a great Wrestlemania moment, Savage reunites with Miss Elizabeth. Plenty of interesting midcard matches round out the rest of the show. #12 - Wrestlemania 18 - Rock vs. Hogan is the memory from this show, but there are parts of the show that are quite good. RVD vs. Regal serves as a decent opener, I liked seeing DDP win a Wrestlemania match, Angle vs. Kane is perfectly acceptable, I really love the Undertaker vs. Ric Flair match (match of the show), and Jericho/Triple H tried but the Toronto fans were worn out after Hogan/Rock (even were exiting the arena during the match). Rock vs. Hogan is worth seeing, though, regardless of what you think of the rest of the show just for historical purposes and Rocky selling like a champ for Hogan. #11 - Wrestlemania 22 - Seeing Shawn Michaels beat the living shit out of Vince McMahon is worth the price of admission, but the rest of the card is pretty solid. A very enjoyable "Money in the Bank" match, Benoit and JBL working stiff, Edge and Mick Foley killing each other, a nice triple threat between Kurt Angle/Rey Mysterio/Randy Orton, a decent main event with Triple H and John Cena, but a very fun women's match with Mickie James defeating Trish Stratus. #10 - Wrestlemania 25 - Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels... All that I would need to say, but the rest of the show is pretty solid and I think Michaels/Undertaker took the wind out of the sails for the rest of the show. I liked the triple threat with Edge/Cena/Big Show, for example, and Orton/Triple H, in hindsight, isn't all that bad. HHH/Orton probably shouldn't have been the main event. #9 - Wrestlemania 14 - This was the official kickoff of the Attitude Era dominating the wrestling industry, as the next night was the first time RAW defeated Nitro in the ratings. Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels is quite impressive considering how badly injured both guys were. The best Kane vs. Undertaker match is seen here, while Terry Funk/Mick Foley versus the New Age Outlaws was a lot of fun. Triple H vs. Owen Hart should have been better, but Owen, as memory serves, was fighting through an ankle injury at the time. #8 - Wrestlemania 15 - I probably like this show more than others, but I really enjoyed the whole Triple H heel turn and how well it played out throughout the night. It's a very well booked moment that sets the table for Triple H to transition to main event heel for 2000. But the big part of this show, obviously, was the epic first Wrestlemania war between Rock and Austin. In my opinion, Wrestlemania 15 was the best of the 3 Rock vs. Austin matches. Seeing Bart Gunn get KNOCKED THE **** OUT was enjoyable, too. Considering how thin the WWE roster was during 1999, especially the midcard, this was a well worked and booked show. I'd argue Wrestlemania 15 as Vince Russo's "masterpiece" as a booker. Sadly for him, all downhill after that. #7 - Wrestlemania 21 - Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels, in my opinion, is the greatest Wrestlemania match ever and completely overshadows the rest of the show, especially the matches after it. In hindsight, Batista/Triple H isn't so bad as a main event, many people like Orton vs. Undertaker, and the midcard matches (Eddie/Rey, Money in the Bank) aren't bad. Even though the match was a bit rushed, Cena vs. JBL is decent and features the first World Title victory of John Cena. With time, this Wrestlemania is increasing in its significance for the way it established Batista and Cena as World Champions and for the legitimate "dream match" of HBK vs. Angle. #6 - Wrestlemania 3 - This event holds more of a historical significance due to Andre vs. Hogan and how Vince McMahon risked his company's future with this show exceeding. But the midcard for this show is the strength, as it's a top-to-bottom fun show with the wrestlers of the time and of course, Macho Man vs. Ricky Steamboat. You won't find a more action packed 15 minute match than you'll see with Savage/Steamboat, at least for 1987's standards and that match inspired better in-ring workrate for years to come. #5 - Wrestlemania 19 - An often overlooked Wrestlemania, this show was very solid and it even had Rock vs. Austin III as an undercard match (of course, Steve Austin was in bad physical shape at this point). Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels was quite awesome and was the best match of the show. Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar was a good main event with a weak ending as Lesnar botched his Shooting Star Press finish badly. Hulk Hogan vs. Vince McMahon was surprisingly good, all things considered. #4 - Wrestlemania 5 - To me, this is the absolute peak of the WWF's 1980's run, as the WWE would begin to slide as it considered making the Ultimate Warrior the torch runner during the following year. The Mega Powers COLLIDING was an epic moment for the WWF and delivered huge on a great match between Macho Man and Hulk Hogan. You also have a great match between Warrior and Rick Rude, with Rude providing a great carry job. Not only that, but an awesome screwjob ending by Bobby Heenan that the WWE has replicated many times since. The rest of the show might seem more important to those who grew up during the era than any younger wrestling fan today looking back on this show. For instance, I remember Demolition vs. the Powers of Pain being a big deal back then. 1989 is special to me because it's truly my first full year as a bigtime wrestling fan so thus, Wrestlemania 5 holds a special place in my heart... #3 - Wrestlemania 8 - The only thing wrong with this show was its main event. Sid vs. Hulk Hogan failed to deliver, and I'd argue this show should have been headlined by Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan instead. Then, with Randy Savage, I would have extended his Jake Roberts feud into this show instead. But, for Macho's sake, he wins his 2nd WWF Championship against Ric Flair in an awesome bout and it was a nice redemption day for Macho after a long 3 years without the title. But an even better match, possibly, was Roddy Piper putting over Bret Hart for the IC Title. Roddy Piper did Bret a HUGE favor here, as Piper wasn't always known for being the guy putting over other wrestlers. But he took care fo Bret Hart and set the stage for Bret to capture the WWF Championship soon thereafter. #2 - Wrestlemania 10 - After a BAD 1993 year for the WWF, this show presented a "clean slate" for the WWF. Oddly enough, preparation for this show was during the time period when Vince McMahon was being indicted for steroid distribution, so thus, the booking is the genesis of other members of the WWF. In other words, it was a refreshing change. Then, later in 1994, McMahon's iron fist took back over when Diesel won the World Title after Survivor Series 1994. But anyway, the very best opening match with Owen Hart and Bret Hart and then the badass Ladder Match between Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon. Seeing Bret Hart redeem his main event career was nice to see, but a real surprisingly good match was Macho Man vs. Crush in a "falls count anywhere" bout. This show wasn't expected to be much, provided the prior year of horrible WWF decision making, but it delivered and did it in Madison Square Garden. #1 - Wrestlemania 17 - Many consider this the BEST SHOW EVER, but as time has worn on, it's probably more in my top 5 shows of all time than it would be the best ever. The undercard is not overwhelming, but what this show has is four historically great matches in Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle, TLC Match between Hardys/Dudleyz/Edge & Christian, Triple H vs. Undertaker, and Steve Austin vs. the Rock. Those 4 matches are insanely good and made you in total awe of this show. Jericho/Regal and Test/Eddie were good, but "meh" to the other matches. What made this show feel epic, however, was atmosphere... It was held in the Houston Astrodome and returned Wrestlemania to being the larger venue show again. The lighting, in particular, was awesome for this show. This marked the absolute peak for the "Attitude Era" as the Spring/Summer/Fall that followed Wrestlemania 17 for 2001 was a complete disaster for the WWE. Austin's heel turn flopped, Triple H got hurt, and the WCW/ECW Invasion was a total bust. This show is a nice reminder of how great the WWE was from 1998-2000 but perplexing on how Steve Austin and Vince McMahon could ever associate. SO JUST CHILL... 'TIL THE NEXT EPISODE! Comments and feedback are welcome. Follow and Tweet me @titowrestling or login in below to post comments. © Mr. Tito and LordsofPain.net/WrestlingHeadlines.com - 1998-2015
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