10. Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship from WrestleMania 19: Man, given how boring and stale Brock Lesnar matches are now, it's so easy to forget about his first, initial run from 2002-2004. Back then, he was a freaking animal and he could GO. And in this instance, he had the perfect sparring partner, probably the one and only guy who was a greater athlete and wrestler than Brock, and that was Kurt Angle. As pure of a true wrestling match as you will get in pro wrestling. These two went in there and gave us a truly genuine clinic as it marked the shift into the Ruthless Aggression Era. And the most amazing part about this was how beat up Kurt Angle was at this time, he was due to have neck surgery after this match, and there were doubts as to whether or not he could make it to this match, but seeing him here, you could never tell that he was banged up. He went in there and killed it like only he could. And then of course, the moment everyone remembers, but for the WRONG reasons. When Brock almost killed himself on that botched shooting star press. (No wonder he only wants to do suplex, suplex, suplex, F-5, hit the showers.) If not for that horrible botch, I would probably put this in S-Tier. But as it stands, it's an incredible wrestling clinic between two of the best in their craft at the time, that falls just short of that tier because of it. As such, it rests firmly at the top of A. It was amazing!!!
11. Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels in a 60-Minute Iron Man Match for the WWF Championship from WrestleMania 12: "The Boyhood Dream has come true!" Here he is again! Shawn Michaels! This time, capturing his first ever WWF Championship from arguably his greatest rival and forever linked adversary, Bret "The Hitman" Hart. The two stars and biggest faces of the New Generation Era, both at the top of their games, going in there for 1 hour to put on an absolute gem of a marathon match. You have that iconic zipline entrance from HBK, Bret locking in the Sharpshooter as time expired, the Sudden Death rules announcement, HBK getting his win and celebration. This had all the makings of an a top level, all time great Main Event... So why is it in A instead of S? Simply put... The match itself hasn't really aged well. There's A LOT of dead space in here, a lot of quiet moments, there were many points where the crowd was dead, and for there to only be 1 decision in the entire match, when the point of the match is to have multiple falls within a certain amount of time, they kind of shot their own stipulation in the foot there. It's still a very, very good match, don't get me wrong. But it's overrated. It's not even the best Iron Man Match in WWE history (Rock/HHH, Angle/Lesnar, and HHH/Benoit top it in my view.) For all the elements it had, the biggest thing to look forward to, the match itself, slightly underdelivered, as such, it holds it back from being amongst the tip top of WrestleMania main events, as such. Yet despite it underwhelming, (as underwhelming as a match between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels could be), it still sits in A tier. That's just how great the Hitman and the Heart Break Kid truly were.
12. The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin for the WWF Championship from WrestleMania 15: Ah, WrestleMania 15. "Russomania" A total clusterfuck of a WrestleMania that embodies the best and worst of the Attitude Era. All from the aftermath of the Brawl for All, Undertaker hanging a man on PPV, Triple H turning on DX and starting what would eventually become a legendary Heel run that cemented him as the Top Heel of the Attitude Era (besides Vince). And of course, the main event of the show - The very first of the WrestleMania trilogy between The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Rock was at the absolute peak of his Heel behavior at this point (We're still 4 years away from Hollywood Rock at this point in time.) The Corporate Champion who is the fastest rising star in the industry. The man was untouchable at this stage and served as the perfect foil to Stone Cold in his quest to reclaim the WWF Championship is his on-going feud with Vince McMahon. The match was the definition of Attitude Era craziness. Them fighting up and down the stage, into the barricades near the fans, ref bumps, McMahon and Austin trading blows, Mankind getting involved as the ref, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler's commentary. This had all the craziness you'd expect from that era... And that is also what holds it back. This match gets a tad bit ridiculous with how overbooked it is between the ref bumps and Vince's involvement. And ultimately, as great as the Rock was at this point, he was not the focal point. The story wasn't Austin vs. Rock (yet), it was Austin vs. McMahon. If they could've somehow found a way to put the belt on Vince and have Austin beat him for it and make it believable, they would have done that instead. But instead they needed a body for Austin to beat and The Rock was the guy to do it. And once this feud was over, it was right back to the midcard for Rock until the end of the year when Austin went down for neck surgery. And I can't help but feel that's a bit of a slap in the face to The Rock. And by this point, Austin/McMahon was beginning to wear out its welcome. It was great to see Austin get the title back, but it was time for them to start moving on.
13. Hulk Hogan vs. "Macho Man" Randy Savage for the WWF Championship from WrestleMania 5: THE MEGA POWERS EXPLODE!!! The culmination to one of the greatest stories WWE has ever done. The Mega Powers and the awkward love triangle between Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and Miss Elizabeth. A match that was one year in the making, the seeds planted from WrestleMania 4's Main Event (more on that later). This was the two of the all time greats going at it on the biggest stage. What more could you ask for? Hogan and Savage. Their personal backstage animosity aside (almost entirely Hogan's fault), there was no denying the on screen chemistry these two had and Miss Elizabeth served as the perfect driving piece of the story. (Two men fighting over a damsel. Ah, the 1980s.) The story of Macho Man growing envious and paranoid from Hogan constantly trying to steal the spotlight and "pining for Elizabeth." And also him trying to show that he's better than Hogan in every way, these two went in and delivered a great one. The only things that hold it back for me is the setting, this deserved a big fight feel similar to Hogan/Andre and Hogan/Warrior and Hogan's refusal to really sell much of Savage's offense. No matter what Savage hit him with, Hogan would always kick out at 2, right on the dot. Not 2.5 or 2.75. A solid 2.0, that doesn't sit well with me. This was Hogan starting to show a bit of his backstage side.
14. Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Edge in a Triple Threat Match for the Universal Championship from Night 2 of WrestleMania 37: The second night of the first WrestleMania back in front of fans after the Pandemic/Thunderdome Era proved to be an amazing Triple Threat match between three of the very best in the company. You have Roman Reigns, the Tribal Chief, and the top guy at this moment, right at the peak of his run as the Head of the Table, Edge the Royal Rumble winner, the legend making a heroic comeback after he had been retired for 9 years from an initially career ending neck injury. And Daniel Bryan, the underdog babyface who was looking to get that one last major moment of triumph. Three of the best telling a compelling story in an emotional return to form for the industry and for wrestling fans, it all had the makings of a fantastic main event. And it was! What stops me from putting this in the S tier is that, even though Bryan helped make this a better match... I can't help but feel like his inclusion was unnecessary. I really think this should have been Roman and Edge one on one. I thought they had a compelling story and could have pulled off a great match by themselves to truly make something special out of Edge being the underdog babyface trying to return at the Final Boss Roman's expense rather than the Tweener who is getting angry over Bryan trying to steal his thunder. And falling Night 1's historic main event, Sasha/Bianca was going to be a tough act to follow. And while I feel it came up short of Night 1's main event, it was still great enough to stand on its own and fitting of being in the A tier. Speaking of Edge...
15. Edge vs. The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship from WrestleMania 24: It was around this time where the Streak was really getting a lot of traction and being featured as one of the premier attractions and draws of WrestleMania. And this was the first time where the Streak was featured as the Main Event. (I know there was Undertaker/Sid at WM13, but the Streak wasn't even talked about then, I believe.) And Edge, in my view, was portrayed as the first credible threat to actually end it. They had started incorporating the Streak as a storyline at WrestleMania 21 with Randy Orton and then the following years with Mark Henry and Batista, but I don't think anyone really doubted that Taker was going over in those ones... Well maybe Orton, but certainly not Henry and Batista. This was the first time where you thought, "Oh shit, the Streak might actually end here. Edge could do it." And every week, he would always get the upper hand and always be one step ahead of Undertaker, and they told that story in this match where Edge had an answer for everything Undertaker was throwing at him and that he may have his number. That first and second spear really made you think that this was the end of the Streak. And then BAM, Undertake hits him with a new move, Hell's Gate! He had debuted Hell's Gate a month prior right before No Way Out, but it was new enough to where Edge didn't have an answer for that one, and it led to the Deadman triumphing, a new World Heavyweight Champion, and 16-0! Both men played their roles perfectly with Edge getting his well deserved Main Event.
16. John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship from WrestleMania 23: Freaking Shawn Michaels again! He really IS Mr. WrestleMania! For the edition of WrestleMania that would mark their return to stadiums (and they haven't looked back since) the main event was originally supposed to be John Cena/Triple H II, but then Triple H tore his OTHER quad at New Year's Revolution in a tag team match against Edge and Randy Orton. And so, the Showstopper was Plan B. The story leading up to the match... Was really nothing all that special. John Cena subbed in for Triple H in Shawn Michaels' ongoing feud with Edge and Orton, they won the Tag Team titles as reluctant partners, Shawn won a #1 Contender's match, you could tell this was thrown together at the last minute. But thankfully, the match MORE than made up for it. Shawn Michaels and John Cena went in there and they tore it up. Of course, HBK was in his element as only Mr. WrestleMania could be, but Cena was more than holding his own in their with Shawn and really sticking it to the "You can't wrestle" Cena haters out there. HA! Shawn Michaels was as tenacious and resilient as he had ever been in this match as Cena was getting more and more frustrated with not being about to put him away. To the point where he was arguing with the ref after he let go of the STFU, and Shawn only needs 1 second. Cena turns around BAM! Sweet Chin Music! Ultimately, Cena came out on top. Shawn did the honors for the younger guy. I can't imagine how the originally scheduled bout with Triple H could've possibly topped this. (Sorry, Hunter.) And it wouldn't even be the best match those two had together! But this was an excellent match between two of the biggest stars in history... And speaking of two of the biggest stars in history...
17. John Cena vs. The Rock from WrestleMania 28: ONCE IN A LIFETI-HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA! Sorry, I just couldn't do it! Despite them blatantly betraying that tagline just one year later, that doesn't take away from the fact that this was an absolute star-studded, iconic clashing of Titans. Two of the biggest stars in WWE and wrestling history. Two icons. Two legends. The Rock and John Cena. Just like Rock and Hogan before it, this match was a symbolic collision of eras. Wrestling's past vs. wrestling's present (at the time). A match that some people thought would NEVER happen and yet when the Rock came back in 2011 specifically to confront Cena who had been bad-mouthing him, it became an all too sudden possibility and the fans were all for it. This time, the setting was in Miami, The Rock's backyard. And they were firmly behind The Great One. The match itself... Ehh, it was good. Not the most technical spectacle in the world. But that didn't matter. What mattered was seeing Rock and Cena actually in the ring across from each other. It was exactly what a WrestleMania Main Event should be: Iconic. And The Rock getting the win was a big deal with how rare it was to see Cena lose clean at the time. And that would of course plant the seed to the rematch a year later, but for this night only, with the hype and star power behind: Rock/Cena I was a match worthy of the billing and worthy of being a star-studded, top level, WrestleMania main event.
18. The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles in a Boneyard Match from Night 1 of WrestleMania 36: This is a pretty weird one. This was originally meant to be a straight up one-on-one match between Undertaker and AJ Styles. And with Undertaker at this point, I really had no desire to see him in the ring anymore as a battered and broken shell of his former self. But if there was one man who could give him that one last great match, that final hurrah, and that amazing farewell that Undertaker so badly wanted, that man was AJ Styles. So going into Mania, I was cautiously optimistic about this...
...And then the world went to Hell.
Covid happened, we went into lockdown, everything from March Madness, the baseball season, basketball season, Olympics, movie theaters, etc. were all cancelled, suspended, or postponed indefinitely life as we knew it changed seemingly overnight. And it was just a really dark time for all of us. This may sound weird but... Having his match, and the spectacle that it was: It was something I sorely needed at the time. It was just a really great DISTRACTION. To just forget about Covid, forget about the world, forget about life for a while, and just have some stupid fun. That's what this match was: Stupid fun in the best and most needed way. It was an excellent match, likely better than what a straight up singles match would have been, it was something we all sorely needed at the time as a lift me up during hard times, it gave AJ Styles his WrestleMania main event, and it gave Undertaker that closure he was seeking all that time. As such, I rank it at the bottom of my A tier.