Pantoja’s Top 50 Matches In WrestleMania History (#50 – 41)

WWE recently starting their own list of the 50 Greatest WrestleMania matches in history prompted me to try doing my own list. As always, the rankings are just my opinion and this is just the matches I’ve rated the highest from Mania history. So there are certainly some historically important matches that aren’t included and a few less important matches that made the list. I’m sure you all have different picks and will disagree with many of these but that’s part of the fun!

Since this list is only at 50 and not my usual 100, we have more honorable mentions than usual. I’ll include anything to get **** and not crack the list as well as some stuff at ***3/4. These are in chronological order.

Honorable Mentions
WWF Championship: Randy Savage [c] vs. Hulk Hogan – WrestleMania V – ***3/4
WWF and Intercontinental Championships: Hulk Hogan [c] vs. The Ultimate Warrior – WrestleMania VI – ***3/4
WWF Championship: Diesel [c] vs. Shawn Michaels – WrestleMania XI – ***3/4
WWF Championship: Shawn Michaels [c] vs. Steve Austin – WrestleMania XIV – ***3/4
Triple H vs. The Undertaker – WrestleMania X-Seven – ***3/4
Chris Jericho vs. Christian – WrestleMania XX – ****
Randy Orton vs. The Undertaker – WrestleMania 21 – ***3/4
World Heavyweight Championship: Kurt Angle [c] vs. Randy Orton vs. Rey Mysterio – WrestleMania 22 – ***3/4
Money in the Bank – WrestleMania 23 – ****
Money in the Bank – WrestleMania XXV – ***3/4
No Holds Barred Match: Triple H vs. The Undertaker – WrestleMania XXVII – ****
WWE Championship: CM Punk [c] vs. Chris Jericho – WrestleMania XXVIII – ***3/4
John Cena vs. The Rock – WrestleMania XXVIII – ***3/4
Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins – WrestleMania 31 – ****
WWE Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match – WrestleMania 31 – ***3/4
WWE Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match – WrestleMania 32 – ****
WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Neville [c] vs. Austin Aries – WrestleMania 33 – ****
WWE Universal Championship: Goldberg [c] vs. Brock Lesnar – WrestleMania 33 – ****
WWE Raw Tag Team Championship Ladder Match – WrestleMania 33 – ***3/4
WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship: Charlotte [c] vs. Asuka – WrestleMania 34 – ****
WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship: The Usos [c] vs. Aleister Black and Ricochet vs. The Bar vs. Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura – WrestleMania 35 – ****
Falls Count Anywhere Match: The Miz vs. Shane McMahon – WrestleMania 35 – ****
No Holds Barred Match: Batista vs. Triple H – WrestleMania 35 – ****
WWE Raw and Smackdown Women’s Championships: Charlotte Flair [c] vs. Ronda Rousey [c] vs. Becky Lynch – WrestleMania 35 – ***3/4
Boneyard Match: AJ Styles vs. The Undertaker – WrestleMania 36 – ****
NXT Women’s Championship: Rhea Ripley [c] vs. Charlotte Flair – WrestleMania 36 – ****
WWE Championship: Bobby Lashley [c] vs. Drew McIntyre – WrestleMania 37 – ****
Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn – WrestleMania 37 – ***3/4
Logan Paul vs. Seth Rollins – WrestleMania 39 – ****
WWE Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair [c] vs. Asuka – WrestleMania 39 – ****
WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championship Ladder Match – WrestleMania 40 – ****

50. WWE Women’s Championship: Trish Stratus [c] vs. Mickie James – WrestleMania 22

Image Credit: WWE

I know there are matches that are better than this from a technical standpoint but it goes to show how important a story is. While it wasn’t always handled with care, the Mickie/Trish story marked the first time that a women’s match felt like a big deal and had a months-long build across weekly TV at a WrestleMania. And then they delivered in the ring. Mickie’s psychotic nature was unpredictable and it kept Trish off of her game. Mickie’s work on the leg was good, with the highlight being her counter of the headstand rana. To cap it, her facial expression after was perfect. She was nailing every character mannerism and moment, including the rubbing of Trish’s crotch to block Stratusfaction. The crowd was way behind Mickie, making for a an unexpected yet hot atmosphere. Trish was great here as well. She busted out powerbombs and some other offense that we didn’t often see from her. I loved the kick to the leg that caused Trish to land face first on Mickie’s knee. It was subtle but vicious. A Mick Kick later and we had a new champion at 8:34. I adore this match and it remained the best women’s match in Mania history for about a decade. [****]

49. Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns [c] vs. Cody Rhodes – WrestleMania 39

Image Credit: WWE

There’s often talk about a “big fight feel” and that saying gets thrown around for matches that don’t really deserve it. One case where it was true was here. Cody Rhodes returned as a big deal and after returning from injury, felt like the rare legitimate threat to Roman Reigns’ title reign. Combine that with the crowd’s reaction to Cody during his entrance and him going over to his family and it really felt like this might be the night. Unlike the following year’s Bloodline Rules match, this didn’t have as much in the way of shenanigans (even if I think the sequel is better). It was more of a straight-up back and forth great main event. It could’ve been something even more special with a better ending. Whether you agree with Cody losing or not, it should’ve been more creative/interesting than just having Solo Sikoa interfere for the same finish that plenty of Roman matches had. After 34:47, Roman had retained, Cody looked defeated, and many felt WWE made a mistake but this chapter helped Cody’s eventual win feel even more special. [****]

48. World Heavyweight Championship: Batista [c] vs. The Undertaker – WrestleMania 23

Image Credit: WWE

Undertaker was fresh off of winning the Royal Rumble. A lot of this was built on Batista not being intimidated by Undertaker. He showed that immediately when he took him down and battered him in the corner. Being the veteran that he is, Undertaker was able to weather the storm and turn the tide. When he did, the pace slowed. I’m not saying that like it’s a bad thing. The slow pace worked for the story and at no point did it get boring. This was Undertaker’s world and the opposite of how Batista wanted things to go. That was honestly a lot of the “push and pull” of this match. I liked that Batista had a chance to win by countout but instead kept on the offensive and powerslammed Undertaker through the announce table. You could see Batista’s frustrations that it wasn’t enough to win. The closing stretch started the trend we’d come to love about Undertaker WrestleMania matches. It was filled with huge near falls and late drama that the crowd was hooked on. He hadn’t quite mastered it (that will come in two years) but it was great. Undertaker planted him with the Tombstone to win the title in 15:47. A fantastic match that started Undertaker’s ridiculous run of stellar Mania performances. One of the best big time power matches I can recall. These two had way better chemistry than most expected. [****]

47. WWE Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks – WrestleMania 32

Image Credit: WWE

Earlier in the night, it was announced that this would be to determine the first in a new line of Women’s Champions, marking the end of the Divas Title lineage. I’ve covered this match a lot for various reasons, including in my “Top 500 Matches of the 2010s” list. For the first time since Trish Stratus vs. Mickie James a decade prior, a women’s match felt like it actually belonged on the biggest show of the year. This wasn’t just the company throwing women on the card for the sake of it, it was actually one of the more hyped and promoted matches of the show. Once the bell rang, these women went all out and it’s as if they knew the success of the future of the division hinged on their performances. There were some sloppy moments that kept this match from reaching the heights of their NXT stuff, though I give them credit for doing their best to cover them up. WrestleMania jitters and all. They attempted some wild things that were previously unseen in this division, setting the stage for the future. Each of them got a chance to strut their stuff and they put on a hell of a show. Thanks to interference from Ric Flair, Charlotte was able to win by making Becky tap to the Figure Eight in 16:01. The best women’s match in Mania history to this point [****]

46. Anthony Goes Match: Johnny Knoxville vs. Sami Zayn – WrestleMania 38

Image Credit: WWE

Yeah, I put this here. There are some fans online who scoff at this being considered great. I called it a personal favorite and said I’d rather watch it than Omega/Okada and those fans were MAD. But I wasn’t lying. This was so much goddamn fun. As a huge fan of both Sami Zayn and the Jackass franchise, this was perfect. This had everything I could want in 14:29. The mousetrap table, the Partyboy run-in, Wee Man beating up Sami and slamming him, and to top it off, the giant hand gimmick. I was in TEARS watching this. Between this match and Vince selling the Stunner, WrestleMania 38 night two was some of the most fun I’ve ever had watching a PPV. Knoxville won with the help of a taser and I wish there was more. Wrestling is a variety show. I like a good technical showcase, hardcore brawls, high flying action, hoss fights, and everything in between, which includes entertaining comedic matches. It might only get four stars but it’s at least seven stars in terms of entertainment. This is also my personal favorite match of 2022 and is top five among my Mania favorites. [****]

45. Women’s World Heavyweight Championship: Rhea Ripley [c] vs. Becky Lynch – WWE WrestleMania XL

Image Credit: WWE

Rhea used her power to gain control early on with things like a Northern Lights Suplex and turning an inside cradle into a suplex. Commentary talked about how Becky has been battling strep throat over the past few days. It made sense then that she went for bigger impact offense like a tornado DDT and Bexploder on the outside to try and get a win as early as possible. Rhea could just catch her with something using her strength though and turn the tide from a trio of powerbombs to a press slam into a knee. However, as this passed 10 minutes, Rhea grew frustrated that Becky wouldn’t stay down. Becky survived the Prism Trap and got a near fall with the Manhandle Slam before kicking out of a well setup Riptide that should’ve been the finish. Rhea powered out of the Dis-Arm-Her with an Electric Chair but Becky flipped them both to the outside, only for Rhea to land on her feet and finish the Electric Chair Drop. It was the coolest spot of the match. Rhea blocked an avalanche Manhandle Slam, hit a Riptide into the corner, and then finished with another Riptide in 17:10. Hell of a match, especially considering the illness that Becky was dealing with. Though I didn’t love every finisher kickout, I thought this was fantastic. [****¼]

44. The Rock vs. Steve Austin – WrestleMania XIX

Image Credit: WWE

Their two prior WrestleMania matches were both highly entertaining. This match had one glowing aspect that the others didn’t. Hollywood Rock. His character work in this was tremendous. It added a lot to what they did. Most of the early stages was a brawl and Rock put the focus on Austin’s legs. It wasn’t anything special in terms of leg work but it was effective. Austin had his bionic knees so it made sense. When Rock put on Austin’s vest, it added another level of fun to this and the match kicked into high gear. That was when it became a finisher barrage. Sometimes I don’t like that concept but it worked here. This was two guys who knew each other well and had to empty the tank on one another, especially with hitting the moves of their opponent. Austin kept kicking out of Rock Bottoms but after three in a row, Austin stayed down. Rock got the win in 17:55. A great way to cap an outstanding WrestleMania trilogy. Austin put Rock over on the way out. The character work and way they played off of their history made this special. [****¼]

43. Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle – WrestleMania X-Seven

Image Credit: WWE

Their Unforgiven 2002 match is an all-time favorite of mine. But this was their first big one on one match. I love that the build for this was just about who was better. Wrestling doesn’t need to be overly complex. Their early mat wrestling exchanges were excellent. Angle, having tapped to the Crippler Crossface on a previous show, scurried to escape being put in the hold twice. He was frustrated that he couldn’t outwrestle Benoit, so he opted to deck him and make this a brawl outside for a short while. Brilliant stuff. That gave Angle the upper hand and he started throwing suplexes in the ring. The counter series they went into down the stretch was the best part. Both guys are incredibly smooth. Angle tapped to the Crossface but it came after a ref bump. When his moonsault failed, Angle got desperate. He used a low blow and a rollup with a handful of tights to steal this in 14:02. Awesome pro wrestling. They told a great story and did so with some crisp wrestling. It felt different from everything else on the show and from most of what we were getting in wrestling at the time. Outstanding. [****¼]

42. WWE Championship: Kurt Angle [c] vs. Brock Lesnar – WrestleMania XIX

Image Credit: WWE

Crazy that this was Brock Lesnar’s Mania debut. Lots of magnificent mat wrestling to start. I love it because it is exactly what I want from these two. Brock started using his power for momentum but Angle attacked his injured ribs to stop him. The German suplex into the turnbuckle was sick. Kurt was a mad genius in this. At one point, he countered the F5 into the Ankle Lock. That shouldn’t even be possible. He was scary good in his prime. Brock rallied to successfully hit the F5 but he was too beaten to cover instantly so it wasn’t enough. Brock added a second F5 and went for his insane Shooting Star Press. Unfortunately, Angle was too far away and Brock landed badly on his head. He was out of it. However, he managed to compose himself enough to nail a third F5 and drape the arm over to win the title in 21:07. Fantastic pro wrestling. They just let two great wrestlers go out and do their thing to close out the show. No nonsense. A logical match with great moments and some incredibly skilled technical stuff. I loved it. [****¼]

41. AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon – WrestleMania 33

Image Credit: WWE

I never would’ve pegged this as the second AJ Styles WrestleMania match in history. At this time, I was very much on the “AJ is the best wrestler in the world” train and this solidified that for me. Then his 2018 title run came and he fell hard on that list but still, we’re not there yet. It’s one thing to have great matches when working with your most talented peers. It’s one thing to have a great gimmick match with Shane McMahon. Yet here, on the biggest stage possible, AJ and Shane had a straight up wrestling match. They didn’t rely on smoke and mirrors or tons of shenanigans. AJ was overconfident because the ring is his domain. Shane showed off some grappling skills of his own, but never to where it made AJ look bad, just like AJ took him too lightly and it cost him. That’s an important distinction. We did get a ref bump, so it wasn’t completely devoid of stunts. However, it only set up a coast to coast spot, so it wasn’t overdone. Shane eventually missed an impressive Shooting Star Press, which set up the Phenomenal Forearm to give AJ his first Mania victory. AJ had a fantastic match with a non-wrestler and didn’t rely on the expected tropes. [****¼]