The top 39 greatest WWE Wrestlemania matches in history (part one)

With WWE Wrestlemania 39 approaching, I decided to create a list of my favorite Wrestlemania matches from over the years. The rankings have been determined from my own personal opinions but I took various factors into consideration including match quality, storyline, and overall impact. Here is part one…

39. John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels (Wrestlemania 23)

This match continued to cement Cena’s status as the face of WWE. Michaels had his usual great performance and helped put over Cena as the company’s flagship star for years to come. Cena’s credibility as champion was even further established by having him emerge victorious over one of WWE’s most iconic superstars.

38. The Undertaker vs. CM Punk (Wrestlemania 29)

I always felt that Wrestlemania 29 was an overall lackluster event with a lack of heat. The fans certainly woke up for this match as these two delivered a match that was truly worthy of being on the card. CM Punk’s heel work leading up to this match was also exceptional.

37. Chris Benoit vs. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels (Wrestlemania 20)

Unfortunately, this match is forgotten about in history due to the tragic events at the end of Benoit’s life. However, this was one of the best triple threat matches in WWE history and Benoit’s post-match celebration with Eddie Guerrero was as emotional as it gets.

36. Edge and Christian vs. The Dudley Boyz vs. The Hardy Boyz (Wrestlemania 16)

This match easily stole the show at Wrestlemania 16 and helped establish the Dudleys as a top tag team in WWE along with the Hardys and Edge/Christian. It was quite the spectacle and set the stage for future TLC matches at Summerslam and Wrestlemania 17.

35. The Undertaker vs. Triple H (Wrestlemania 27)

This match was very similar to Undertaker vs. CM Punk in that it stole the show during an otherwise disappointing event from WWE. There was always chemistry between Undertaker and Triple H and they held nothing back in this encounter. They even busted out a chair shot to the head which was a banned practice by this point.

34. Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair (Wrestlemania 38)

In my opinion, this was the greatest women’s match in the history of Wrestlemania and a win that truly put Bianca on the map. Bianca did defeat Sasha Banks at Wrestlemania 37 in the night one main event but it was in front of a limited capacity audience. I thought the match with Becky was stronger in-ring wise and had a more intriguing story with Bianca looking for her revenge from the quick loss at Summerslam in 2021.

33. The Undertaker vs. Edge (Wrestlemania 24)

The final match of Wrestlemania 24 delivered in a major way. Edge came very close to ending The Undertaker’s streak and you had that memorable moment with Charles Robinson running down to the ring to make the count. Undertaker really hit his peak as an in-ring performer around this time and Edge was at the top of his game as well.

32. The Undertaker vs. Batista (Wrestlemania 23)

The Undertaker’s Wrestlemania matches against bigger men were largely misses in the 1990s. However, Batista showed the world that he could hold his own against The Deadman and the two tore down the house in an epic battle. Batista allegedly went backstage after the match and told the rest of the roster to “follow that.”

31. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho (Wrestlemania 19)

Wrestlemania 19 was Michaels’ first match at the event since he lost the WWE Title to Steve Austin at Wrestlemania 14 and retired for over four years. In this match, Michaels proved that he could still live up to the high expectations that fans had. Of course, Jericho was a great opponent for Michaels and this was seen as a “dream match” scenario at the time.

Click here for part two.