Your Top 3 WrestleManias... and your bottom 3 WrestleManias

[DANJ!]

My top 3:

1- WrestleMania X7: After a couple years of being a super-hot company and having a good talent pool, they finally get it right for X7. Had the perfect mix of fukkery, in-ring action, and fresh feuds to make this a classic Mania, and most of the matches were well-booked.

2- WrestleMania III: This felt like the first Mania where Vince is clearly focused on making it feel like a big-time show without having to use big-time celebs. The production value is better than any event he had put on up to this point, some of the matches had no backstory but it was still special in those days to see a big show with JUST the stars on it, so it was fine. Was also a Mania that was filled with "moments", not just matches. Most of the show still holds up today, especially that Savage/Steamboat match.

3- WrestleMania XXX: Last time in recent years where a guy the fans loved was going in as the challenger and gave them a great ending. The Daniel Bryan story culminates here, with him finally proving HHH wrong, then going on to become champion. Overall, feels like it should've been the beginning of a new era in WWE with Bryan, the Shield, Bray, Cesaro all being in high-profile roles, and the end of The Streak. Still a great show.

BOTTOM 3:

1- Mania 2: The first Mania wasn't awesome, but it was the first, and it had enough spectacle to make up for the unspectacular stuff. This shyt here tho'- unspectacular ain't the word. Vince was tryin' to make it seem "bigger", but it fell flat. Not a lot to be remembered about this show, and most of what is memorable is remembered for being bad.

2- Mania 11: '95 was probably one of WWF's worst years overall, and this show is part of why. They didn't have an amazing talent pool, but even the talents they did have weren't bein' used well. Probably could've been a decent card with better booking, but everybody seemed to be in the wrong match here. That LT vs Bam Bam match might've gotten people to pay attention for a minute, but watching the rest clearly turned them away again.

3- Mania 25: Another case where the talent was there but the booking wasn't. Only thing they got right here was Taker vs Michaels. Nothing else on this show, especially for it to be the 25th anniversary, was done like anyone gave a fukk.

 

[Da_Eggman]

Top 3
1. WM 10
2. WM 17
3. WM 30

Bottom

1. WM 27
2. WM 32
3. WM 33

 

[Slic Ric]

Top 3
1. WM 10
2. WM 17
3. WM 30

Bottom

1. WM 27
2. WM 32
3. WM 33

switch out 17 for 19 and we are good.Just off the two responses happy Mania 30 gets the respect

 

[Tommy Fits]

I'll do bottom 3 first, that seems easier to do

WM 9... Outside of the outside atmosphere, nothing memorable in ring except for Hogan winning at the end and that was memorable for all the wrong reasons.

WM 11... Didnt even feel like a WM

WM 2... Tried doing too much with the 3 different venues and the card sucked... Though I have a soft spot in my heart for this one. I don't know how but I got it on VHS as a kid and used to watch it all the time

Top 3

WM19
WM17
WM10 OR 5

 

[StarClout]

Top:
WM 17
WM 14
WM 30

Bottom
WM 15
WM 11
WM 27

I agree with @DANJ! that 30 should’ve ushered in a new era much like 14 did (obviously not on the scale of 14. 14 was the night wrestling changed forever IMO)

 

[mrken12]

Based on how the card is looking, Wrestlemania 34 might be part of my bottom 3.

 

[R=G]

Top 3
WM 17
WM 19
WM XXX

BOTTOM 3
WM 11
WM 9
WM 25

 

[R=G]

Lol@this

 

[Mantis Toboggan M.D.]

17, 19, and 24 are my personal favorite 3. Great cards where nothing really felt out of place, great builds for feuds, great matches, great payoffs, and great building blocks for the future at all these events. The only issues I had were there was nothing that even hinted a heel turn for Austin so it really had a lot of us all when it should’ve had us all type mad. My other issue was the build and finish of the WHC match at 19. No excuses for how offensive and bad taste that was.

My WOAT 3 are 27, 29, and a toss between 32/33. 2, 9, 11, a lot of 13, pretty much all of 15, and 25 were terrible too honestly, but 27, 29, and 32/33 all take precedent even over those for these reasons:

27 had 1-2 good matches, that horrid cole vs lawler match that lasted forever, and a total waste of the main event that nobody wanted to begin with and was used to set up a match a year later that undermined their top title again by going on after the title match. No long term building for anything else, and it was a joke that the WHC match opened the show. What kind of awful idea is that to have your top title on one show open the card?

29 had no long term payoff for anything and only one really good match anyway which saw both people in it vanish for months afterwards so there’s no material to build on. The mid card titles weren’t even contested on the main card. The top 3 matches only had 2 combined full time wrestlers and only one between those 2 who was getting the desired reaction. The main event had no long term payoff and managed to both show us we’d been lied to as paying customers (yes there’s a difference between getting swerved as fans and being lied to as paying customers) the previous year and its build totally undermined punk’s run as champ for a whole year, which didn’t just undermine him, but the title too. By proxy, this basically showed us that John Cena getting his win back from the rock mattered more than the title did anyway.


32 was a mess for many reasons. Half the roster was hurt so they had to rewrite the whole card basically. Why is new day wrestling a tag match without their titles at stake? Why is AJ going on so early and losing? The Ambrose vs Brock match sucked and had no real direction to take dean after and Brock sandbagged it to protect himself for his fight that summer against Mark hunt. What’s the point of having Ryder win the IC title only to lose it and fall off the map again the next night? Why is a title that should matter that has a ready made feud between the champ and someone jerking the curtain and getting 5-6 other guys shoehorned into it anyway? I didn’t mind seeing Shane on the card but when he gets the reward for winning even though he lost and it’s awful build, it makes the whole match pointless. In the end he’s running a show anyway so why bother having him face taker in the first place? There was no real payoff to rock being at the show. That just took up space and didn’t lead anywhere except to be another L for Wyatt. The main event was horrible for many reasons. Thousands of people were leaving before and during the match.


33 was awful because again nothing felt organic at the show. After being the smackdown mvp for 2016, AJ goes on against Shane in the first hour. After being the only bright spots of raw for 2016, Owens and Jericho go on in the first hour after they yank the title off Owens a month earlier and the new day doesn’t even get a match on the card at all if I remember right. Triple h vs Seth Rollins needed to happen a good 4 months earlier, ideally around the survivor series, but instead they spun their wheels and killed a lot of heat for his face turn just to get this match at Wrestlemania. Orton vs Wyatt made little sense to be booking it in the first place and I’m pretty sure their match was awful. Why is the top title in the sport being contested any point before the last match of the night also? We didn’t need yet another Brock vs Goldberg match, and even if the match was good, it was painfully obvious what they were setting up by putting the title on Brock when he only wrestled part time anyway. Part time Brock vs 50 year old Goldberg should not be for the top title on your flagship show at the biggest event of the year. The main event was a horrible match and once again, they had no clear plan for what they want to do after it. That guaranteed permanent boos on Roman, but 8 days later they’re trying to get face sympathy for him again. Basically the only silver lining of the show was Jeff and Matt coming back and winning the tag team titles and I think Naomi getting a win in front of the hometown crowd.

 

[NYChase718]

Wrestlemania 13 and 15 are definetly in the shytter

 

[mrken12]

Wrestlemania 13 and 15 are definetly in the shytter

Stone Cold vs Bret Hart saved that show.

 

[Mantis Toboggan M.D.]

Wrestlemania 13 and 15 are definetly in the shytter

Induction: Wrestlemania XV - RussoMania - WrestleCrap - The Very Worst of Pro Wrestling!

Enjoy

 

[richaveli83]

In no particular order

Top 3:
Wrestlemania 17
Wrestlemania 19
Wrestlemania 10

Bottom 3:
Wrestlemania 11
Wrestlemania 15
Wrestlemania 2

 

[R=G]

17, 19, and 24 are my personal favorite 3. Great cards where nothing really felt out of place, great builds for feuds, great matches, great payoffs, and great building blocks for the future at all these events. The only issues I had were there was nothing that even hinted a heel turn for Austin so it really had a lot of us all when it should’ve had us all type mad. My other issue was the build and finish of the WHC match at 19. No excuses for how offensive and bad taste that was.

My WOAT 3 are 27, 29, and a toss between 32/33. 2, 9, 11, a lot of 13, pretty much all of 15, and 25 were terrible too honestly, but 27, 29, and 32/33 all take precedent even over those for these reasons:

27 had 1-2 good matches, that horrid cole vs lawler match that lasted forever, and a total waste of the main event that nobody wanted to begin with and was used to set up a match a year later that undermined their top title again by going on after the title match. No long term building for anything else, and it was a joke that the WHC match opened the show. What kind of awful idea is that to have your top title on one show open the card?

29 had no long term payoff for anything and only one really good match anyway which saw both people in it vanish for months afterwards so there’s no material to build on. The mid card titles weren’t even contested on the main card. The top 3 matches only had 2 combined full time wrestlers and only one between those 2 who was getting the desired reaction. The main event had no long term payoff and managed to both show us we’d been lied to as paying customers (yes there’s a difference between getting swerved as fans and being lied to as paying customers) the previous year and its build totally undermined punk’s run as champ for a whole year, which didn’t just undermine him, but the title too. By proxy, this basically showed us that John Cena getting his win back from the rock mattered more than the title did anyway.


32 was a mess for many reasons. Half the roster was hurt so they had to rewrite the whole card basically. Why is new day wrestling a tag match without their titles at stake? Why is AJ going on so early and losing? The Ambrose vs Brock match sucked and had no real direction to take dean after and Brock sandbagged it to protect himself for his fight that summer against Mark hunt. What’s the point of having Ryder win the IC title only to lose it and fall off the map again the next night? Why is a title that should matter that has a ready made feud between the champ and someone jerking the curtain and getting 5-6 other guys shoehorned into it anyway? I didn’t mind seeing Shane on the card but when he gets the reward for winning even though he lost and it’s awful build, it makes the whole match pointless. In the end he’s running a show anyway so why bother having him face taker in the first place? There was no real payoff to rock being at the show. That just took up space and didn’t lead anywhere except to be another L for Wyatt. The main event was horrible for many reasons. Thousands of people were leaving before and during the match.


33 was awful because again nothing felt organic at the show. After being the smackdown mvp for 2016, AJ goes on against Shane in the first hour. After being the only bright spots of raw for 2016, Owens and Jericho go on in the first hour after they yank the title off Owens a month earlier and the new day doesn’t even get a match on the card at all if I remember right. Triple h vs Seth Rollins needed to happen a good 4 months earlier, ideally around the survivor series, but instead they spun their wheels and killed a lot of heat for his face turn just to get this match at Wrestlemania. Orton vs Wyatt made little sense to be booking it in the first place and I’m pretty sure their match was awful. Why is the top title in the sport being contested any point before the last match of the night also? We didn’t need yet another Brock vs Goldberg match, and even if the match was good, it was painfully obvious what they were setting up by putting the title on Brock when he only wrestled part time anyway. Part time Brock vs 50 year old Goldberg should not be for the top title on your flagship show at the biggest event of the year. The main event was a horrible match and once again, they had no clear plan for what they want to do after it. That guaranteed permanent boos on Roman, but 8 days later they’re trying to get face sympathy for him again. Basically the only silver lining of the show was Jeff and Matt coming back and winning the tag team titles and I think Naomi getting a win in front of the hometown crowd.

No, no, no..the hints were in 2000 with Rocky punking Austin as a equal. The big clue was the sit down interview with Rock and Austin. I knew Austin wasn't gonna win str8 up. There was no way.

 

[Ill Lou Malnati]

Best:
WM 8 (nostalgia pick... was considering WM 6)
WM 17
WM 20


Worst:
WM 9
WM 13
WM 15

Majority of the stadium era shows fall flat, especially in recent years when there's very little buildup to the event, but I would watch those any time over most of the bad gimmicks & bad matches of mid/late '90s WMs. Still, I want to watch WM XI again. That was my first live (on PPV) Wrestlemania. I haven't seen that from beginning to end since the late '90s when I taped it to VHS.