Welcome to part one of an extensive look at the top 50 Wrestlemania matches of all time. This was a grind to narrow them down, but it was a blast going down memory lane and revisiting all of these matches.

#50

WRESTLEMANIA 14

WWF TITLE: Shawn Michaels vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin

This is a wonderful match from a historical perspective. It was the last time we were going to see Shawn Michaels in a WWE ring for over four years. So as one incredible story came to a temporary close, another one began: Stone Cold wins the WWF Title for the first time in his career. While the match itself wasn’t the greatest from a technical standpoint due to Michael’s back injury, it also isn’t terrible, and the history alone is worth checking out. Bonus points to this match for Mike Tyson knocking HBK out.

# 49

WRESTLEMANIA 20

Chris Jericho vs. Christian

A solid, but not incredibly memorable Wrestlemania match. Christian was no stranger at the time to being on Wrestlemania, but mostly as a member of crazy ladder and TLC matches with the Hardy’s and the Dudleys. Two years prior he had his first singles match with Diamond Dallas Page, but this was his first strong outing as a singles competitor on the biggest stage of them all. Good back and forth action and double-cross from Trish Stratus make this worth checking out.

#48

WRESTLEMANIA 22

WWE Title: Triple H vs. John Cena

If you know anything about wrestling crowds, then you know that Chicago can be a dangerous place to be. If we’re strictly talking Wrestlemania, this is the one where the crowd turned on Cena. “FUCK YOU CENA” can be heard LOUD from an incredibly raucous Chicago crowd. Like a lot of John Cena matches, the crowd is so incredibly engaged that they elevated this match from good to great.

# 47

WRESTLEMANIA 26

WWE World Title: Chris Jericho vs. Edge

Another solid but not terribly memorable Chris Jericho Wrestlemania match. Definitely worth a watch but not necessarily worth going out of your way for. Bonus points for the picture you see above.

# 46

WRESTLEMANIA 22

Shawn Michaels vs. Vince McMahon

This match puts the E in WWE. This is, as you would expect, a far-cry from a technical masterpiece. But it was damn fun to watch. And HBK performing an elbow drop off of the top of a ladder through a trash-can covered Vince McMahon on a table was a sight to see.

#45

WRESTLEMANIA 15

WWF Title: The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin

If you haven’t caught on yet, this far down the list are the matches that are either above-average without a lot of story, or matches that are slightly below-average that have a great story. This is the latter. Not a great match, but very important in WWE Lore. This is the first ever Wrestlemania match between Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. The two wrestlers that arguably saved WWE. So watch this. Bonus points for this match go to The Rocks and his always-ridiculous selling of the Stone Cold Stunner.

# 44

WRESTLEMANIA 31

Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton

I love this match. And spoiler alert, this isn’t the only time you are going to see Seth Rollins on this list for Wrestlemania 31. Let me list the reasons why this match is awesome: This is the first time a Shield member had a singles match on the big stage. This match has my favorite henchman in recent memory: J&J Security. The match followed a 7-Way Ladder Match Spot-fest and held its own. And lastly, it features one of the most wicked RKOs you’ll every have the pleasure of watching.

#44

WRESTLEMANIA 22

Bobby Lashley vs. Finlay vs. Matt Hardy vs. Ric Flair vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Shelton Benjamin

Wrestlemania has a rich history of multi-man ladder matches and this
is the one that scored lowest on the list. Note that not all of them
made the list (looking at you Wrestlemania 25 and 26). These matches
generally have a low chance of failing. They are typically stacked
with some pretty decent talent and more spots than you can count. This
one features MITB MVP Shelton Benjamin, who is to Money in the Bank
Ladder matches what Kofi Kingston is to Royal Rumble’s… you know he’s
going to do something awesome. This was no exception, but this match
is highlighted by Ric Flair taking a frightening fall off of a ladder.

#42

WRESTLEMANIA 32

WWE INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE LADDER MATCH

Kevin Owens (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Sami Zayn vs. Sin Cara vs. Stardust vs. The Miz vs. Zack Ryder

In a match full of wicked spots, the one that always sticks out to me is Sami Zayn’s half and half suplex to Kevin Owens onto the ladder. Ouch! Some great highlights here including Kevin and Sami’s first Wrestlemania appearance and Zack Ryder winning the Intercontinental Championship.

#41

WRESTLEMANIA 21

The Undertaker vs. Randy Orton

A great match elevated by the fact that this was the first time that the streak was a made to be a big deal. At this time Undertaker was 12-0 at Wrestlemania and the streak was acknowledged during the build for the event. I remember watching it live on the edge of my seat because it felt like Randy Orton, at the stage of the career he was in, was the right guy to dethrone the Deadman. If you know anything at all, you know that he did not, but it was still a great match nonetheless.