Welcome back to round 2 of the top 50 Wrestlemania matches! If you’re just tuning in, make sure you check out Part 1 of the series.

#40

WRESTLEMANIA 17

CHRIS BENOIT VS KURT ANGLE

Great mat wrestling. Hot crowd. To quote Paul Heyman: “I am excited for this match. This is as excited as a man can get with his clothes on.” Speaking of great quotes, I enjoyed Kurt Angle telling the Texas crowd to “lose the freaking cowboy hats. You’re not seven years old. Please!”

#39

WRESTLEMANIA 28

JOHN CENA VS. THE ROCK

“Once* in a Lifetime.” Wait, I guess that asterisk isn’t necessary. They must have been referring to Cena vs. Rock appearing on my Top 50 Wrestlemania matches article once in a lifetime. That just clicked. Well played WWE. Anyways, I probably groaned just as loud as CM Punk when I found out this was going to main event Wrestlemania 28, but in retrospect it makes a whole heck of a lot of sense. Listen to the crowd when the opening bell rings. The crowd is thunderous. And when the Rock pins John Cena the whole stadium goes absolutely ape-shit. Great stuff.

#38

WRESTLEMANIA 12

WWF TITLE – IRON MAN MATCH

BRET HART (C) VS. SHAWN MICHAELS

This was a huge match for me as a fan. The match told a great story, with Shawn Michaels proving that he can hang with the Hitman for the first half of the match and the second half showing both men digging as deep as they possibly can to score the first fall. It was the first time in my life as a fan that I watched live as the torch got passed at Wrestlemania. The raw emotion of HBKs victory would not be replicated until 18 years later at Wrestlemania XXX.

#37

WRESTLEMANIA 23

MONEY IN THE BANK LADDER MATCH

CM PUNK VS EDGE VS. FINALY VS JEFF HARDY VS KING BOOKER VS MATT HARDY VS MR KENNEDY VS RANDY ORTON

A fun start to Wrestlemania 23. Great spots, gross falls, everyone got their stuff in. Fun fact: Mr Kennedy is the only person to ever win the briefcase and not cash it in. He lost it to Edge who cashed it in later in the year.

#36

WRESTLEMANIA 17

UNDERTAKER VS. TRIPLE H

In the grand scheme of Wrestlemania Matches, this one easily falls into the top 50. In the scheme of Undertaker vs. Triple H Wrestlemania matches, this is the worst one. Still a great match. Triple H bumped all over the place like a mad-man, took a choke slam off of a production stage, and had a wicked counter to the last ride with his sledgehammer.

#35

WRESTLEMANIA 23

WWE TITLE

JOHN CENA (C) VS. SHAWN MICHAELS

Shawn Michaels proving for the thousandth time in his career that he can adapt and exceed expectations in any situation. He can play any character. Here is is the cocky veteran and transforms seamlessly into the desperate veteran before falling victim to John Cena. A great match (Not quite as great as their UK Raw match later on) that was worthy of main eventing Wrestlemania.

#34

WRESTLEMANIA 28

WWE TITLE

CM PUNK (C) VS CHRIS JERICHO

No smoke and mirrors, no unnecessary drama, just a good, solid, smart wrestling match between two great wrestlers.

#33

WRESTLEMANIA 6

WWF TITLE / INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE

HULK HOGAN VS. ULTIMATE WARRIOR

This was the match that hooked me. I stumbled into a video store, watched this and was hooked for life. This is a great example that the match doesn’t have to be a technical masterpiece to be amazing. The spectacle, the awe, the big match feel… this match is definitely worth a watch.

#32

WRESTLEMANIA 8

WWF INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE

RODDY PIPER (C) VS BRET HART

A great Wrestlemania match, and one of the reasons I fell in love with the Intercontinental Title. One of Roddy Piper’s few great matches, Bret was on par like always, the crowd was hot, AND we got some good ol fashion bleeding to heighten the drama in a day and age when bleeding wasn’t allowed.

#31

WRESTLEMANIA 20

WWE TITLE

EDDIE GUERRERO (C) VS KURT ANGLE

A great match showing Kurt Angle outwrestle and outsmart Eddie Guerrero for most of the match until the end when Eddie’s “Lie, Cheat, and Steal” mantra pays off big time. A fun match from two legends.