Power Ranking the Last 10 WWE WrestleMania's

Cody Rhodes will challenge Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia as part of the two-night extravaganza, marking the first time since The Rock and John Cena headlined in consecutive years that the same main event will top the card.

In preparation for that hotly anticipated showdown, as well as the return of The Great One to the grandest stage, journey back through the last 10 WrestleManias and find out which was the best of the bunch and why with this ranking of the shows from worst to best.

10. WrestleMania 36

Result (Night One)

• Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross defeated Women's Tag Team Champions The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) to win the titles
• Elias defeated King Corbin
• Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch defeated Shayna Baszler to retain
• Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn defeated Daniel Bryan to retain
• SmackDown Tag Team Champion John Morrison defeated Jimmy Uso and Kofi Kingston in a Ladder Match to retain the titles
• Kevin Owens defeated Seth Rollins
• Braun Strowman defeated Universal Champion Goldberg to win the title
• The Undertaker defeated AJ Styles in a Boneyard Match

---

Result (Night Two)

• Charlotte Flair defeated NXT Women's Champion Rhea Ripley to win the title
• Aleister Black defeated Bobby Lashley
• Otis defeated Dolph Ziggler
• Edge defeated Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing Match
• Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits defeated Angel Garza and Austin Theory to retain
• SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley defeated Sasha Banks, Lacey Evans, Naomi, and Tamina to retain
• "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt defeated John Cena in a Firefly Funhouse Match
• Drew McIntyre defeated WWE Champion Brock Lesnar to win the title

---

WWE should be commended for being able to pull of the 2020 event at all.

The global COVID-19 pandemic shut the world down on the Road to WrestleMania 36, but company officials put in the work to ensure WWE would still pull off its annual Showcase of the Immortals on time.

To do so, the event emanated from the WWE Performance Center, featured two cinematic masterpieces, but also saw significant card shuffling. Roman Reigns became unavailable as he put his health and family first, and understandably so.

Matches happened, some memorable, most not, but the effort was there.

The result of the fan-less show, and the relatively quick turnaround with which it was produced, made the 36th edition of WrestleMania the most surreal of all time.

While not bad, per se, it is quite clearly the least re-watchable of the 10 on this list.

9. WrestleMania 33

Results

• AJ Styles defeated Shane McMahon
• Kevin Owens defeated United States Champion Chris Jericho to win the title
• Raw Women's Champion Bayley defeated Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, and Nia Jax to retain her title in a Fatal 4-Way Match
• The Hardy Boyz defeated Raw Tag Team Champions Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, Big Cass and Enzo Amore, and Cesaro and Sheamus in a Fatal 4-Way Ladder Match to win the title
• John Cena and Nikki Bella defeated The Miz and Maryse
• Seth Rollins defeated Triple H in an Unsanctioned Match
• Randy Orton defeated WWE Champion Bray Wyatt to win the title
• Brock Lesnar defeated Universal Champion Goldberg to win the title
• Naomi defeated SmackDown Women's Champion Alexa Bliss, Becky Lynch, Carmella, Mickie James, and Natalya to win the title
• Roman Reigns defeated The Undertaker

---

WrestleMania 33 is what happens when nothing on the card lives up to expectations.

There was some quality storytelling entering the event, particularly in the form of Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho's epic friendship, but neither that match nor any of the other hotly anticipated encounters matched the excitement that accompanied them.

Undertaker's health left him stumbling around the ring in a showdown with Roman Reigns that was meant to put The Big Dog over once and for all. Seth Rollins vs. Triple H was probably too long, with both guys going for the WrestleMania epic rather than just wrestling their match, but it was still the best on the show.

Outside of the unexpected return of The Hardy Boyz in a Fatal 4-Way Ladder Match for the Raw Tag Team Championships, the show was not even particularly memorable and that might be its greatest disappointment.

Especially considering how many Hall of Famers and legitimate main event competitors are strewn across the card.

8. WrestleMania 34

Results

• Seth Rollins defeated Intercontinental Champion The Miz and Finn Balor to win the title in a Triple Threat Match
• SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair defeated Asuka to retain her title
• Jinder Mahal defeated United States Champion Randy Orton, Rusev, and Bobby Roode to win the title in a Fatal 4-Way Match
• Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey defeated Triple H and Stephanie McMahon
• The Bludgeon Brothers (Luke Harper and Erick Rowan) defeated The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Big E) and SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos in a Triple Threat Match to win the titles
• The Undertaker defeated John Cena
• Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon defeated Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
• Nia Jax defeated Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss to win the title
• WWE Champion AJ Styles defeated Shinsuke Nakamura
• Braun Strowman and Nicholas defeated Raw Tag Team Champions Cesaro and Sheamus to win the titles
• WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar defeated Roman Reigns to retain his title

---

If WrestleMania 34 started with the Triple Threat match for the Intercontinental Championship and ended with Rousey and Angle's victory over McMahon and Triple H, it would have been nearly perfect. Unfortunately, there were seven matches to go.

The quality of the show dips significantly from there, with questionable booking decisions and lackluster match quality. By the time young fan Nicholas joins Strowman and the two beat legitimate champions Sheamus and Cesaro for the tag titles, the show has overstayed its welcome.

The worst Reigns-Lesnar match of their countless battles, during which the crowd turns on the entire ordeal, only serves as a fitting exclamation point on what became a sub-par broadcast.

When even Styles and Nakamura struggle to put on a banger, you know the show has hit a brick wall.

7. WrestleMania 32

Result

• Zack Ryder defeated Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, Sami Zayn, Sin Cara, and Stardust to win the title
• Chris Jericho defeated AJ Styles
• The League of Nations (Alberto Del Rio, Sheamus, and Rusev) defeated The New Day (Xavier Woods, Big E, and Kofi Kingston)
• Brock Lesnar defeated Dean Ambrose in a No Holds Barred Street Fight
• Charlotte Flair defeated Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks to become the WWE Women's champion
• The Undertaker defeated Shane McMahon in Hell in a Cell
• Baron Corbin won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
• The Rock defeated Erick Rowan in six seconds
• Roman Reigns defeated Triple H to win the WWE Championship

---

The enormity of WrestleMania 32 helps to catapult it past some of the others on this list. The first venture by WWE into AT&T Stadium for its biggest show of the year, the broadcast featured appearances from "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley, The Undertaker, The Rock, and John Cena, bringing generations of franchise players together.

It also saw the coronation of Reigns as the undisputed guy in the company, whether fans wanted it or not.

The Big Dog's win came in a so-so main event that was probably too long, in front of a die-hard audience of fans that wanted nothing to do with the second-generation star predictably leaving with the gold.

On a night in which the men's side of things brimmed with stars, it was the women's division that earned highlights as Flair, Lynch, and Banks made stars of their own in a brilliant Triple Threat Match that brought the women's revolution to the big stage.

A legitimate Match of the Year candidate, it crowned The Queen but made sure fans knew that her counterparts were credible and worthy contenders, too.

Otherwise, the card was mostly up-and-down, as was the case with many of the WrestleMania cards during this era. That it lacked more than one or two defining moments landed it in the bottom-half of this countdown.

6. WrestleMania 37

Results (Night One)

• WWE Champion Bobby Lashley defeated Drew McIntyre to retain
• Natalya and Tamina won a Tag Team Turmoil Match
• Cesaro defeated Seth Rollins
• AJ Styles and Omos defeated Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) to win the title
• Braun Strowman defeated Shane McMahon in a Steel Cage Match
• Bad Bunny and Damian Priest defeated The Miz and John Morrison
• Bianca Belair defeated SmackDown Women's Champion Sasha Banks to win the title

---

Results (Night Two)

• Randy Orton defeated "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt
• Women's Tag Team Champions Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax defeated Tamina and Natalya to retain the title
• Kevin Owens defeated Sami Zayn
• Sheamus defeated United States Champion Riddle to win the title
• Apollo Crews defeated Intercontinental Champion Big E to win the title in a Nigerian Drum Fight
• Rhea Ripley defeated Asuka to win the Raw Women's Championship
• Universal Champion Roman Reigns defeated Edge and Daniel Bryan to retain the title

---

WrestleMania 37 emanated from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida one year after the COVID-19 pandemic shut the world down. The result was a lower-attended event as WWE adhered to protocols, but not one lacking historical significance.

Belair and Banks tore the house down in the main event of night one, becoming the first two black women to compete in the marquee bout of the biggest show of the year, with championship gold on the line.

That the match was great only heightened the importance of what fans witnessed on that stage.

Speaking of great, Reigns competed in the first main event of his epic run as Universal Champion, defeating Edge and Daniel Bryan in one of the better Triple Threat matches in recent memory by stacking them on top of each other and pinning them for the win.

It was an unforgettable image that established The Tribal Chief as the dominant force at the top of the card.

With more good than not, the show exceeded expectations, but suffered from pacing issues and the layout of the card over two nights, with Sunday's offering being substantially lesser than what fans were treated two on a rain-soaked Saturday.

5. WrestleMania 35

Results

• Seth Rollins defeated Universal Champion Brock Lesnar to win the title
• AJ Styles defeated Randy Orton
• WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos defeated Aleister Black and Ricochet, Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura, and Cesaro and Sheamus to retain 
• Shane McMahon defeated The Miz in a Falls Count Anywhere Match
• The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce) defeated Women's Tag Team Champions Bayley and Sasha Banks, Nia Jax and Tamina Snuka, and Beth Phoenix and Natalya to win the title
• Kofi Kingston defeated WWE Champion Daniel Bryan to win the title
• United States Champion Samoa Joe defeated Rey Mysterio to retain
• Roman Reigns defeated Drew McIntyre
• Triple H defeated Batista in a No Holds Barred Match
• Baron Corbin defeated Kurt Angle
• Finn Balor defeated Intercontinental Champion Bobby Lashley to win the title
• Becky Lynch defeated Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey and SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair to win the titles

---

The 2019 event was long.

So long that it was partially responsible for forcing WWE to adopt the two-night format that we have seen in place ever since.

The 12-match main card ran well past midnight and left fans utterly exhausted by the time the most important match of the broadcast, a historic main event featuring Lynch, Rousey, and Flair, too to the squared circle.

That match was the first instance of women closing out WrestleMania, a deserved honor given the stars involved and Lynch's momentum at the time.

It was a good one, too, with The Man emerging victoriously and enjoying her moment in the spotlight. Her victory was one of two emotional moments on the card, with the other being the culmination of KofiMania that saw Kingston pay off a long journey with a WWE Championship victory over Bryan in an instant classic.

Outside of Rollins' win over Lesnar to start the show, though, and maybe Triple H and Batista's final encounter, it becomes difficult to find one, particularly memorable moment. That there is a noticeable dropoff in quality after Kingston's win does not help matters.

Still, the triumphs of hard-working competitors whose fans demanded their involvement in high-profile title matches are enough to earn the show's placement on this list, even if the rest of the card is indisputably flawed.

4. WrestleMania 38

Results (Night One)

• SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos defeated Rick Boogs and Shinsuke Nakamura to retain the titles
• Drew McIntyre defeated Happy Corbin
• The Miz and Logan Paul defeated Rey and Dominik Mysterio
• Bianca Belair defeated Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch to win the title
• Cody Rhodes defeated Seth "Freakin" Rollins
• SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair defeated Ronda Rousey to retain the title
• "Stone Cold" Steve Austin defeated Kevin Owens in a No Holds Barred Match

---

Results (Night Two)

• Raw Tag Team Champions RKBro (Randy Orton and Riddle) defeated The Street Profits and Alpha Academy to retain the titles
• Bobby Lashley defeated Omos
• Johnny Knoxville defeated Sami Zayn in an Anything Goes Match
• Sasha Banks and Naomi defeated Women's Tag Team Champions Carmella and Queen Zelina, Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan, and Natalya and Shayna Baszler to win the title
• Edge defeated AJ Styles
• Sheamus and Ridge Holland defeated The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods)
• Pat McAfee defeated Austin Theory
• Mr. McMahon defeated McAfee
• Universal Champion Roman Reigns defeated WWE Champion Brock Lesnar to unify the titles

---

WrestleMania 38 continued to suffer from the uneven layout of the massive card, with Saturday's portion of the event clearly superior to Sunday's, but it was still an entertaining, fun ride with some great in-ring action across the board and a handful of unforgettable moments.

Belair followed up her career-defining night in 2021 with another classic encounter, this time with Lynch. She avenged the loss from months earlier, won another championship on the WrestleMania stage, and solidified her position as one of the faces of women's wrestling's future.

Elsewhere, Rhodes made his epic return to the company after a six-year absence that saw him create AEW as one of its founders and EVPs, defeating Rollins in a Match of the Year candidate.

Austin's stunning return to the squared circle culminated with a victory over Kevin Owens, while Reigns and Lesnar had another heavy-hitting main event that culminated in The Tribal Chief's coronation as Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.

Great performances by Paul, McAfee, and Knoxville ushered in a new era for celebrity participants, too.

3. WrestleMania 31

Results

• Daniel Bryan defeated Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett, Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, Luke Harper, R-Truth, and Stardust in a Ladder Match to win the title
• Randy Orton defeated Seth Rollins
• Triple H pinned Sting
• AJ Lee and Paige defeated The Bella Twins
• John Cena defeated United States Champion Rusev to win the title
• The Undertaker defeated Bray Wyatt
• Seth Rollins defeated WWE World Champion Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns in a Triple Threat Match to win the title

---

The greatest conclusion to a WrestleMania in WWE history unfolded in Levis Stadium in Santa Clara, California in 2015 when Rollins cashed in Money in the Bank, entered the main event between Lesnar and Reigns, and proceeded to win the WWE Championship.

It was a shocking, unexpected, unforgettable moment that established The Architect as the central baddie in WWE and set up months of television from there.

That it came on the heels of Rollins losing to Orton earlier in the show after the damndest RKO in the event's history only solidified how great it was.

The show kicked off with an underrated gem of a ladder match that saw Bryan start this WrestleMania like he ended the previous one, and the showdown between Undertaker and Wyatt was remarkably good considering the latter worked on a severely injured left ankle.

With consistent pacing throughout, as well as the always-excellent outdoor setting, and some quality booking across the board, this is the start of the truly great shows on this list.

2. WrestleMania 30

Results

• Daniel Bryan defeated Triple H to earn a spot in the main event
• The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose) defeated Kane and The New Age Outlaws
• Ceasaro won the inaugural Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
• John Cena defeated Bray Wyatt
• Brock Lesnar defeated The Undertaker
• WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee defeated Aksana, Alicia Fox, Brie Bella, Cameron, Emma, Eva Marie, Layla, Naomi, Natalya, Nikki Bella, Rosa Mendes, Summer Rae, and Tamina Snuka in the Vickie Guerrero Invitational Match
• Bryan defeated Batista and WWE Champion Randy Orton in a Triple Threat Match to win the title

---

WrestleMania 30's strength was in the narrative that starts in the opening match and concludes in the main event. It was the journey of Bryan, who was forced to overcome the evil Authority to advance to a championship match he had already earned ten times over.

In the opening match, Bryan defeated Triple H in a decisive fashion, only to be brutally attacked, his availability in the main event in question. He nonetheless walked through the curtain for his showdown with Batista and Orton, only to have his injured shoulder attacked further and his body driven through a table.

The gutsy performer fought his way off a stretcher and back into the ring, where he ultimately tapped out The Animal and concluded "YEStleMania" as the undisputed WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

The rest of the show simply complimented the ballad of Bryan, with The Shield dominating, Lee retaining a title she had justifiably made her own, and Cesaro picking up a big win in what would be the first of a handful of unsustained pushes.

Perhaps nothing is more memorable than the utter shock and awe of the end of The Undertaker's streak, which saw him lose on the WrestleMania stage for the first time ever. So unexpected was it that mainstream media, including CNN and NBC, picked up on the story.

It was awe-inspiring, for better or worse, and returned the air of unpredictability to the event.

A perfectly laid-out show in which it felt like a lot happened from start to finish, it was the best of the bunch...until 2023.

1. WrestleMania 39

Results (Night One)

• United States Champion Austin Theory defeated John Cena to retain the title
• The Street Profits defeated Alpha Academy, The Viking Raiders, and Braun Strowman and Ricochet in a Men's WrestleMania Showcase Match
• Seth "Freakin" Rollins defeated Logan Paul
• Trish Stratus, Lita, and Becky Lynch defeated Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai, and Iyo Sky)
• Rey Mysterio defeated Dominik Mysterio
• Rhea Ripley defeated SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair to win the title
• Pat McAfee defeated The Miz
• Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn defeated Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos to win the title

---

Results (Night Two)

• Brock Lesnar defeated Omos
• Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler defeated Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez, Natalya and Shotzi, and Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville in a Women's WrestleMania Showcase Match
• Intercontinental Champion Gunther defeated Drew McIntyre and Sheamus in a Triple Threat Match to retain his title
• Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair defeated Asuka to retain her title
• Snoop Dogg defeated The Miz
• Edge defeated Finn Balor in Hell in a Cell
• Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns defeated Cody Rhodes to retain

---

Triple H's first WrestleMania (mostly) in charge of creative may have resulted in the best in the show's long and illustrious history.

With no less than four legitimate Match of the Year candidates, engaging stories, and unforgettable moments, it provided every fan something they could sink their teeth into and enjoy.

Gunther, Sheamus, and McIntyre beat the unholy hell out of each other in what may have been the most physical match in four decades of WrestleMania. Not to be outdone, Ripley and Flair laid into each other in a brutal encounter that saw the rise of Mami to the top of the women's division.

Rollins once again proved himself as the workhorse of WWE with a show-stealer against Paul while the most emotional story of the night culminated with Zayn and Owens ending the historic run of The Usos as tag champions.

Then there was the main event, steeped in controversy because of who won and who did not.

Reigns once again stood tall to close out WrestleMania, defeating Rhodes and leaving social media enraged that the company somehow messed up the easiest slam dunk creative decision since Steve Austin beat Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 14.

As history tells us, however, there was a long game at play.

How much of that changed from 2023 to this year's WrestleMania 40 will be written about for years to come but that disappointment does not hinder what was a phenomenal match and even better overall broadcast.

And a legitimate contender to WrestleMania 17's crown as best of all time.