WrestleMania 28: Top 5 PPVs in History of WWE's Premier Event

There has been no shortage of talk over the past few weeks that WrestleMania XXVIII could quite possibly the best in the history of the event. With matches like The Rock vs. John Cena, CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho and The Undertaker vs. Triple H, it isn't a stretch to believe that could come to fruition.

At the same time, though, there is some stiff competition when it comes to vying for the top spot. Of course there have been some poor WrestleManias in the past and some that were just average, but a good percentage of them have been of the utmost quality.

If you want to get a feel for what WrestleMania XXVIII will have to compete with, check out this list of the five greatest in the illustrious history of the event.

WrestleMania XIV

In terms of depth, WrestleMania XIV may not have been the best, but there were several solid matches and one in particular that helped fully usher in the Attitude Era.

The big match on this card was the main event between WWE Champion Shawn Michaels and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson was the special enforcer and he had been feuding with Austin in the ensuing weeks.

Michaels was severely injured at this point, yet he still managed to put on a great match. The twist came when Tyson made the count for Austin, allowing him to claim his first world title.

Aside from that there were some other entertaining matches, including The Undertaker defeating Kane in the penultimate match of the evening.

Also, there was a vastly underrated match between Triple H and Owen Hart for the European Championship, which Hunter won. There weren't a lot of masterpieces, but the storylines were good and it was entertaining throughout.

WrestleMania X

For whatever reason, WrestleMania X isn't often listed among the best of all time, but it is unquestionably one of my personal favorites. This particular event featured arguably two of the greatest matches in WrestleMania history.

The opener featured Owen Hart shockingly beating his brother Bret. Also, the first high-profile ladder match in WWE history took place as Razor Ramon defeated Shawn Michaels in a bout for the Intercontinental Championship.

The match between the Hart brothers was a 20-minute clinic that stands as one of the most underrated matches in the history of wrestling, period. The ladder match is well known and it was one of Michaels' finest performances.

This WrestleMania probably doesn't get more recognition since the rest of the card wasn't great, but Randy Savage defeated Crush in the Macho Man's final WrestleMania match, while Bret Hart beat Yokozuna in a feel-good main event to avenge his loss the previous year and bounce back from the loss to his brother earlier in the night.

WrestleMania III

It would be a crime to omit the biggest WrestleMania in history from this list, and WrestleMania III was precisely that in every sense of the word.

This spectacle held the record for largest attendance at an indoor sporting event in North American history with 93,173 in attendance at Detroit's Pontiac Silverdome.

That was broken by the NBA All-Star Game at Cowboys Stadium in 2010, but WrestleMania III remains a symbol of the immense popularity of wrestling in the 1980s.

The main event was perhaps the most highly-anticipated match in wrestling history as Hulk Hogan defended the WWE Championship against Andre The Giant.

Obviously, neither was the best in-ring worker, but both were larger-than-life characters. The highlight of the night was when Hogan slammed Andre to retain the belt.

Additionally, this card featured what most consider to be the greatest match in WrestleMania history as Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat beat Randy "Macho Man" Savage for the Intercontinental Championship in a match that was technically magnificent in every way.

WrestleMania XXI

WrestleMania XXI will likely always be touted as the deepest Mania of all time. There were six meaningful, impactful and entertaining matches on the card, making this one an instant classic.

The main event of the night featured Batista defeating Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship. It was the culmination of one of the most well-done buildups in recent memory as Batista slowly turned face and left Evolution. That was just the tip of the iceberg, however.

In the previous match, John Cena defeated JBL for the WWE Championship to win his first major title as well. The night even started out great as Rey Mysterio beat Eddie Guerrero in a thrilling match to kick things off.  

WrestleMania XXI also featured the first ever Money in the Bank ladder match, which was won by Edge. Randy Orton posed one of the stiffest challenges ever to The Streak, but The Undertaker was ultimately victorious.

Most importantly, the unquestioned match of the night was a 30-minute clinic in which Kurt Angle defeated Shawn Michaels. Not only was it the best match on one of the best WrestleMania cards ever, but it could very well have been the best match ever for each of the participants involved.

WrestleMania X-Seven

It may have been the last hurrah for the Attitude Era, but if that was the case, then WrestleMania X-Seven sent that period in wrestling history out on top. It is honestly difficult to pick out a bad match on the entire card.

It was, of course, headlined by the best of what would become a triumvirate of matches between "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Rock on wrestling's biggest stage. Austin won as part of the most shocking ending in WrestleMania history as Austin turned heel and sided with long-time nemesis Vince McMahon.

That wasn't the only great moment, though, as there were plenty of other memorable matches. The more things change, the more they stay the same as The Undertaker and Triple H will meet for the third time at WrestleMania this year, but the first occurrence was a great bout won by Taker at WrestleMania X-7.

Furthermore, Kurt Angle beat Chris Benoit is a fantastic contest, the second-ever TLC triple-threat tag match took place and Shane McMahon beat Vince McMahon in a street fight.

Even the gimmicky matches were great as Kane, Big Show and Raven competed in perhaps the best hardcore match in WWE history and The Iron Sheik won a nostalgic gimmick battle royal. From top to bottom, this is the greatest WrestleMania ever and will be tough to top.