Examining the 5 Greatest Matches with WrestleMania Main Event Implications

The WrestleMania main event awaits the victor of Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns at Fastlane, a situation Bryan knows well.

It was just a year ago that he and Triple H composed one of the greatest matches centered around a headlining spot at WWE's premier event. Win or lose, Bryan will have a chance to do it all again, to wring drama from high stakes.

To top the best clashes of this kind, Bryan and Reigns will have to deliver a spectacular performance. Star power, intensity and suspense have powered a number of quality bouts designed to change the WrestleMania card.

The following list ranks these based on highlights, excitement and storytelling.

Royal Rumble or Elimination Chamber matches are not included. Instead, the focus is on memorable clashes with WrestleMania main event implications that popped up outside of the standard calendar. 

Didn't Make the Cut

Credit: WWE.com

Mankind puts the Mandible Claw on Paul Wight.

• Mankind vs. Paul Wight—WrestleMania XV
• Big Show vs. The Rock—No Way Out 2000
• The 2006 Road to WrestleMania Tournament

These contests offered scintillating stakes but not enough in terms of quality action.

At WrestleMania XV, Mankind and Wight (now Big Show) battled for the right to be the referee at that year's event. Wight was part of The Corporation, a mammoth-sized thug looking to make Vince McMahon happy. Had he earned a spot as ref, the big man could have assured that The Rock would retain the WWE title.

Instead, he chokeslammed Mankind onto chairs to earn a disqualification. It was a baffling ending to a blase match. 

A year later, Wight, now known as Big Show, had a major gripe with how the 2000 Royal Rumble ended. While Big Show ended up as that match's runner-up, video evidence would later prove that The Rock's feet hit the floor first.

Their showdown at No Way Out was created to squash this controversy.

The match itself was nothing special, a slugfest with no spark.

The same can be said for the majority of bouts in the 2006 tournament to decide who would headline WrestleMania 22. The three-round tourney featured names like Triple H, Ric Flair and Rob Van Dam but didn't produce anything that stuck out.

5. Randy Orton vs. Edge vs. Shawn Michaels: Raw, Feb. 5, 2007

The Battle of the Billionaires may have been the headline-generator going into WrestleMania 23, but the main event was Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena, an instant classic for the WWE title. WWE set up that bout by having three men vie for the spot Michaels eventually earned.

He didn't just have any two opponents, though. Randy Orton and Edge of Rated-RKO stood in The Heartbreak Kid's way.

The element of having tag team partners in a Triple Threat led to sparks flying—to a story within the story. In what began as an intense brawl, Michaels found himself outnumbered, but only until his enemies' alliance fell apart.

Quick, fluid action made for a fun bout but not one with as much emotional weight as the very best matches with WrestleMania main event implications.

4. Kurt Angle vs. Triple H: No Way Out 2002

Credit: WWE.com

Triple H hits Kurt Angle with the Pedigree.

En route to WrestleMania X8, where Triple H dethroned Chris Jericho, The Game met with an old rival. He and Kurt Angle had a soap opera-like rivalry in 2000, with Stephanie McMahon playing the love interest who sparked animosity between two bruisers.

Years later, they met again with WrestleMania glory on the line.

Angle was that year's Royal Rumble runner-up. He demanded a chance to win Triple H's title shot away from him and got it.

What resulted was a hard-hitting, wild bout.

The two have had better wrestling matches against each other, but this was fun, part slugfest, part circus. McMahon served as the guest referee and ended up getting bowled over a few times. Steel chairs and replacement refs added to the chaotic feel. 

Angle nearly overcoming all of the cheating going on around him and Triple H playing the cold predator role so well led to this being a high-quality contest. 

Years before this, a quartet of men outdid Angle and Triple H. Credit star power and a match intense enough to leave a monster bloodied. 

3. Vader vs. Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart vs. Undertaker: In Your House 13

Credit: WWE.com

Bret Hart attacks Steve Austin.

When a bum knee forced Shawn Michaels to relinquish the WWE title in 1997, the company was suddenly without a world champ heading into the biggest event of the year. Scrambling ensued.

Bret Hart vs. Vader vs. Undertaker vs. Steve Austin at In Your House 13: Final Four was supposed to decide who would have faced Michaels. Instead, it became a title bout for the vacant belt.

At the time, it appeared that The Hitman's win would assure him a spot on the WrestleMania marquee. WWE would have him drop the belt, though, to Sycho Sid the next night.

Before that rerouting of the championship picture, four challengers pounded on each other in and outside of the ring. Vader whacked anyone within reach with a steel chair and later choked Undertaker with a mic cable. The powerhouse would taste payback, though, with a collision with ring steps busting him open.

The blood staining his mask is among the many memorable images in a swirling storm of intensity.

The fact that WWE moved around the main event after this, having Hart take on Austin and Undertaker battle Sid, keeps this from feeling as significant now as it did at the time. That pushes it down the list, just below two one-on-one contests.

2. Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H: WrestleMania XXX

Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart had for so long been the undisputed greatest match to ever open a WrestleMania. Then came Daniel Bryan and Triple H to make that debate far tougher.

In order for Bryan to work his way into the WWE title bout later that night, he had to go through Triple H. It would up the difficulty level of his championship pursuit, but it would also add the bonus of revenge. The Game had long tortured him as WWE's COO.

Payback came in the form of outlasting Triple H despite an injured, bandaged arm and despite Triple H being as vicious as he had been in recent memory.

The match saw Bryan play the fearless daredevil, leaping at his foe. Triple H, meanwhile, pounced on Bryan's arm, pulled out the crossface several times and made Bryan's head bang against the canvas several times. 

Stephanie McMahon added to the action by either gloating when Triple H was in charge or widening her eyes in shock when Bryan won.

Bryan and Triple H delivered all the emotional swings that you would want out of a match. It was a fiery performance by both men. Bryan will have a tremendously hard time topping this with Roman Reigns.

CM Punk and John Cena, though, already accomplished that. They poured the same amount of heart onto the canvas that night, only with the added element of a storied rivalry at play.

1. CM Punk vs. John Cena: Raw, Feb. 25, 2013

John Cena's win over CM Punk outshone his victory over The Rock at WrestleMania 29. The title bout was awkward and overused the false finish. The Rock having a torn abdomen for much of it surely held both men back.

Before that collision, Punk convinced Cena to put his No. 1 contender's spot on the line on Raw.

An instant classic followed. It felt as if Punk just closed his eyes and pretended that this was WrestleMania. He gave one of the best performances of his career, not surprisingly against a man who he has always had stellar chemistry with.

This acted as another installment in the ongoing saga of Cena vs. Punk.

A captivating match featured desperate, hungry men pulling out new weapons in an attempt to beat a familiar foe. Cena hit a hurricanrana, veering from his comfort zone. Punk brought back the banned piledriver.

The great action when both men took the ground, the emotions emanating from them as they fought, add up to this being the gold standard in matches built around WrestleMania main event implications.

Try to top that, Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns.