Ranking the Rock vs. Stone Cold and 10 Best Hype Videos in WWE WrestleMania History

WrestleMania season traditionally provides superb hype videos for the show's biggest matchups, put together by the talented WWE production team.

For well over two decades, it has utilized first-class video from the WWE library and mainstream music to create packages that tell stories, make sense of the sometimes illogical and create anticipation for the marquee bouts at the biggest show of the year.

This year has been no different, with WWE releasing its latest gem in the form of a Cody Rhodes-John Cena themed video set to Shaboozey's "The Last of My Kind."

In preparation for more excellence at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas, relive these 10 gems that have gotten fans fired up for main events and high-profile showdowns on the grandest stage in the past.

10. Triple H vs. Roman Reigns, 'Hail to the King' (WrestleMania 32)

Roman Reigns challenging Triple H for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 32 may have been near the bottom of the most coveted main events in 2016, but WWE production created a killer hype video to drum up excitement for the match.

Set to Avenged Sevenfold's "Hail to the King," it highlighted the emphasis of the rivalry, which was The Authority's attempt to turn The Big Dog into the corporate champion and Triple H's subsequent championship victory in the Royal Rumble.

Like the feud itself, it started rather one-dimensional before the opening chords of the song kicked in. From there, it was all brawling, physicality and one giant leap for Reigns.

The video took a typical "babyface vs. authority figure" storyline and beefed it up with a high-energy song and some excellent editing to make it feel like a worthy main event. Until the fans in Dallas expressed their opinions otherwise later.

9. Bayley vs. Iyo Sky, 'Simmer' (WrestleMania XL)

Booted out of her own creation, Damage CTRL, 2024 women's Rumble winner Bayley entered WrestleMania 40 seeking revenge and the WWE Women's Championship.

To get both, she would have to beat one of the best to ever lace her boots: Iyo Sky.

The hype video for the high-stakes matchup told that story effectively to Hayley Williams' "Simmer," setting up Bayley's story as one of mounting anger ready to be unleashed on a woman she once considered a friend.

In a year when WWE production delivered some of the most consistently great hype videos for one WrestleMania, the one for the WWE women's title match did a more effective job at summarizing the issues between champion and challenger than the creative team did in the uneven build to the matchup.

8. John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt, 'Legacy' (WrestleMania XXX)

Entering WrestleMania XXX, another year for stellar video packages, Bray Wyatt and his Wyatt Family targeted John Cena.

Determined to pull the beloved babyface down to his level and show him the dark side of himself, Wyatt played mind games with and tormented Cena on a weekly basis.

He threatened his legacy, which was appropriately reflected in the hype video for the match, set to "Legacy" by Eminem.

"I used to be the type of kid that would always think the sky is fallin'. Why am I so differently wired? Am I a martian?"

They were perfect lyrics for Wyatt, who was the most unique, layered and yet cerebral character on WWE television at the time. The chorus fit the narrative and the haunting imagery of Wyatt at his compound and of him forcing a sheep's mask onto a prone Cena only enhanced the visuals.

While the outcome of the match in New Orleans was more than a little suspect, the video that preceded it perfectly set the stage for the battle of good versus evil that ensued.

7. Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso, 'Not My Brother's Keeper' (WrestleMania 40)

"I am not my brother's keeper," Jimmy and Jey Uso said in unison at the start of the hype video that preceded their WrestleMania 40 matchup.

In hindsight, the match is rightly viewed as a major disappointment and one of the worst high-profile contests of the last few years.

Still, it was not for a lack of trying from a narrative perspective, which was captured perfectly in this video.

It took the viewer through the twin brothers' upraising, their early days in pro wrestling, and all the way through the Bloodline saga. From there, it documented the split, Jimmy costing Jey the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship while remaining loyal to Roman Reigns.

It put over Jey's quest for revenge and reiterated both men's real names and that they were not their brother's keeper.

In a year brimming with first-rate video packages, most of which were set to mainstream background music, the story between Jimmy and Jey was so strong that it was the star of the package.

6. Undertaker vs. Triple H, 'The Memory Remains' (WrestleMania XXVIII)

Only a high-octane song from a band like Metallica was worthy of telling the final chapter in the rivalry between The Undertaker and Triple H ahead of their "End of an Era" Hell in a Cell match at WrestleMania XXVIII.

Encapsulating the rivalry that began a year earlier in the aftermath of The Deadman retiring Shawn Michaels in the main event of the 2010 event, it set the stage for a brutal battle inside the unforgiving confines of wrestling's most dangerous matchup.

It also highlighted Michaels' role as best friend of Triple H and special referee for the match, and it teased a bit of tension between longtime D-X teammates amid Undertaker referring to The Heartbreak Kid as better than The Game.

With a chorus that touted traits perfectly in line with the story, it was an ideal song choice that expressed to the audience that this was the end of an era and that the memory would remain long after the match-up was over.

As one of the great WrestleMania matches of all time, it sure has.

5. Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker, 'Running Up That Hill' (WrestleMania XXVI)

In 2009, Shawn Michaels came within seconds of beating The Undertaker and ending his storied streak at WrestleMania XXV.

As the wrestling world celebrated that match, considered one of the best of all time, he begrudgingly accepted a Slammy Award for "Match of the Year" and reiterated that he could beat The Deadman.

That was the emphasis for the rematch, with Michaels taking every road possible before superkicking The Phenom and costing him the World Heavyweight Championship at the Elimination Chamber, one last desperate attempt to get him to accept a challenge for a rematch.

Michaels faced significant resistance from his rival for one last dance on the WrestleMania stage, making the choice of Placebo's excellent cover of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" another superb musical choice by the production team.

HBK did get his match but he had to put his career on the line for Undertaker to agree to it. He did and lost, marking the final-ish time fans would see Michaels inside the squared circle.

4. The Miz, 'Hate Me Now' (WrestleMania XXVII)

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To say The Miz entered WrestleMania XXVII as an afterthought of a WWE champion would be an understatement.

The Rock had returned during the build to the event and kicked off a year-long feud with John Cena that would culminate in a match 12 months later, so the self-proclaimed "Hollywood A-Lister" really was a bystander in his own title defense.

That did not stop the production team from turning out a banger of a hype video for the detestable heel, though.

Set to Nas' "Hate Me Now," it featured Miz sitting at a control board, watching highlights of his career, from MTV's The Real World all the way through to his championship victory and subsequent defenses.

It was a phenomenal piece of business that encapsulated in one two-minute video everything fans needed to know about The A-Lister and why he was over enough to justify his championship reign in the first place.

More importantly, it was a statement of defiance from the heel to the fans, daring them to hate him but it did not matter because he was still going to succeed.

And he did, successfully retaining the WWE title against Cena despite suffering a concussion during the marquee match.

3. Daniel Bryan vs. The Authority, 'Monster' (WrestleMania XXX)

The narrative of a popular babyface who does not fit the mold battling against a corrupt authority figure desperately seeking a more proper world champion for their company will always be an effective one.

Such was the case when Daniel Bryan was the overwhelming fan favorite and clear choice to win the WWE Championship but was repeatedly cut off by Triple H, Stephanie McMahon and the rest of The Authority.

He was too small. Didn't look the part of champion. Was a "B+ player." He was not what The Authority wanted as their representative and they did whatever they could to hold him down.

All that did was create a monster they were not equipped to handle; a Superstar whose popularity defied their wishes and commanded the title.

Set to "Monster" by Imagine Dragons, the video followed Bryan from his indie days to his debut as part of the inaugural NXT cast to the tidal wave of support from fans and his battle against Triple H ahead of WrestleMania XXX.

An emotional journey, set to a hidden gem from a mainstream pop-rock band, it was a fantastic effort from the production team that laid the groundwork for a show that would celebrate three decades of The Showcase of the Immortals and ultimately crown Bryan as the guy.

At least for one night.

2. Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns, 'Eyes Closed' (WrestleMania 40)

At WrestleMania 39, Cody Rhodes failed to finish his story and dethrone Roman Reigns as undisputed WWE universal champion.

In the hype video for their rematch at WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia, the narrator took fans through that moment, recalled The American Nightmare stepping away, starting a revolution, coming back to fight for his family's legacy and still finding his dream "just out of reach."

It hyped Reigns up as the era-defining top star of WWE and the best of the best before asking, "but who says that is where the story has to end." From there, Imagine Dragons' hit "Eyes Closed" took over, taking viewers on a journey through the build to the Bloodline Rules main event and Rhodes' last chance to finish his story and save WWE from another year of The Tribal Chief sitting at the head of the table.

An instant classic video package that came so close to dethroning the No. 1 on this countdown right out of the gate, it was a reminder that, while the regime at the helm of WWE may have changed, those responsible for putting the classic hype videos together are still among the best in the business.

1. The Rock vs. 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, 'My Way' (WrestleMania X-Seven)

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As close as the package for Rhodes-Reigns came to dethroning it, the greatest hype video in WrestleMania history remains the WrestleMania X-Seven preview for "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. The Rock II in Houston.

An Attitude Era classic that meshed Limp Bizkit's "My Way" with film of Austin and Rock unleashing hell on each other, plus a momentary reminder of the wholly unnecessary introduction of Debra at one point, it was a no-nonsense look at a 'Mania main event that needed just the star power of its combatants to build anticipation.

That it ended with highlights of a sit-down interview spliced in, including Austin telling his opponent, "I need to beat you Rock. I need it more than you could ever imagine," and setting the stage for the shocking betrayal that would ensue at the end of the night, only further enhanced its legacy as an iconic hype video to a match that would effectively end the Attitude Era as fans knew it.

That the same production team would come back with another gem for the WrestleMania XIX rematch, only served to prop up the all-time greatness of the original.