WWE WrestleMania 32: 10 Greatest WrestleMania Moments of All Time

When WWE WrestleMania 32 hits AT&T Stadium on April 3, fans will found out if the event can continue the tradition of the year's biggest event delivering moments that stay with the audience for a lifetime.

WrestleMania has created some of the most powerful and surprising scenes in pro wrestling history. The grandness of the stage only adds to the magnitude of every victory and amplifies the volume of every climax.

Looking back at the event's top moments, it's clear that celebration and emotion are key to crafting lasting images—from Shawn Michaels' title win in 1995 to Daniel Bryan's underdog tale ending triumphantly two years ago.

The following list is not a ranking of WrestleMania's best matches but rather its biggest and most treasured moments. It isn't a look at Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels or Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat, but instead a collection of narrative apexes and big spots.

The impact the moment had on WWE history, how memorable it is and how thrilling it was to watch unfold all helped determine the rankings. Iconic calls from the announcers pushed moments up the list.

Honorable Mention

• The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan staredown (WrestleMania X8)
• Edge spears Mick Foley into a flaming table (WrestleMania 22)
• Shawn Michaels superkicks Undertaker, nearly ending The Streak (WrestleMania 28)

The meeting with The Rock and Hogan was a dream match come to life. The man who was once the backbone of WrestleMania met with a megastar of a new generation.

Before they collided, they locked eyes. That earned as big of a reaction as any of the moves they hit later on.

Had this been more of a passing-of-the-torch moment, this would have been even more memorable. Instead, The Rock didn't so much take the star baton and run with it as he became a part-timer who mostly made his money starring in movies.

Edge and Foley's fiery moment was a thriller. It's certainly not often that we see smoldering flesh at a WrestleMania.

As exciting as it was, it can't compare on an emotional level to Michaels, Daniel Bryan or Seth Rollins' wins. 

As for Michaels' moment with Undertaker, The Heartbreak Kid played up the drama of his anger-driven kick like only he could. It was one of many highlights from an instant classic. Like Edge and Foley's crash through a burning table, it was more momentary than game-changing, though.

10. Edge Spears Jeff Hardy (WrestleMania X-7)

"For the love of God, Jeff Hardy may broken smack dab in half."—Jim Ross

The six men who battled for the tag team championships at WrestleMania X-7 set out to make sure it was their match that fans talked about afterward. Edge and Christian, The Dudley Boyz and The Hardy Boyz turned their ladder match into chaos and wreckage that endeared them to the audience for life.

The ultimate risk of that bout came with Hardy dangling above the ring. Edge leaped off a ladder to spear him to the canvas in a show-stealing, daredevil move.

This was the exclamation point on the sentence the three teams made that night.

But where this crash appeals to fans' love of danger, other WrestleMania highlights reached even deeper. The spear accelerated the heart. Other moments truly moved it.

9. Randy Savage Reunites with Elizabeth (WrestleMania VII)

"What a woman and what a man."—Gorilla Monsoon

Times like Randy Savage's emotional reunion with Miss Elizabeth show that pro wrestling is clearly not a sport but grand theater. 

A feud with Hulk Hogan led Savage to split with the love of his life. It wasn't until after he lost a retirement match to Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VII and was in the midst of a farewell from WWE that Elizabeth ran back into his arms.

Wrestling's iconic couple reforming remains one of the most touching things that fans have seen at a WrestleMania.

The power of the moment is limited, though, by how temporary Savage's "retirement" ended up being. This wasn't a send-off as much as a segue. At the very next WrestleMania, Savage battled for the WWE title.

8. Shawn Michaels Wins the World Title (XII)

"The boyhood dream has come true."—Vince McMahon

WrestleMania has so often been the peak that a weary traveler reaches at the end of a long journey. For Shawn Michaels, that summit came in the form of championship gold that he clutched to his chest with tears in his eyes.

At the close of the Iron Man match between him and Bret Hart, The Heartbreak Kid outlasted his rival and won the company's top prize.

This was the culmination of a push for an emerging star and a statement that a new centerpiece had arrived. Following a collision of two top, trailblazing talents, Michaels' outpouring of emotion echoed through the screen.

McMahon's line added a narrative layer that adds to how unforgettable this victory was.

Higher on the list sit even more emotional moments, including another one featuring Michaels. As much as the audience wanted to see him succeed on this night, other stars had bumpier rides that garnered more powerful pathos along the way. 

7. Seth Rollins Cashes in (WrestleMania 31)

"Rollins with the heist of the century!"—Michael Cole

In an era where spoilers creep up on the Internet and fans have learned to foresee the narrative arcs of the stories that WWE tells, true surprise is rare. Even so, Seth Rollins provided one of the biggest shockers WrestleMania has ever seen. 

With Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns beating on each other, Rollins rushed in and cashed in his Money in the Bank contract. This was the first time anyone had cashed in at WrestleMania and the first time someone had cashed in mid-match.

The originality of inserting Rollins will help this moment stand out for years to come. The same goes for how electric the energy in the stadium was as the fox swooped in to snatch the gold. 

The bigger star that Rollins grows into the future, the bigger this moment will become. As it stands, it launched him into a top-tier role. In the coming years, we will see if this was the birth of the next megastar. 

6. Shawn Michaels Retires Ric Flair (WrestleMania XXIV)

"I'm sorry, I love you."—Shawn Michaels

A send-off for a legend of Ric Flair's stature had to be at WrestleMania. 

The Nature Boy chose to battle his friend Michaels despite knowing that a loss would mean the end to his Hall of Fame career. The two greats then proceeded to put on a stellar showing, capped off by Michaels' not wanting to pull the final trigger.

With Flair in tears and begging for Michaels to come at him, pain washed over The Heartbreak Kid's face. He then whispered one of WrestleMania's most famous lines before ending Flair's WWE run with a superkick.

The emotional pull of that scene was hugely powerful. The wrestlers watching couldn't control their emotions. Former WWE announcer Todd Grisham told the Baltimore Sun, "When it was over, I saw several 6'8", 270-pound men openly crying backstage."

Had Flair not wrestled beyond this moment, it would have been even more special. Instead, he followed up this retirement with bouts for TNA. That hurts just how perfect an ending to his career this seemed to be at the time.

5. Steve Austin Refuses to Submit (WrestleMania 13)

"Austin never gave up. Austin never gave up, but he passed out from the pain."—Jim Ross

If an artist painted a mural of WrestleMania's most lasting images, the artwork would have to prominently feature Steve Austin's bloodied bald head and his open mouth where screams of pain slid out. Few pictures composed in a ring have pressed so deeply into the audience's memory.   

Locked in Bret Hart's Sharpshooter, Austin wailed. He reached for the ropes. But when escape did not come, he gave into blackness rather than submit.

That show of toughness helped launch Austin as a top star and consequently helped kick-start the Attitude Era. Despite his walking into the match as a heel, fans were chanting his name. The Stone Cold phenomenon was about to explode.

A bigger launch pad followed this one, however. Another Austin moment topped the one at WrestleMania 13, providing even more momentum for him and the company.

4. Daniel Bryan Overcomes the Authority (WrestleMania XXX)

"A miracle on Bourbon Street. An impossible dream has become reality."—Michael Cole

Daniel Bryan's battle against The Authority became more than a wrestling storyline; it was a symbol for the underdog overcoming. When Bryan battled Triple H and then knocked off both Randy Orton and Batista, he played the everyman that the audience could see itself as.

New Orleans exploded when he hoisted up the company's two world titles and confetti began to rain on him.

Bryan wrote in Yes! My Improbable Journey to WrestleMania, "There was this moment in time, in between me putting Batista in the hold and him actually tapping out, where there was this incredible energy emanating around us."

Like Shawn Michaels' win years before, this was the culmination of a wealth of hard work and redefining the definition of a WWE Superstar. The crowd was behind Bryan like it was for few others, though. The more WWE doubted that he could be the top guy, the more the audience turned him into its real-life superhero.

3. Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit Celebrate Together (WrestleMania XX)

"Year after year, mile after mile, continent after continent."—Jim Ross.

Take Daniel Bryan's confetti-covered triumph and double it. That was Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero both holding tight to world titles, as the two friends embraced each other in the ring after improbably making it to the top of the wrestling world.

These were wrestlers thought to be not big enough to sit on a stage this size. Benoit and Guerrero proved them wrong and spent the closing moments of WrestleMania XX soaking up the beauty of proving everyone wrong. 

Luiz Paez-Pumar wrote for Complex, "It's a beautiful moment, a moment where wrestling becomes so much more; it becomes the story of achieving the dreams you had as a child, and doing it with those you love."

A hoarse Ross calling the action only added to the thunderstorm of emotion this image created.

Historical context prevents this from being WrestleMania's absolute best moment. As stirring as this was, it has to be placed in context. Benoit killed his family and himself in the most horrific moment in wrestling's timeline.

WWE is forced to now push this moment aside. And one can't avoid thinking of the tragedy that came three years after this when seeing Guerrero and Benoit break down in tears.

2. Hulk Hogan Slams Andre the Giant (WrestleMania 3)

"I don't believe it! I don't believe it!"—Jesse Ventura

Andre the Giant vs. Hulk Hogan re-imagined how much hype a wrestling match could generate. It catapulted WrestleMania as a marquee brand. It was the meeting of two of the biggest titans ever to step inside a ring.

The bout delivered two huge moments. First, the iconic staredown and then Hogan slamming Andre to the mat. It's hard to separate the two, as they came from the same match. Both have become enduring parts of WrestleMania's mythology.

The staredown only built anticipation for what was to come, though. Hogan lifting and hurling Andre to the canvas capped off a story of hero vs. immortal, proving that the Hulkster could conquer even this monster of a man.

WWE had built this battle around Andre being unbeatable and telling the audience that no one had ever slammed him before this. Hogan then did the impossible, and in doing so he helped continue his rise as a transcendent star, as well as helped WrestleMania become the behemoth it is today.

1. Mike Tyson Knocks out Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania XIV)

"Tyson! Tyson! Tyson! Right hand! Down goes Michaels!"—Jim Ross

WrestleMania began as a convergence of wrestling and celebrity, of pop culture and a niche industry. That fusion brought about the moment that served as the true catalyst for WWE's most successful stretch—the Attitude Era.

Bringing in Mike Tyson made Shawn Michaels vs. Steve Austin bigger than it ever would have been without him. It brought new eyes to the bout and enticed more press to see what all the fuss was about.

In The Squared Circle: Life, Death and Pro Wrestling, David Shoemaker wrote, "The most commercially significant moment of the Attitude Era was Mike Tyson's involvement in WrestleMania XIV."

The famed boxer floored Michaels and sided with Austin, raising Stone Cold's hand. And Tyson interjecting himself into the action catapulted Austin as the coolest thing in wrestling.  

WrestleMania XIV's defining moment became ground zero for the launch of the Attitude Era. Wrestling was now poised to be something bigger, something that tapped into a larger section of pop culture. Tyson and Austin were the keys to that perfect marriage of celebrity and squared circle.