This year’s WrestleMania will have a giant main event as Roman Reigns, Edge, and Daniel Bryan all fight to see who will become the Universal Champion when the biggest event of the year for WWE takes place, so we decided to look into the past of the annual event to highlight the best and brightest when it comes to the main events. Since WrestleMania first premiered in 1985, with Hulk Hogan and Mr. T being featured in the main event at Madison Square Garden, it has easily been the biggest wrestling event of the year, for the WWE and others.
Videos by ComicBook.com
What is your favorite main event from WrestleMania’s past? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of professional wrestling.
WrestleMania III: Hulk Hogan Vs Andre The Giant
Touted as one of the biggest events for the World Wrestling Federation, this main event for WrestleMania effectively felt like the “passing of the torch” from Andre to Hogan, with the “Hulkster” doing the impossible and managing to body slam the Giant. This match was also thought of as one of the biggest of Andre’s career, with the Giant passing away years later. Though there had been two WrestleManias prior to this one, this was the main event that helped put the event on the map.
WrestleMania VI: Ultimate Warrior Vs Hulk Hogan
Much like Hogan’s match against the Giant, this battle between the two most popular wrestlers at the time was white-hot in the world of the World Wrestling Federation. It also happened to give us one of the most bonkers promos from the Warrior himself prior to the match itself in which the makeup laden brawler implored Hogan to crash an airplane on the way to WrestleMania. While not necessarily the best technical match of WrestleMania’s history, it resulted in Warrior winning both the World Heavyweight Championship and Intercontinental belts, which was thought of as impossible prior to the match.
WresleMania XII: Shawn Michaels Vs Brett Hart
This legendary match between the Heartbreak Kid and member of the Hart Foundation had an interesting wrinkle in its status as an “Ironman Match”. Instead of simply pinning the opponent or having them tap out with a well placed submission move, the match itself lasted for an hour and the winner would be decided by who was able to either pin or tap out their opponent the most times. Though Brett Hart eventually lost, he definitely proved himself to be one of the greatest wrestlers of all time.
WrestleMania XVII: The Rock Vs Stone Cold Steve Austin
The Rock battled against Stone Cold Steve Austin in the seventeenth WrestleMania, once again proving that without a doubt, the “Attitude Era” was one of the hottest times in the world of professional wrestling. Among a cadre of strong personalities, both Dwayne Johnson and Steve Austin were able to find their way to the top and delivered a match that was remembered years after. Though Stone Cold “turned heel” during the match, he was able to take the Heavyweight Championship from the Rock, adding another notch in his belt as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time.
WrestleMania XXVI: Shawn Michaels Vs The Undertaker
The Dead Man went up against the Heartbreak Kid in what is considered to be one of the greatest matches of WrestleMania that was touted as “The Streak Vs The Career”, with Shawn Michaels stating he would end his career if he wasn’t able to break the Undertaker’s undefeated streak. In a knock-down-drag-out fight, the Dead Man was able to maintain his streak, but ended Michaels career, at least for a little while, and easily earned its place as one of the greatest events of all time.
WrestleMania XXVIII: The Rock Vs John Cena
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson already had a number of feature-length films under his belt when the twenty-seventh WrestleMania rolled around, but he was looking to make a big splash in the WWE once again, doing it right by battling against John Cena. In their hard hitting match, The Rock was able to pull off a win against one of the biggest names at the time, delivering a rock bottom that proved he still was one of the best in the business.
WrestleMania XXX: Daniel Bryan Vs Randy Orton Vs Bautista
Daniel Bryan was able to cultivate a following based on his work ethic, technical achievements, and personality, and in a monumental feat, he was able to defeat the combined strength of Bautista and Randy Orton to win the main event of Wrestlemania XXX. If you need one match to summarize the appeal of Bryan as a wrestler, it’s this one, as he has definitely earned his place as one of the biggest wrestlers in the modern era of World Wrestling Entertainment.
