The 41 Most Important People In WrestleMania History
In previous years, I’ve delivered my lists of the greatest matches and moments in WrestleMania history. It’s an easy topic to push out during this time of year.
This year, I’ve decided to return to that well again, but opening things up a bit. I’m looking on-screen, off-screen, and everywhere in between to talk about who I feel are the 41 most important people in the grand history of WrestleMania. These are the people who, for one reason or another, will almost always come to mind when you think of who, and what, made WrestleMania what it is today.
“Most Important” doesn’t necessarily mean “Best,” by the way. Keep that in mind if you don’t see someone listed, despite their win/loss record or having a super duper great match or two at Mania.
Let’s break it down.
41. Ray Charles – The legendary musician kicked things off at WrestleMania 2 with a rendition of “America The Beautiful.” It was the start of a tradition that continues today, nearly 40 years later. Whether you like them or not, those musical performances are a very important part of the entire Mania mystique.
40. Brian Gewirtz – He worked his way up the creative ladder in WWE, eventually working with the company for 15+ years. That means he had a ton of input on countless matches and storylines that we saw play out at WrestleMania. On top of that, he worked closely with The Rock, becoming Rock’s personal writer. As an added bonus, he really helped to create and craft the Money In The Bank ladder match. Chris Jericho helped to come up with the idea, but Gewirtz came up with the idea to have a title shot that can be used at any point over the next year, saying that the winner essentially had “money in the bank,” creating the name, as well. He has stayed in the background, but has played a very big role in the history of the event over the last 25-ish years.
39. Lawrence Taylor – Say what you want about what was, and what should’ve been, the main event of WrestleMania 11. The fact of the matter is that Lawrence Taylor, just over a year after ending one of the greatest careers in NFL history, was wrestling in the main event. WrestleMania has always been a place for celebrities to appear. WrestleMania 2 even saw six active and former NFL players participating in a Battle Royal during the Chicago portion of the show. LT was in the highest profile spot, bringing in tons of mainstream media attention, paving the way for many celebrity interactions in years to come.
38. “Mean” Gene Okerlund – When you think about non-wrestler personalities from the early days of WrestleMania, MEAN WHOOO BY GOD GENE is probably right there at the top of your list. The old WWF loved their backstage interviews, and Gene was almost always the one who would conduct these interviews, bringing his own level of natural charisma to the process.
37. Miss Elizabeth – All these years later, it still amazes me when I think about how important a character Miss Elizabeth was able to be without a ton of mic skills. She wasn’t your usual “manager” type, cutting promos for her clients, but there she was, front and center, time and time again. At WrestleMania 2, she was the focal point of Randy Savage’s feud with George “The Animal” Steele, as Steele’s character was developing something of a crush on her. Then came WrestleMania 5, when Elizabeth was, unbeknownst to her, the catalyst for the destruction of the Mega Powers, Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. It was one of the most legendary storylines in WWF history, with Savage turning heel on Hogan by accusing Hulk of “lusting” after Elizabeth. WrestleMania 7 saw one of the WWF’s most emotional moments, as Elizabeth returned to the company to save Savage from being attacked by Queen Sherri Martel, who was putting the boots to Savage after the “Macho King” lost to The Ultimate Warrior in a Retirement Match. The following year, Elizabeth was the focal point again, with Ric Flair coming out with what would be revealed as doctored photos, “proving” he was having an affair with her, turning Flair’s feud with Savage into a personal war. What a run. The more I think about it, the more I feel she’s probably ranked too low here.
36. Floyd Mayweather – As I’ve already mentioned, WWF/WWE was no stranger to having athletes from “real” sports coming in for some sort of physicality at WrestleMania. What really set Floyd Mayweather apart from the rest of them, though, is that he was absolutely in the prime of his career when he wrestled at WrestleMania 24. He was a billion-dollar entity, was 39-0 as a professional boxer at the time, was in possession of more World Titles than you could count… and he was in there with Big Show, taking bumps and being involved in spots that went after his hand. It was the type of thing the sport hadn’t seen before, and probably won’t see again. Can you imagine Shohei Ohtani coming to WrestleMania for a match? Patrick Mahomes? Cristiano Ronaldo? No, you can’t. Hell, WWE is in a working relationship with UFC, and you can’t even picture fighters like Islam Makhachev, Jon Jones, or Valentina Shevchenko coming in for a wrestling match. “Money” Mayweather was a different type of beast.
35. Chris Jericho – We’ve already talked about his role in the creation of the Money In The Bank ladder match, which was a very important part of WrestleMania for six years. He’s also very high up on the list of most WrestleMania matches participated in, with a total of 14. Only eight names in company history have more than that, although Seth Rollins will pass him this year, and so will The Miz if Miz ends up on the Mania 41 card. His first three WrestleMania matches all involved titles being on the line (including a World Title match), followed by a “dream match” against Shawn Michaels, a memorable storyline with Christian that involved a surprise heel turn by Trish Stratus, two Money In The Bank matches, a highly publicized storyline with Mickey Rourke to help promote Rourke’s The Wrestler movie, and two World Title matches. It’s hard to find many runs better than that in WrestleMania history.
34. Cody Rhodes – Since returning to WWE three years ago, Cody has been on an incredible WrestleMania run. His first match back was one of the company’s all-time greatest returns, leading to an epic pop that will be remembered for decades. Then we got back-to-back years of him trying to “finish his story” as he tried to topple the unbeatable Roman Reigns. Now, he’s lined up for another main event spot against the newly heel John Cena. That more than makes up for his relatively unmemorable Mania run in the first part of his WWE career, if you ask me. He is helping to carry the current “era” of pro wrestling, with no end in sight.
33. Donald Trump – Half of you just had your buttholes pucker up when you saw his name, didn’t you? We’re not here to discuss the man himself, his politics, or anything else along those lines. Trump and his Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino were the main sponsors of WrestleMania 4 and 5, bringing both events to Atlantic City, New Jersey. It’s still the only time in history that WrestleMania was in the same city and venue for back-to-back years. WrestleMania 7 and 20 saw Trump in the crowd and featured on the broadcast. Then, of course, WrestleMania 23 was basically built around the “Battle Of The Billionaires,” that saw Trump in the corner of Bobby Lashley while Vince McMahon was in the corner of Umaga, with both Trump and McMahon putting their hair on the line. A lot of wrestling history has been made because of “The Donald” and his love for the sport.
32. Daniel Bryan – I don’t know how many times I’ve said this, but it’s still true… pro wrestling has never seen anything like Daniel Bryan and the “Yes Movement,” and I have great doubts that it ever will again. The build to WrestleMania 30 saw the most passionate fan backing that the sport has ever seen, and it came from such a powerful, organic place. It helped to make for a magical show, with an ending that will be remembered fondly forever. It all began with another memorable Mania moment, albeit for a different reason, when he dropped the World Heavyweight Title to Sheamus in 18 seconds at Mania 28. Throw in a memorable Intercontinental Title victory at 31, being on the flip side of the “Yes Movement” with KofiMania at 35, and a handful of really good in-ring performances outside of that, and you have a fun Mania career.
31. The Ultimate Warrior – Was he going to deliver a string of five-star classics? No. Did it matter at the time? Absolutely not. His rise to the top of the WWF at WrestleMania 6 was an iconic moment, and could’ve been an era-defining title change if Warrior was a more dependable human being. The following year, he was able to have what was arguably the best match of his career, as he “retired” Randy Savage. WrestleMania 8 saw Warrior make a surprise return to the company, coming out to save Hulk Hogan from a two-on-one attack at the hands of Sid Justice and Papa Shango. Hell, he even had another memorable return, coming back at WrestleMania 12 to absolutely squash Hunter Hearst Helmsley, making it look like the not-yet Triple H had no chance of making it with the company. For an entire era… one that really helped to create a worldwide juggernaut in the WWF… Warrior was right there, front and center, as someone the company wanted to build around.
30. & 29. The Dudley Boyz – WrestleMania 2000 saw them make their Mania debut, but what a way to do it. They were the WWF Tag Team Champions, defending their titles in a Triangle Ladder Match with The Hardy Boyz and Edge & Christian. The match helped to put an entire style of wrestling on the map, but their match the following year was what defined everything for them. Once again, they entered WrestleMania as the Tag Team Champions, and once again, they looked across the ring and saw The Hardy Boyz as well as Edge & Christian. TLC 2 was one of the wildest matches, start to finish, in WrestleMania history, and it is the defining moment in their careers that made them the winningest tag team the sport has ever seen.
28. & 27. The Hardy Boyz – They also made their WrestleMania debut in 2000, participating in a Triangle Ladder Match for the WWF Tag Team Titles. It was a match that helped to change the game, so to speak, helping to put tag team wrestling and the “car crash” style of high spots at the forefront. The next year, they took that to an entirely new level, delivering an all-time great match in TLC 2, competing against the same two teams. Matt had a relatively decent singles run as a Cruiserweight, then a couple appearances in Money In The Bank matches, and the two would go on to face each other at WrestleMania 25. WrestleMania 33 saw one of the biggest pops in company history, as the Hardys returned to the company as a surprise entrant in a Ladder Match for the Raw Tag Team Titles. Matt would win the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at 34, putting a bow on everything. No matter what, though, they will forever be known for their roles at 16 and 17, making tag team wrestling cool in a company that was run by Vince McMahon, who always had a notorious dislike of tag wrestling for multiple reasons.
26. Christian – There’s no need for me to write about the greatness that was WrestleMania 16 and 17 for tag wrestling. I’ve covered it in the previous two entries, but of course, Christian gets plenty of praise for what he did. He and Edge won the WWF Tag Team Titles in both matches. He and Chris Jericho had a good match at WrestleMania 20, although it didn’t do much to propel Christian’s career. WrestleMania 25 and 26 saw him participate in the Money In The Bank Ladder Match, and while that wrapped things up for him on that type of stage, he had already carved his name into stone as one of the best to do it.
25. Edge – While all of the Triangle Ladder Match and TLC 2 participants are grouped together here, there’s a definite reason that Edge is ahead of the others. After the two tag classics, he had the best singles run of any of them. WrestleMania 21 saw him win the very first Money In The Bank Ladder Match. 22 saw him defeat Mick Foley in a legendary Hardcore Match. 24 saw him defend the World Heavyweight Title against The Undertaker in the show’s main event, and 25 saw him defending that same title in a Triple Threat against John Cena and Big Show. 27 had him defending that same title once again, but this time it was a successful defense that ended up being what we all thought was the last match of his career after he was forced to retire due to a serious neck injury. His return in 2020 saw him have a heavily hyped Last Man Standing Match against Randy Orton, and then another Mania main event at 37 as he and Daniel Bryan challenged Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Title. Once you throw everything else in, you have a very memorable Mania career, and especially so for someone who missed nine years of in-ring action.
24. Paul Heyman – His WrestleMania debut saw him do a wonderful job as a color commentator at 17, perfectly playing off of play-by-play man Jim Ross all night long. That’s a cool Mania career all by itself. Paul Heyman only went up from there, though. His managerial run has been completely unmatched in the years since. WrestleMania 29 saw him manage CM Punk in his match against The Undertaker, followed by managing Brock Lesnar in his match against Triple H. At WrestleMania 30, Heyman was right there as Lesnar defeated The Undertaker, shocking the world and ending Taker’s undefeated streak at Mania. 31 saw him manage Lesnar, who was the defending WWE Champion. 32 had him at ringside for Brock’s Street Fight with Dean Ambrose. 33 saw him manage Brock as “The Beast” defeated Goldberg to win the Universal Title. 34 saw him managing Brock yet again, with Brock coming in as the Universal Champion, with the exact same thing happening at 35. 36 saw a tiny shift… Heyman managed Brock, who was the defending WWE Champion. 37 saw Heyman’s Mania debut as the “Wise Man” for Roman Reigns, with Roman coming in as the defending Universal Champion. 38 had Heyman again at Roman’s side, this time for Roman, as the Universal Champion, defeating WWE Champion Brock Lesnar in a Winner Takes All match. 39 saw Heyman guide Roman to a victory over Cody Rhodes, successfully defending the Tribal Chief’s Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. 40 saw Heyman manage in main events on back-to-back nights. Now, we’re on the verge of WrestleMania 41, which will once again see Heyman manage a main event match, as Roman Reigns faces CM Punk and Seth Rollins in a Triple Threat Match. It’s absolutely unprecedented, and it will never be matched again, especially because Heyman himself will probably continue adding to the list in years to come.
23. Ronda Rousey – She doesn’t have a long, extensive WrestleMania career, but there’s no doubt that she made her mark on the sport. Her Mania debut at 31 was a fun segment involving The Rock, Triple H, and Stephanie McMahon. Like I said about Floyd Mayweather earlier, this was Ronda showing up when she was in her prime as a UFC member. She was the undefeated Women’s Bantamweight Champion, and already in the discussion of the greatest women’s MMA fighter of all-time. It was a big, big deal to have her there. It would be three more years until she would make her in-ring pro wrestling debut, but that also came at WrestleMania, in a match that was so much more entertaining than it had any right to be. She teamed with Kurt Angle to face Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, and she looked like she was really picking the sport up quickly. The following year is why she’s on this list, though. WrestleMania 35… Ronda, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte Flair facing off in a Triple Threat with both the Raw Women’s Title and Smackdown Women’s Title on the line. It was a huge match to begin with, but then it got the nod to be the show-closer that night. Women’s wrestling had officially gotten so big that it was the main event of WrestleMania. Unfortunately, it didn’t get better for Ronda from there. Her second run with the company saw her receive many complaints that her heart didn’t seem into it, and that she was only there for the money. She had two more matches at WrestleMania, but they weren’t memorable. She goes down as one of the biggest “What if…” stories in wrestling history, because there’s no telling what she could’ve done if she replicated what she did in her first WWE run for the rest of her career.
22. Becky Lynch – Prior to the WrestleMania 35 main event spot, Becky didn’t have the most prestigious of Mania careers. That’s a testament to her meteoric rise in popularity within the WWE Universe, who always had her back, no matter what the company had laid out for her. Her Mania debut came at 32, when she was in a Triple Threat with Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks to crown the inaugural WWE Women’s Champion. The following year, she was involved in a Six-Pack Challenge for the Smackdown Women’s Title, but that match barely got five minutes of in-ring time. WrestleMania 34 saw her involved in a Women’s Battle Royal that didn’t even make the main card, and instead, aired on the pre-show. Since Mania 35, though, she has made sure to never be an afterthought again. Every WrestleMania match she’s had since then has either featured a title on the line, or was at least heavily promoted. We don’t know if and when she’ll return to WWE after taking a much-deserved break, but if she does, she will undoubtedly continue building her legacy.
21. Charlotte Flair – She made her WrestleMania debut at the same time as Becky Lynch, but as the winner of the match, Charlotte gets extra credit. Of course, Becky makes up for it with her win at WrestleMania 35. The reason I have Charlotte listed ahead of Becky is simple… consistency. Charlotte has never been booked to be in a pre-show Battle Royal. She has never been in a WrestleMania match that didn’t feature a title on the line, and that streak will continue on this year. Whether you like it or not, Charlotte has always been, and probably always will be, at the top, and it shows with how important she has been to WrestleMania over the last decade.
20. Seth Rollins – In the grand history of Money In The Bank, Seth Rollins was the first winner to cash in at WrestleMania. For the rest of eternity, Seth will be a major part of history, and will be involved in highlight reels and countdowns everywhere. If that was the only thing he’s ever done at WrestleMania, he would deserve a spot on this list. Throw in a victory over Triple H (33), an Intercontinental Title victory (34), a Universal Title victory (35), being the dance partner for Cody Rhodes’ big WWE return (38), a huge part of both nights with Cody Rhodes finally finishing his story (40), and others… it’s clear to see where he is on the WWE hierarchy over the last decade-plus.
19. Triple H – Only one person has worked more matches at WrestleMania than Triple H, and… spoiler alert… that person is still to come on this list. Once Hunter Hearst Helmsley became Triple H and reached the upper echelon of the company, he was there to stay. That has shown in his WrestleMania history, as he had a bit of a rocky history, but has almost always been involved in a top storyline ever since. Honestly, the only reason I don’t have him ranked higher as an in-ring performer is that a lot of his Mania history has been to help put other people over. The Ultimate Warrior at 12. Undertaker at 17, 27, and 28. Chris Benoit at 20. Batista at 21. John Cena at 22. Daniel Bryan at 30. Roman Reigns at 32. Seth Rollins at 33. Ronda Rousey at 34. I’ll give him credit where it’s due, though. I have been wildly entertained by the WrestleMania events that we’ve seen since he took over as head of creative for WWE, so he gets some bonus points for that.
18. Bret “The Hitman” Hart – His WrestleMania run didn’t start with the brightest of lights… two Battle Royal appearances and three forgettable tag team matches. WrestleMania 7 saw The Hart Foundation take on The Nasty Boys, and that ended up being one of Mania’s most underrated matches. From there, Bret absolutely took off. A classic with “Rowdy” Roddy Piper the next year was his real coming out party, and it started a tremendous run for Bret at Mania that lasted through Mania 13. Of course, 13 was what everyone thought would be his last ever WrestleMania, as he would go through the Montreal Screwjob later that year and end up heading to WCW. However, his match against Vince McMahon at 26, while not the highest in-ring quality performance due to the age and the physical limitations of the competitors, was a nice bow on Bret’s career. He was someone that helped carry the WWF on his back during some lean years, and his performances at WrestleMania show that very clearly.
17. Michael Cole – Nobody in company history has called more matches at WrestleMania than Michael Cole. He got his start at WrestleMania 15, but since WrestleMania 19, Cole has been at the desk every single year, putting his voice and his calls behind some of the biggest matches and moments that Mania has ever seen. It has been an incredible run, and it doesn’t look to be ending anytime soon. The only reason I don’t have him ranked ahead of the next name on this list… spoiler alert… is that a lot of Cole’s work with Vince McMahon in control was subpar, in my opinion. He was okay, but with Vince annoyingly screaming in his ear for the duration of every show, Cole was never truly able to find his own “voice” as a play-by-play guy. Everything sounded forced because it was just that… forced. With the freedom he has in the wake of Vince’s departure from the company, he has been able to show everyone what he’s capable of, and it has been some great work.
16. Jim Ross – If Michael Cole isn’t the “voice” of WrestleMania, then that title definitely goes to Jim Ross. Unlike Cole, JR was able to rise above the horrendous nonsense that Vince McMahon dictated, and he was able to put his own spin on WrestleMania after WrestleMania. You can close your eyes and hear JR calling some of the biggest moments in pro wrestling history, year in and year out. Like I said, I have JR ahead of Cole because of how they were able to handle the overwhelming stupidity of Vince McMahon. However, if your own personal list has Cole ranked ahead, I wouldn’t chop you in the throat if I saw you in person.
15. “Iron” Mike Tyson – The man made one appearance at WrestleMania, and he’s this far up the list? Yes. He certainly is. If you weren’t watching at the time, I don’t think you can accurately understand just how important Mike Tyson was to the WWF. His arrival marked a true shift in the excitement level for the WWF product, to the point that even Eric Bischoff, who was the President of WCW then, knew that WCW was on the verge of losing the “Monday Night War” imminently. He was right. Tyson carried some major power as a huge star and proven pay-per-view draw, and his “special enforcer” role at WrestleMania 14 dovetailed perfectly with the insane rise in popularity of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. The WWF never really looked back after this.
14. Brock Lesnar – His WrestleMania debut couldn’t have been much bigger at the time, pitting him against Kurt Angle in the show’s main event with the WWE Title on the line. It was a battle between two of the most decorated amateur wrestlers that the pro side of the sport had ever seen. The following year should’ve been just as big for a completely different reason, but he and Goldberg deciding to leave the company pissed the fans in Madison Square Garden off, and those fans completely turned their backs on the match. Brock would be away from WWE for eight years, but when he returned… my goodness, when he returned… he was placed on a pedestal as an entirely different breed of beast, pun intended. That was proven by him achieving the most shocking moment in WrestleMania history, when he pinned The Undertaker to end Taker’s legendary Mania undefeated streak. Anything beyond that… and that consists of main events, World Title victories, and more… is just gravy. Ending The Undertaker’s streak all by itself merits inclusion here.
13. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper – When you think about the birth of WrestleMania, Roddy Piper is one of the main reasons we’re continuing to have the event all these years later. Hulk Hogan and Hulkamania are great and all, but without the amazing heel work of Piper, what would Hogan play off of? Piper made more than 19,000 people buy tickets to be at Madison Square Garden, and over a million more pay to see WrestleMania 1 on closed-circuit television, because they wanted to see “The Rowdy One” get his ass kicked. Piper’s on and off-screen feud with Mr. T helped carry a storyline through an entire year, with the two going from opposing sides of the Mania 1 main event to facing each other in a boxing match at Mania 2. Roddy’s Hair vs Hair Match against Adrian Adonis at WrestleMania 3 was brief, but a lot of fun. His match against Bret Hart at Mania 8 remains one of the best matches in Mania history, with a wonderful story being told, and with Roddy putting Bret over big time as he finished his regular in-ring career. The “Hollywood Backlot Brawl” between Roddy and Goldust at WrestleMania 12 was a lot of fun, even if it was in a campy, over-the-top way, which is saying a lot for the sport of pro wrestling. Throw in a memorable return during the match between Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon at WrestleMania 19, and you have a lengthy, consistently entertaining career at the event. Heel or face, he was there doing something meaningful and that would be talked about heavily when it was all said and done.
12. Mr. T – As we’ve already discussed multiple times in this column, WrestleMania is a place for mainstream celebrities of all types to make their mark on the sport in one way or another. It all started at the first event with Mr. T, though. At the time, T was a star of The A-Team, which was a huge television hit for NBC, and was being seen by nearly one-quarter of all television households in the United States every week. Mr. T was helping to sell millions of dollars worth of toys and all sorts of merchandise to go with it. Having him not only appear at WrestleMania, but wrestle in the show’s main event alongside the likes of Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, and Paul Orndorff was mind-blowing. There’s no telling how many extra tickets were sold and how many extra eyeballs were on the show at closed-circuit venues across the country because of T’s involvement.
11. Andre The Giant – To say that there was a lot riding on WrestleMania 3 would be an understatement. After the overwhelming success of the first WrestleMania, the second edition saw big financial success, but was almost universally panned on a critical level. Was the bloom off the rose already, so to speak? The WWF knew that they needed to do something big to help sell WrestleMania 3. You want big? How about a real life bonafide Giant? Andre had spent a decade-and-a-half as a “special attraction” performer, working for numerous territories and for New Japan Pro Wrestling. He was one of the biggest draws that the sport had ever seen. Putting him up against the phenomenon known as Hulkamania was billed as the biggest match in wrestling history, and it truly was. It didn’t matter much that Andre’s body was badly beaten down by this point, and that he could barely walk. “The Irresistible Force Meets The Immovable Object” was enough of a hook to make WrestleMania 3 a massive success, putting the event back on track.
10. Howard Finkel – “The Fink” was a major fixture at WrestleMania, appearing in one way or another at the first 32 Mania events. His Hall Of Fame voice can be heard all throughout WrestleMania video packages and highlight reels as he made the ring announcements for years. On top of that, he was the person that named the event WrestleMania in the first place. Vince McMahon had already come up with the idea for it, but at the time, it didn’t have a name. Fink came to him and brought up The Beatles bringing “Beatlemania” to the world in the 60’s, saying that something like “WrestleMania” could do something similar for the sport in the 80’s. Lord knows what Vince would’ve ended up calling the event if it wasn’t for Howard Finkel.
9. “Macho Man” Randy Savage – If you were to ask 100 people what the greatest match in WrestleMania history is, there’s a good chance that Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat from Mania 3 gets the most votes. If you were to ask 100 people what the greatest storyline going into a WrestleMania is, there’s a good chance that the implosion of The Mega Powers (Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan) heading to Mania 5 gets the most votes. If you were to ask 100 people what the most emotional moment in WrestleMania history is, there’s a good chance Miss Elizabeth coming to the aid of Randy Savage at Mania 7 gets the most votes. What does that tell you? I didn’t even mention his WWF Title victory at WrestleMania 4, the match he had with The Ultimate Warrior at 7 that preceded the Miss Elizabeth reunion, the build and match with Ric Flair at 8, and other moments in time. It’s no surprise that one of the sport’s all-time greats was able to rise to the occasion on the brightest stage again and again.
8. The Rock – One of my favorite aspects of The Rock’s WrestleMania career is watching his entire trajectory, from the “blue chip” prospect that fans denied to a rising midcard star with The Nation Of Domination to The People’s Champion to Hollywood Rock to The Final Boss, and everything in between. His biggest moments in Mania history form a legendary list. His series with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin at 15, 17, and 19 is one of the best match trilogies the sport has ever seen. The match he had with “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan at 18 features what might be the wildest single match crowd reactions you’ll ever see. His matches with John Cena at 28 and 29 have more star power than the Milky Way, and featured one of the most ambitious stories ever. The work he put in to make WrestleMania 40 weekend the biggest one in company history was extensive. One of the biggest stars in wrestling history became one of the biggest stars in film history, and he was able to return to wrestling as an even bigger star than ever. If he’s involved in something, it’s going to be special.
7. Shawn Michaels – He earned the nickname of “Mr. WrestleMania” for a reason. While his overall record at Mania (6-11 overall, 5-9 as a singles wrestler) isn’t the most impressive, he became known for having some amazing in-ring performances in those matches. By my count, he has a total of nine Mania matches that either outright won major Match Of The Year awards, or were at least heavily nominated. He helped to introduce Ladder Matches to the general public. The idea for an Ironman Match on a large stage like WrestleMania was made possible because of his abilities (and Bret Hart’s, of course). He was able to bring insane drama to matches with Ric Flair and The Undertaker. When WWF/WWE wanted the wrestling world to “ooh” and “ahh” over a match at WrestleMania, they gave Shawn Michaels a call, and did so for over a decade-and-a-half.
6. John Cena – If you’re going to be internally promoted as the greatest superstar in WWE history, you’d better have an impressive WrestleMania career to showcase. I’d say John Cena qualifies there. He has won a whopping six titles at WrestleMania… United States Title at 20, WWE Title at 21, World Heavyweight Title at 25, WWE Title at 26, WWE Title at 29, and United States Title at 31. “Big Match John” continuously rose to the occasion in main events, title matches, and major matches/storylines. He has helped to carry the company for an entire generation, which is something only a handful of names can say about themselves. His recent run at Mania has been a little iffy, at best, but his star power overwhelms everything. Just like that, he is back at the top, with another Mania main event (his first in 12 years) coming up. His legacy continues.
5. Roman Reigns – Nobody in WWF or WWE history has been in more main event matches at WrestleMania than Roman Reigns. This year will mark his 10th time being in the main event spot at Mania, and it’s a record that might stand for a while. He has a very good chance to stretch the lead out before he retires. The closest name that even has a chance to add to their own Mania main event number is The Rock, who currently has seven. John Cena is about to have his sixth Mania main event. Cody Rhodes is about to have his fourth. Seth Rollins is about to have his third. Roman seems like he’s going to own this record for a long, long time. He has seen two completely different characters carry an “era” for the company, and that continues on. An absolute generational talent.
4. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin – Injuries and overall wear and tear kept Austin from having a lengthier career, and that shows with him only having eight total matches at WrestleMania. That’s the same amount of Mania matches as the likes of Tito Santana, Natalya, and Dolph Ziggler. However, there’s no denying the impact that he had in his relatively brief tenure with the company. His WrestleMania debut is going to be inducted in the WWE Hall Of Fame this year as the very first “Immortal Moment” match to go in. The following year saw him win his first WWF Title, and that helped to catapult the WWF to the top of the business again. A year later, we got the first match in the Austin vs Rock trilogy at WrestleMania. These things helped to attach Austin’s name to the WrestleMania name for the rest of time.
3. Hulk Hogan – The entire concept of WrestleMania was built around the insane popularity of Hulk Hogan and Hulkamania. What more needs to be said? For the first decade of WrestleMania, Hulk was synonymous with the show, allowing him to carry the brand to unheard of heights. Then, after a run with WCW, Hulk was able to return “home” and have an entirely new act in his career. His WrestleMania 18 match against The Rock will be remembered forever. The story he had in the lead up to his match with Vince McMahon at Mania 19 was a lot of fun to watch unfold. Without Hulk Hogan, would we even be having this conversation right now? Chances are, we wouldn’t be.
2. The Undertaker – Let’s do a quick word association. When I say “WrestleMania,” what’s the first word or phrase that comes to your mind? For me, it’s “The Streak,” and it’s not even close. The Undertaker won 21 consecutive matches at WrestleMania. Triple H is the only man in history to even wrestle 21 or more overall matches at WrestleMania, but Taker won 21 straight. In that initial span, he only missed WrestleMania 10 and 16. The Streak reached mythical levels, turning into something special on a yearly basis, with various wrestlers delivering their “A” games to try and knock him off, and it became arguably the biggest reason to order WrestleMania on pay-per-view or buy a ticket to attend the show in person.
1. Vince McMahon – You’re kidding yourself if you have anyone else in the top spot here. WrestleMania is Vince McMahon’s creation. We literally wouldn’t be having this talk without Vince, because WrestleMania wouldn’t exist, and there’s a good possibility that the company, as a whole, wouldn’t exist. Vince saw the territory system in pro wrestling was too dated, and he came up with some wild and radical ideas to modernize the sport, aiming for a complete global takeover. No matter what you think of him on a personal level, or what he ended up doing to his professional legacy, there simply isn’t anyone that has ever been more important in the history of WrestleMania.
What do you think of my list? Obviously, I’m not going to ask you to list your 41 most important people in WrestleMania history, but do you agree with the choices I made? Do you think I made a mistake not including so-and-so? As always, feel free to hit me up in the comments section below, or on Bluesky (@aaronhyden.bsky.social), and let me know what’s on your mind.
Now, let’s get to my Weekly Power Rankings, followed by the list of songs I was listening to as I put this week’s column together.
Weekly Power Rankings
Kenny Omega vs “Speedball” Mike Bailey vs Ricochet: Amazing, amazing work from all three men here. They all had chances to look strong, and neither Speedball nor Ricochet were hurt by losing. I need to hurry up and finish this column so that I can go back and watch the match again.
Will Ospreay vs Kevin Knight: This match was put together really well. Knight was never going to win, but he looked great, showing that he could have a very bright future with AEW. Of course, Tony Khan doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to booking his “flavor of the week” signings beyond their first few weeks, so we’ll see, but “The Jet” is talented enough to be a star in front of a new, larger audience.
Cody Rhodes & John Cena: Promo wise, Cena easily “defeated” Cody this week. His line about how he makes empires for billionaires, and all that Cody has done is steal money from their kids… that was fantastic. Cody gets the praise here for coming out on top with the first physicality since Cena’s turn. I’m sure Cena gets that heat back, and will probably do so tenfold, so I’m hyped.
Gunther: It’s about time that we see the REAL Gunther again. He beat Jimmy Uso to a bloody pulp, and put him down in front of a tied-up Jey Uso to get some major heat. There have been a lot of complaints about the build to Gunther vs Jey at WrestleMania, but here’s hoping that the old killer Gunther returning will get things back on track.
CM Punk: I know some people are upset that Punk’s “favor” wasn’t something bigger, but I think it makes perfect sense. Roman Reigns has lost almost everything since his “peak” days. Jey Uso is on Raw. Jimmy Uso has been on Raw more often to help his brother’s storyline for WrestleMania. Sami Zayn requested time off, and that request has been granted. Solo Sikoa turned his back on Roman. The Undisputed WWE Universal Title is in the possession of Cody Rhodes. All Roman had left was Paul Heyman. Punk getting Heyman to be in his corner at WrestleMania officially means Roman has nothing left. It’s the ultimate “mind games” move for Punk. Really good stuff.
Pac, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta vs Adam Copeland & FTR: The match itself was good, but it was overshadowed by all of the rumors that one or both members of FTR was going to turn heel on Copeland. Pac, Claudio, and Yuta are a very well oiled machine, and their Trios Title reign has been fun, even though they’ve been alongside Jon Moxley, whose World Title reign has been almost universally panned.
Tiffany Stratton: She needed some big time shots on the mic, because she hasn’t quite matched up to Charlotte Flair during the build to their WrestleMania match. Boy, did she get those big time shots in. I don’t know how much of it was “shooting” and going “off-script,” like the rumors say, but she did well. Charlotte, on the other hand, was thrown off of her game AGAIN by a live crowd. I’ve never seen a wrestler get so flustered so often by crowd reactions. It’s beyond ridiculous at this point, especially for someone who isn’t a “rookie” anymore.
Kelani Jordan vs Roxanne Perez: Roxanne is doing some really fun work in NXT as she waits to get her official and permanent call up to the main roster. She’s going to be a major star on Raw or Smackdown, and I eagerly anticipate seeing her reach the next level.
Motor City Machine Guns vs DIY: The Smackdown tag team scene continues to be deep, and now, we’re going to get The Street Profits defending against Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, which will be a blast. I dig it.
Mark Briscoe vs Kyle Fletcher: Briscoe is in the spot where he’s going to have good matches with everyone, but he won’t pick up many wins against anyone in AEW that is on the main event level. That’s fine. Every wrestling roster needs people like that, obviously.
Adam Copeland vs Claudio Castagnoli: Tried and true booking… these two were going to be on opposite sides of a tag match at the pay-per-view, so have them square off in singles competition on the go-home show. Two veterans doing veteran things.
Iyo Sky vs Rhea Ripley: I may never forgive Paul Levesque for fumbling such an easy win away. Rhea vs Bianca Belair was RIGHT THERE, but things have been overcomplicated to such an extreme extent at this point. Yes, the matches are still good, but that’s not the point. Come on, man.
Jon Moxley vs Swerve Strickland: Things were fine until that absolute dog shit ending. Actually, that’s not right. That’s an insult to dog shit. On one side, you have a champion that nobody cares about, in a story that nobody cares about. The other side features a red hot challenger that fans are ready to see win it all again. Seems like a pretty easy solution, but of course, Tony Khan is Tony Khan, so he fucked it all up.
Braun Strowman vs Jacob Fatu: “The Samoan Werewolf” has now earned a United States Title shot at WrestleMania. Will we get his true coming out party? I hope so. This is the type of thing that could, and should, propel him to the top of the card by the end of the year.
Swerve Strickland & Willow Nightingale vs Jon Moxley & Marina Shafir: Again, it made sense to have a match like this in the build to Dynasty. As an added bonus, it didn’t feature a fucking moronic finish that just pisses people off.
Powerhouse Hobbs & Tomohiro Ishii vs Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher: I know this is asking for a lot, considering who is making the decisions, but it’s time to make Takeshita the next real main event player in AEW, followed by Fletcher reaching that point not too far after.
Adam Cole: The match in which he won the title just missed making the cut here, but congratulations to the brand new AEW TNT Champion. He is picking up momentum after making his return from an ankle injury that ended up being more severe than anyone realized. The man has a cadaver bone in there!
Rey Fenix vs Nathan Frazer: His brother, Penta, has seen a lot of promotion behind his arrival and early days with the company. Now, it’s Fenix’s turn. His debut went really well, and now, we see what is in store for him.
Brody King vs Lance Archer: My math might be off a little bit, but I don’t think Lance Archer has won a singles match in AEW since he defeated Jimmy Valiant in the Cook Convention Center in Memphis back in 1977.
Pac vs Cash Wheeler: Once again, this made perfect sense. They’re going to face off in the Trios Title match at Dynasty, so give them some time to work a singles match on television beforehand. Works for me.
Zaria vs Lash Legend: There’s a whole lotta woman in this match. Good performances from both of them, but man, Lash Legend has come such a long way in a short amount of time. Her in-ring work continues to get better by the week. She might be something special for NXT, and therefore, WWE, in the future.
Shawn Spears vs Ricky Saints: Nobody cares about Shawn Spears in 2025. He’s not terrible in the ring. Just boring as all hell. At least he isn’t the NXT North American Champion anymore. Ricky Saints should bring a much needed spark to the title.
Bandido: He’s the RoH World Champion for the first time since he had to vacate the title in December 2021 after testing positive for COVID. It’s just unfortunate that he won the title in such an incredibly stupid fashion, with an outside referee overturning the initial decision because she was informed that a competitor in the match cheated. Tony Khan really is the worst.
Tyler Bate: I’m not sure if he’ll get any sort of push, but it’s good to see Tyler return from a torn pectoral that he suffered last summer.
This Week’s Playlist: “All The Way” by BigXThaPlug & Bailey Zimmerman… “III” by Sleep Theory… “Caramel” by Sleep Token… “Ecstasy” by Ciara… “under the knife” by Thornhill… “Violent Nature” by Bleed From Within… “In Place Of Your Halo” by Bleed From Within… “Zenith” by Bleed From Within… “The Problem” by Archetypes Collide… “Like A Pimp (Remix)” by Three 6 Mafia, Pimp C & Project Pat… “Ain’t Gonna Hurt Nobody” by Kid ‘N Play… “On A Sunday Afternoon” by Lighter Shade Of Brown… “Another Day, Pt. 2” by Larry June… “Porchlight” by Big K.R.I.T. & Anthony Hamilton… “I Can’t Make It Home” by Devin The Dude & LC… “400 Degreez” by Juvenile… “Cheese and Dope” by Project Pat… “Out There” by Project Pat… “Pimp Of The Year” by Dru Down… “Searchin 4 Peace” by Poetic Hustla’z… “Killing Fields” by Graveyard Shift… “Ain’t No Reason” by Ken Dawg… “Thug Devotion” by Krayzie Bone, Layzie Bone, Ken Dawg, Souljah Boy & Tre… “No Pretender” by Krayzie Bone, Tombstone, Boogie Nikke & Jhaz… “Rumors & War” by Flesh N Bone & Graveyard Shift… “Low Down” by Krayzie Bone & Souljah Boy… “Family Scriptures” by Krayzie Bone, Layzie Bone, Flesh N Bone, Souljah Boy, Graveyard Shift, Poetic Hustla’z, Ken Dawg, II Tru & Tre… “Love Me Tomorrow” by Chicago… “Hard Habit To Break” by Chicago… “Look Away” by Chicago
