Which Wrestlemania was the greatest from 1-16?

[Paralyzer Z]

Part 2 of the culmination of my Wrestlemania vs Wrestlemania Series!

Vince McMahon created the icon of professional wrestling Wrestlemania in 1985 and has since grown to be the pinnacle of Professional wrestling, the grandest stage of them all. Every Pro wrestler (except Sting) dreams of has once dreamed of preforming at this event. The best wrestlemania is debatable but most guys would chose WM17 as the winner. I already started a thread on the best after 17, now it is time to see which one was the best before 17, the old timers as you would say.

• Wrestlemania 1 (Madison Square Garden)
• Wrestlemania 2 (3 Arenas.. Need I say more?)
• Wrestlemania 3 (Pontiac Silverdome)
• Wrestlemania 4 (Trump Plaza)
• Wrestlemania 5 (Trump Plaza)
• Wrestlemania 6 ( Toronto Skydome)
• Wrestlemania 7 ( L.A Sports arena Yay no staples center!)
• Wrestlemania 8 (Hooiser dome)
• Wrestlemania 9 (Cesears place)
• Wrestlemania 10 (MSG)
• Wrestlemania 11 (Hartford Civic Center)
• Wrestlemania 12 (Arrowhead Pond)
• Wrestlemania 13 ( Rosemont Horizon)
• Wrestlemania 14 (Fleet Center)
• Wrestlemania 15 (First Union Center)
• Wrestlemania 16 ( Arrowhead Pond)

My favorite you may ask? Well it has to go to Wrestlemania 14. Honestly there is nothing that is as important to WWE nor will there ever be as important as Wrestlemania 3, but 14 is MY pick. This list is a lot harder to rank than those in the last thread. Anyway I loved the show, HBK vs SCSA was a classic and milestone match in WWE history. The rest of the event was good and very solid.

The worst? Well first off let me say that I think WM10 is overrated as hell. I did not pay attention to Hart vs Hart simply because I was very young when I saw this on video and not interested in either of the 2. I did not start paying attention until after the opener. Besides the ladder match every other match was average to me. WM10 is not the worst however, that competition is left to both it's predecessor and Successor: WM9 and WM11. I say that while both sucked and that I will not take Hogan's last minute win into account because I enjoyed seeing that, WM9 still wins it for me as the not only the Worst WM before 2001, but of all time. Nothing at all stood out here except for the amazing setting and design to give it flash. That is unacceptable for an event with as much of a heralded reputation as WM.

Rankings
16.WM9
15.WM11
14.WM2
13.WM15
12.WM13
11.WM1
10.WM12
9.WM10
8.WM16
7.WM4
6.WM5
5.WM8
4.WM7
3.WM6
2.WM 3
1.WM14

What is the best Wrestlemania to come before 17?

What is the worst of the same time period?

How would you Rank these specific WM from worst to best?

 

[marklouis]

I'm going to say that 4 was the best, because I'm a sucker for tournaments, & I found the WWF Title tournament to be very entertaining. I also like that Vince made the decision to put the belt on Savage & set up a long-term feud between he & Hogan. There was also a solid tag-team title match on that card between Demolition & Strike Force. And there was a very short match between Mr. Perfect & Owen Hart that, if it had been given more time, would have been a classic.

The worst was either 9 or 11, & it's difficult to choose between the 2. I guess 11 had the saving grace of having a solid title match between Nash & Michaels, probably one of Nash's best matches. But you also had the Lawrence Taylor/Bam Bam Bigelow match, which was awful. As for 9, I can't really think of any redeeming quality from that show. The finish with Hogan/Hart/Yokozuna was awful, & none of the other matches were all that memorable either. So, I'll go with 9 being the worst.

 

[Rockyfolifebo!!!]

Many people would say WM III. It had the savage and steamboat match which many consider to be the best of all time, plus the Hogan/Andre battle which saw the latter get slammed for probably the first time.

I'm going to say, however, that Wrestlemania XIV is the greatest of that time. The golden age had died, and the Attitude Era had just started. That night we saw a highly underrated dumpster tag team match between the Outlaws and Mick and Chainsaw. It was one of my personal favorite tag team matches of all time. We also saw The Rock really break out into more stardom in a match with Ken Shamrock. HHH took on Owen Hart. Kane and The Undertaker finally have their big battle, brother vs brother, for the first time. It was truly something special. Last but no least, there was Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Shawn Michaels. This match was classic! Period. No need to go into detail, just know that at the end a superstar was born and the Attitude Era, (imo), had officially begun!

 

[Pedigree1]

im gonna go with WM7 Remember Debut of the undertaker at WM savage ultimate warrior retirement match!! That WM had appeal emotion and it delivered big time!! Even with the Hogan slaughter match they had to have extra security for slaughter due to him at that time being an american traitor!! That WM was pretty stacked as well i could have done without the blindfold match though

 

[King of the Words]

From BEST to WORST, I would have Wrestlemania's 1-16 in this order.

#1. Mania 3, Hulk vs. Andre with the slam heard around the world. Greatest moment, arguably, in WWE history.

#2. Mania 8, The surprising return of the Warrior blew the roof off the Hoosier Dome.

#3. Mania 9, I just loved the the outdoor feel at Caersar's Palace, and the Hogan surprise win over Yoko to end the show was awesome.

#4. Mania 10, Great ladder match, sibling match, and Lex not winning the title was one of the biggest shockers in Mania history.IMO.

#5. Mania 12, Perhaps the greatest match in Mania history, Bret vs. HBK in a classic IRON MAN Match, with a feel good moment seeing HBK accomplishing his childhood dream.

#6. Mania 7, Warrior and Macho in a great Career Ending match.

#7. Mania 14, Austin wins title for first time, and Undertaker vs. Kane for the first time was epic.

#8. Mania 13, Great match between Bret and Stone Cold which stole the show.

#9. Mania 16, Classic Tag Ladder match and Fatal 4 way main event was cool.

#10. Mania 4, Great tornament for the Championship, with a classic finish.

#11. Mania 6, The Ultimate Challenge having Hogan pinned for the first time at Mania was a milestone in WWE history.

#12. Mania 5, Mega Powers collide with a classic match.

#13. Mania 1, Great main event at MSG, and Andre winning the slam match was sweet.

#14. Mania 11, HBK and Deisel battle for the title, good match, L.T. part was just lame.

#15. Mania 2, Three locations was kinda weird, a decent battle royal, but obvious winner. Steel cage match was okay for the time, and Piper slamming Mr. T. was classic Piper.

#16. Mania 15, Just didn't like the card. Austin vs. Rock was good but the rest was a let down.IMO.

 

[NegativeFeedback]

Although WrestleMania III is probably the most important WrestleMania, it was also one of the worst if we look back and rate the quality of the event, the matches and the outcomes.

The best WrestleMania in promos, wrestling, and overall entertainment value, would have to be WrestleMania X. Bret/Owen was fantastic, as was Shawn and Razor's ladder match. It was also Randy Savage's last WrestleMania which is a big deal in its own right.

 

[Headman]

I'm going to go with VI based on the main event alone. This ppv was the biggest mark out moment of my childhood and the card which some consider weak, to me just sort of flows. WM VI reminds me of a good album with not a lot of hits on it, but one that you can listen to all the way through and never get tired of it. Story telling was key in this one. Andre's face turn, Demolition winning the titles back by doing exactly what Andre and Haku did to them to win the titles, Bossman finishing off Akeem, Jake Roberts in a losing effort getting a measure of payback against Dibiase and cutting one of the best pre-match promos I've ever seen. I know match by match it doesn't hold up, but this is about personal favorites and I don't think anything will ever top it for me.

 

[The Brain]

By 1987 standards WrestleMania III was pure gold. This show was stacked. The storylines may seem a little tame by today’s standards but 1987 was a different and somewhat simpler time. Just about every match had a good build or something memorable take place. There was a blockbuster main event which remains the biggest hyped main event to this day. There was an all time classic for the IC title which redefined the word classic. Add that to the record setting crowd and the unmatched atmosphere in the Pontiac Silverdome and WrestleMania III was damn near perfect.

WrestleMania XV was the worst WrestleMania ever. Pointless swerves and sloppy brawls made this a terrible show. This could have easily been so much better but the creative team was more concerned about shock factor and swerves to than putting on a good show.

As for my rankings:

WM 3
WM 7
WM 14
WM 8
WM 10
WM 5
WM 12
WM 6
WM 4
WM 1
WM 13
WM 9
WM 11
WM 16
WM 2
WM 15

 

[ashe draven]

For WM 1-16 id have to choose WM 12 as my fav. HBK vs Hitman in the Ironman match was legendary imo. Nothing like that had ever been seen before, and frankly, i dont think will ever be surpassed. taker vs nash is very underrated on the card as well..

 

[RicoLen]

My favorite wrestlemania of all time was 7. I loved Mr. Perfect vs Big Bossman with Andre the Giant. My #1 all time favorite wrestlemania moment is Ms. Elizabeth jumping the rails to save Savage from Sheri after he was decimated by Warrior and was forced to retire. Seeing them get back together was awesome after all I watched them go through since WM3, and the crowd was in tears of joy as a result. Nothing will ever match the raw emotion of that match. I was also pretty happy to see Hulk Hogan beat the crap out of the turncoat Sgt. Slaughter. Plus you had Virgil finally standing up against Ted DiBiase.

WM8 really wasn't all that great if you were to just look at the card. It's high points were extremely high however, and the commentary was bar-none the best of any wrestlemania. It was so good that it turned what were really pretty ho-hum matches into highly entertaining segments to listen to. The best example being Tatanka vs Rick Martel, dumb match really, but it was executed pretty well in the ring, and listening to Heenan and Monsoon made the experience absolutely hilarious. The whole time I was just laughing my ass off at those guys.

I would say for pure enjoyment factor WM 5 & 8 were on par with each other. 5 had Monsoon & Ventura on commentary, and while they're not as funny to listen to Ventura had loads of heel personality and brought a ton of credibility to pro-wrestling as a sport, and so every match was discussed in terms of pure competition and it was great. The Blue Blazer vs Mr. Perfect was a surprising high point for me. I'd never seen the Blue Blazer before, and certainly didn't know it was Owen Hart, but damn Owen and Perfect put on a great match. Then you had Rick Rude taking the intercontinental championship from the Ultimate Warrior and that match too was a classic in many ways. And finally there was Hogan vs Savage which was simply epic.

I would say the rankings would be something along the lines of:

1: WM 7
2: WM 5
3: WM 8
4: WM 3
5: WM 4
6: WM 14
7: WM 12
8: WM 10
9: WM 1
10: WM 6
11: WM 13
12: WM 15
13: WM 16
14: WM 2
15: WM 9
16: WM 11

 

[Davi323]

Let's see...biggest indoor crowd of all time, biggest main event of all time, between the two most recognizable wrestlers of all time, the biggest show stealing undercard match of all time...hmmm. wonder what Wrestlemania I think is the best? Wrestlemania III is the best.

 

[DanTheMan3:16]

Anyone who says WM3 sucked isnt fan themselves, Hogan vs Andre was truely a wm mainevent that only them 2 could have sold out 93,173 seats. Macho Man vs Steamboat also on the show was imo the greatest wm match of all time.

WM 3 1st
WM 8 2nd
WM 10 3rd
WM 6 4th
WM 14 5th
WM 5 6th
WM 9 7th(Fuck you all)
WM 7 8th
WM 12 9th
WM 13 10th
WM 1 11th
WM 16 12th
WM 4 13th
WM 15 14th
WM 2 15th
WM 11 16th

WM 11 is imo the worst wm of all time, i know people say 9 is the worse, but fuck you all because it was unique and having it in las vegas was a good city for mania, unless harvard ct for 11 with pamala anderson,lt and that stupid kid from home improvement, i mean its good to have celebratites but for fucks sake dont make them the centerpiece of ur biggest show, we wrestling fans dont give a FLYING FUCK ABOUT PAMALA ANDERSON

 

[CH David]

Wrestlemania III for sure, and that can easily be for having what I and a ton of other people would say is the greatest match of all time in Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat for the Intercontinental Championship, as well as one if not the biggest moment in the WWF/E when Hogan slammed Andre. Those two matches/moments alone make it the best. Steamboat and Savage was mastery of the craft, incredible use of psychology and loved the roll up for the win. No flashy move to get the pin. Hogan and Andre were it. Hogan was riding high, but Andre was in his way. How could Hogan win? How could he lift up the Giant? Hell how was he going to knock him off his feet? Phenomenal story in the match with Hogan hurting his back and then coming back and now only slamming Andre but winning the match. Chills when I watch it. Others have great matches and moments, but III is the best in regard to this thread.

 

[Dagger Dias]

The best Wrestlemanias from before 17 were Wrestlemania 3 and Wrestlemania 14. They had awesome cards that delivered from beginning to end. Wrestlemania 3 of course had legendary matches like Steamboat/Savage and Hogan/Andre. Wrestlemania 14 is the one that gets my vote though. Michaels/Austin, Kane/Taker, Trips/Owen, and Rock/Shamrock were all great.

Most of the other Wrestlemania's only had a few memorable matches here and there that stick out, such as the Warrior/Hogan match from Wrestlemania 6 or the Iron Man match from Wrestlemania 12.... The worst easily is 11 because it was awful and filled with matches that did not satisfy, other than Michaels/Diesel which didn't main event yet Bigelow/Taylor did. Wrestlemania 9 is not far behind it, so is Wrestlemania 2. I give them credit for trying something new with holding multiple events at once, but that was a really dumb idea and they were smart enough to not go that route again.


MY RANKINGS:
1. Wrestlemania 14
2. Wrestlemania 3
3. Wrestlemania 12
4. Wrestlemania 6
5. Wrestlemania 13
6. Wrestlemania 4
7. Wrestlemania 7
8. Wrestlemania 5
9. Wrestlemania 16
10. Wrestlemania 10
11. Wrestlemania 8
12. Wrestlemania 1
13. Wrestlemania 15
14. Wrestlemania 2
15. Wrestlemania 9
16. Wrestlemania 11

 

[Viggo]

The Best

Wrestlemania 6

I was 10 years old, and I remember the build for the Ultimate Challenge was UNBELIEVABLE. It started at the Royal Rumbe and continued all the way to April 1. I changed my mind countless times on who I wanted to win the match. I went nuts when Hulk missed the leg drop and warrior splashed him for the quick pin. My cousin, who was so nervous, left the room ten minutes into the match because he couldn't take the suspense. We both went crazy when the Warrior. Brutus Beefcake was also one of my favorite wrestlers at that time, but I thought for sure that he was going to lose to Perfect. I went crazy when he beat Perfect as well.


The Worst

Wrestlemania 13

The whole card sucked except for the Stone Cold/Bret Hart match, which was pure magic. However, that match couldn't make up for the overall shittiness of the rest of the PPV IMO. Even the Diesel/Undertaker match sucked.


Here's my rankings, which I'm sure I'll change my mind about ten minutes from now, from best to worst.

1.) WM 6
2.) WM 4
3.) WM 10
4.) WM 5
5.) WM 12
6.) WM 3
7.) WM 16
8.) WM 7
9.) WM 8
10.) WM 1
11.) WM 14
12.) WM 11
13.) WM 17
14.) WM 2
15.) WM 15
16.) WM 9
17.) WM 13

 

[The Idiot]

The Best

Wrestlemania 6

I was 10 years old, and I remember the build for the Ultimate Challenge was UNBELIEVABLE. It started at the Royal Rumbe and continued all the way to April 1. I changed my mind countless times on who I wanted to win the match. I went nuts when Hulk missed the leg drop and warrior splashed him for the quick pin. My cousin, who was so nervous, left the room ten minutes into the match because he couldn't take the suspense. We both went crazy when the Warrior. Brutus Beefcake was also one of my favorite wrestlers at that time, but I thought for sure that he was going to lose to Perfect. I went crazy when he beat Perfect as well.


The Worst

Wrestlemania 13

The whole card sucked except for the Stone Cold/Bret Hart match, which was pure magic. However, that match couldn't make up for the overall shittiness of the rest of the PPV IMO. Even the Diesel/Undertaker match sucked.


Here's my rankings, which I'm sure I'll change my mind about ten minutes from now, from best to worst.

1.) WM 6
2.) WM 4
3.) WM 10
4.) WM 5
5.) WM 12
6.) WM 3
7.) WM 16
8.) WM 7
9.) WM 8
10.) WM 1
11.) WM 14
12.) WM 11
13.) WM 17
14.) WM 2
15.) WM 15
16.) WM 9
17.) WM 13

Assuming you mean Deisel/Sid...yeah that sucked too. But I don't know how you can say Wrestlemania 13 was worse than 11. Wrestlemania 11 shouldn't even be a Wrestlemania...that's how bad it was. Wait...now I'm looking at your list again, and you have WM 17 at the number 13 spot. Ok, I really need a drink now.

 

[thrashtastic]

My personal favorite, and it's probably because it's the first one I watched, is Wrestlemania XIV. It will forever will be at the top of my list.

 

[HonkyDong Man]

To me it has to be Wrestlemania III. I got in to wrestling just before WM II, so this was the first mania that I got to see the build ups and the feuds in full length.

I remember watching WM III at a friends house (it was taped on an old VHS cassette) but it was just a few days after the event, so it almost felt like it was live. (No streaming in the eighties kids...)

Gorilla and Jesse on the commentary at a chock-full Pontiac Silverdom was just incredible. And the carts witch the superstars were brought to the ring. It all made the event epic.

Watching Rowdy Roddy Piper beat the crap out of Adrian Adonis and with the help of Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake cutting Adonis hair was priceless. I really hated that slob Adonis and see him (and Jimmy Hart) humiliated by Piper and Beefcake made my day.

And the Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat match - need I say more?

And of course - the maint event, what most people paid to see, Andre The Giant vs Hulk Hogan. Epic in every sense of the word. 5 star match? No? Match of the century? Yes!

So - WM III on my part.

 

[rayz789]

To me i say wrestlemania 6 cause Hogan vs The Ultimate Warrior match was a classic in which fans were close to like even of who to cheer for and the match went back and forth and back and forth. I wanted Hogan to win but i had a gut feeling The Warrior will some how win in which he did. The one thing suck about wrestlemania 6 is a disgraceful mix tag match i mean come on fat out of shape ugly women pinning Sherri? For real? But the rest of the matches were really good even roberts vs debiase. My 2nd wrestlemania favorite was wrestlemania 5 with hogan vs savage in a very underrated match. It was a great match imo that live up the hype. The 3rd is clearly wrestlemania 3 in which steamboat vs savage clearly stole the show even though hogan bodyslam andre was awesome. Now the worst wrestlemania of all times? It has to be wrestlemania 11 i mean for real a former giants football player beating a great wrestler a veteran in bam bam in a main event? That was a freaking joke to say the least.

 

[agentmichaelscarn]

I gotta go with WM10. It had two 5 star matches(how many PPV's can say that) in Owen vs. Bret and HBK vs. Ramon, an entertaining match in Savage vs. Crush, the return of Mr. Perfect and Piper plus an emotional finish to the card with the ultimate face Bret Hart winning the title from the Yokozuna. On top of that it had a great atmosphere at MSG.

 

[HBKperfect23]

From best to worst
1) 8 A little biased because it was my first but great WM
2) 6
3) 14
4) 3
5) 10
6) 7
7) 4
8) 5
9) 9 wasnt as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Mainly because of the atmosphere
10) 12
11) 11 I dont hate it as much as most but I have two letters for you: LT
12) 13 This one moves up a few spots if we got Hart/HBK 2
13) 1 This one moves up a few spots if the main event is Hogan/Piper one on one
14) 2
15) 15 I was there and im putting it this low. One match card
16) 2000 0 singles matchs, the main event was on RAW the week before minus one of the 4 guys. Very poorly booked

 

[The Rob]

In terms of sheer match quality, I'll go with WrestleMania X. Bret v.s Owen still stands strong as the greatest opener in WrestleMania history. Bret's match with Yokozuna for the title was also pretty good but whenever I think of WrestleMania X, Shawn Michaels v.s Razor Ramon is what instantly springs to my mind. A true five star classic, that has stood the test of time, almost twenty years later. Absolutely amazing. WrestleMania 14 comes in a close second, mostly because it was simply an extremely entertaining wrestling card and it had a lot of media intrigue because of Mike Tyson's involvement, plus Undertaker v.s Kane was ace.

 

[Jackal960]

My favorite would go between 3 and 4. They were both great and old school. 3 was great because of the card, I know most of those wrestlers might not seem great today, but they were great in my eyes back then. WM 4 was great because the whole event was for the title. It was like a Royal Rumble with many matches where everyone had a chance to win. Excitement, the story, the prize, everything was perfect and unique. If I had to choose I would still choose 3 though. But I liked WM4 a lot.

And for the worst, I am going between 2 and 9. Both choices are because they didn't have the classic Wrestlemania feel. I am not talking about the matches or the cards. What is more important to me is the excitement of watching something special. It is the event of the year and to me, you can't give a wrestlemania feel in daylight like a Tribute to the Troops show, opening the show with people wearing old age costumes. It might be a different and interesting show, but that is not what Wrestlemania is. WM 2 was the same. You can't have a wrestlemania in different arenas and call them one show. You can't divide a wrestlemania into half. You can have bad matches, you can have a weak card, but you should always give that unique wrestlemania feel to the viewers. For the worst, I would pick 9.

 

[HBKperfect23]

WM9 was at ceasars palace. I think that alone gives it the wrestlemania feel. They used different color ropes and it was outside for the first time.

Lets break down the card:
Michaels/Tatanka was decent IMO. They really built up Tatanka huge by letting him pin Michaels on tv twice.

Headshrinkers/Steiners was the tag match of the year.

Bret/Yoko was pretty good but Ill agree the ending with Hogan ruined it

Maniacs/Money INC was what it was supposed to be. Nice to see Hogan/Dibease feud again

Backlund/Razor could have gone a little longer

Doink/Crush, Perfect/Luger, Taker/Giant did suck

It was by no means the best WM ever but I will still defend it over 15 and 16

 

[ShinobiMusashi]

III gets my vote for the best of all time. I don't think it is possible to get anymore epic. Not just Wrestlemania, or wrestling, but anything period. Look up the work Epic in the dictionary, and there should be a picture of Savage vs Steamboat at WM III.

Wrestlemania XV was worse than IX, and XI in my opinion.

1. III
2. XIV
3. IV
4. VIII
5. X
6. VII
7. VI
8. I
9. V
10. XIII
11. 2000
12. II
13. XII
14. XI
15. IX
16. XV