Ranking The WrestleManias - The Top 10

[hb2k]

This week we are doing the final part in our series of podcasts debating the rankings for all 30 WrestleManias in order, from worst to first in blocks of ten, and would like to get some feedback to read on the shows.

I've written an article on what I feel are the Top 10 (if you're interested in the rationale behind the rankings you can read the article here: http://steelchair.co.uk/ranking-the-wrestlemanias-the-top-10), and want to hear what agreements or disagreements people have with it, what you would rank higher or lower, and most importantly, why.

For those who don't want to read the whole article, the Top 10 as I have them are:

#10 - WrestleMania 30 (2014)
#9 - WrestleMania 28 (2012)
#8 - WrestleMania 20 (2004)
#7 - WrestleMania 23 (2007)
#6 - WrestleMania 21 (2005)
#5 - WrestleMania 19 (2003)
#4 - WrestleMania 14 (1998)
#3 - WrestleMania 10 (1994)
#2 - WrestleMania 3 (1987)
#1 - WrestleMania 17 (2001)

We'll be debating the order on the shows and reading your responses and crediting you accordingly, so what do you think?

EDIT - The podcast debating the list and discussing your comments is now available at the following link: http://squaredcirclegazette.podbean.com/mf/play/er62xj/SCGRadio33-RankingtheWrestleManias-TheTop10.mp3

[loopydate]

Yes! Love the love for X. Yeah, it was mid-Wrestlecrapalooza (Doink and Dink, Men on a Mission, Quebecers, etc.), but it holds up remarkably well 21 years later. Razor/Shawn changed the way the company looked at gimmick matches. Bret finally got his moment after the previous year's Hogan nonsense. The Savage/Crush match was an entertaining little brawl. And, of course, the best opening match in WrestleMania history - and one of the five best matches in Mania history, period - Owen beating Bret clean. Tremendous show.

It's hard to argue with 17 as the best ever. Austin/Rock had a great match (even if the Austin heel run wasn't everyone's cup of tea), Undertaker/HHH put on one of the first GOOD streak matches, the TLC match is probably the best tag match in Mania history, Angle/Benoit, Jericho/Regal, hell even Vince/Shane was great. Top to bottom, this is definitely the best Mania, even if nostalgia makes me LIKE 10 more.

[Innovator]

Being live for Mania X, and only being 10, I didn't appreciate how fucking good Owen and Bret was

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>I'm struggling to see WM 17 ever getting dethroned, honestly. It capped off the hottest period in wrestling, loads of good matches, and the crowd was red hot for everything. Even the low card matches that weren't meant to be anything big (RTC vs. APA and Tazz, for example) still did its job to get the crowd into it. The only "bad" match per se was the battle royal but that really doesn't count. Yes the match itself was shorter than the entrances, but the entrances were the entire point. It was about taking a trip down memory lane.

Although very good Manias are certainly possible in today's landscape (WM 30 is in my top 5) I'm not sure a Mania will ever be as complete as 17.</font>

[Big Vic]

#10 - WrestleMania 30 (2014)
#9 - WrestleMania 28 (2012)



The only problem I have with this WrestleMania is that Big Show vs Cody should have went 18 seconds no Bryan and Sheamus


#8 - WrestleMania 20 (2004)
#7 - WrestleMania 23 (2007)



How is WM23 in the Top 10? When people look back at this Mania do they remember the Cena/HBK match from Raw a month later instead of the snooze fest they had in this main event? This show was garbage and forgettable. I was really angry they blew Edge's WM win streak in the opener. Lashley vs Umaga was a fun match but that hardley makes up for the rest of the show.


#6 - WrestleMania 21 (2005)



I didn't like this Mania because for the longest time I knew Batista would win. There is no problem with that in of itself, but I felt like he was not the person HHH should put over since his batista's mic skills were so awful at the time. I dreaded hearing Batista promos each monday night following WrestleMania.


#5 - WrestleMania 19 (2003)
#4 - WrestleMania 14 (1998)
#3 - WrestleMania 10 (1994)
#2 - WrestleMania 3 (1987)
#1 - WrestleMania 17 (2001)

[NormanSmiley]

WM10....GTFOH!

[hb2k]

Would like to hear the argument against X actually, if you wanted to give it - I know what it is, but would like to read it on the show since X is fairly polarising...

[NormanSmiley]

manias 9-13 go in the bottom on general principal of the company being in a horrible transition of not knowing how to put their key players in the right situations.


9 and 11 are the absolute pits and to think 10 sandwiched in between those two was a homerun is ridiculous. anytime VKM is the voice of a mania it also sucked

[DAMN iNATOR]

WM XIX has no place being on this list...Austin v. Rock was cool, but that was it.

[Bad News Gertner]

Looking back at it, Wrestlemania 19 is hands down the best Wrestlemania of all time

[Bad News Gertner]

manias 9-13 go in the bottom on general principal of the company being in a horrible transition of not knowing how to put their key players in the right situations.


9 and 11 are the absolute pits and to think 10 sandwiched in between those two was a homerun is ridiculous. anytime VKM is the voice of a mania it also sucked

13 was pretty good

[Corndad]

14 and 23 should be lower. 19 should be higher, so should 30.

I agree with the rest.

[Shisen Kopf]

I was at WM23. Therefore that is the best of the bunch. But, how in the hell is WM23 ranked higher than WMX8? Actually, this has given me a great idea for a thread.

[hb2k]

I hate WrestleMania X8. With a passion.

[XL]

WM XIX has no place being on this list...Austin v. Rock was cool, but that was it.

Jericho/Michaels
Angle/Lesnar
Vince/Hogan

I'd say otherwise.

[Big Vic]

WM XIX has no place being on this list...Austin v. Rock was cool, but that was it.
What are you talking about 19 was great, The Angle/Lesnar build was awesome and the only thing that was bad was that HHH vs Booker T didn't feel WM worthy.

[NormanSmiley]

plau Matt hardy was at his peak @ mania xix

[The Condor]

Any combo of 17, 19 and 14 for me in the top 3. Honorable mentions for 3 and 20

[XL]

plau Matt hardy was at his peak @ mania xix

Yes. I was going to go to say "A great opener between Hardy and Mysterio, and the Tag Team Championship Triple Threat were also very good", but I felt listing the other 3 top matches was sufficient enough.

[Emperor Smeat]

List is good.

Would have Mania 20 and 30 being higher in the rankings. Enjoyed those Manias more so Mania 20 at #6 and Mania 30 at #7.

[Bad News Gertner]

Jericho/Michaels
Angle/Lesnar
Vince/Hogan

I'd say otherwise.

Vince vs Hogan was such an overbooked mess, but my God was that fun.

Looking back at it, you could argue Hogan had the most enjoyable match at Wrestlemania 18 and 19.

[NormanSmiley]

Looking back at it, you could argue Hogan had the most enjoyable match at Wrestlemania 18 and 19.



no, you couldn't

[Big Vic]

List is good.

Would have Mania 20 and 30 being higher in the rankings. Enjoyed those Manias more so Mania 20 at #6 and Mania 30 at #7.
I think Wrestlemania started going down hill at 21 and then back up at 27.

[NormanSmiley]

I think Wrestlemania started going down hill at 21 and then back up at 27.



for me it was 22-29, too much main event Cena

[XL]

Vince vs Hogan was such an overbooked mess, but my God was that fun.

Looking back at it, you could argue Hogan had the most enjoyable match at Wrestlemania 18 and 19.

You pretty much summed up why Hogan/Vince is great.

[Bad News Gertner]

no, you couldn't

Of course you could. Hogan vs Rock was by far the most entertaining match of 18, and Hogan Vs Vince was in my opinion the most entertaining match of 19, but you could say that about a few of the matches on 19.

[hb2k]

Agreed that 19 is a close call - a friend of mine who was in the building said that was the match the live crowd saw as the show stealer.

[NormanSmiley]

anyone who thinks Hogan v. anybody was a better match/show focal point than angle lesnar is a stupid fucking fan

[XL]

They're two extremes of the wrestling spectrum; Lesnar/Angle was a classic "wrestling" match, where two highly skilled athletes competed to see who was best. Hogan/McMahon was a pretty perfect "sports entertainment" match, where the action wasn't crisp, or by any means technically sound, but they told a story and delivered an entertaining show.

I think being able to enjoy both shows that you're a "well rounded" wrestling fan that can appreciate both aspects of the business as it is today.

[NormanSmiley]

Of course you could. Hogan vs Rock was by far the most entertaining match of 18, and Hogan Vs Vince was in my opinion the most entertaining match of 19, but you could say that about a few of the matches on 19.



if you are entertained with anything Hogan touched past 1996 then you are delusional. that big bald fuck couldn't go, and any argument otherwise is you hanging on to your childhood. Rock carried his ass

[Bad News Gertner]

Lol you have got to be kidding.me.

Nom nom nom workrate

[Shisen Kopf]

Work am rate is serious business. Do not knock workrate. WOOOOOO ROH!

[NormanSmiley]

Who said workrate asshat. I said fuck hogan, his age, his bald head, his ego, his fans, canada too

[Shisen Kopf]

Fuck Canada. USA #1. But Hogan is fucking awesome and you are a retard for disliking him. You Idiot.

[NormanSmiley]

Let it go ,brother

[hb2k]

Absolutely love the responses here, and am happy to say I was able to read the majority of them on the show, which is now up to listen to at the following link:

http://squaredcirclegazette.podbean.com/mf/play/er62xj/SCGRadio33-RankingtheWrestleManias-TheTop10.mp3

This ended up being a really fun podcast, breaking down the different elements of all the shows in the Top 10 and strongly debating the order of the list itself, a great final part to the series. Check it out and, as always, let me know what you think!

[loopydate]

Another great 'cast. A little sad to see the Mania series end, but excited to see what comes next. Keep up the good work.

[hb2k]

Much obliged :-) Yeah I know what you mean, the last three weeks has been a lot of fun debating Mania rankings, was really refreshing to get deep into a subject that had far fewer consensus opinions than I expected, pretty much from top to bottom.

[Big Vic]

Next week, ranking all 300 Mania matches.

[Shisen Kopf]

You should rank every Raw episode next. Make it a 75 part series

[hb2k]

Might be a bit more of an undertaking than I'd be able to complete ¬_¬

Best matches list would be fun though...

[Droford]

I'm watching 23 and no fucking way it's better than last year let alone a top 10.

The only redeeming parts were the theme Song Ladies and Gentlemen , which I'd put right behind My Way, and the Cena HBK match which as mentioned gets overshadowed by the match they had in England.

Kane vs Kahli DUD
Ashley vs Melina SUPER DUD
ECW VS PSEUDO ECW DUD
Taker vs Batista meh, the last Taker wm match to not be batshit reversals counters and 2 count crazy though
MVP vs Benoit ok match nothing memorable
Umaga vs Lashley without all the extra sideshow crap no one would have cared and it would have been 5 minutes instead of almost 20
Money in the Bank probably the 2nd best match but it would have suited better no Finlay or Booker T

[Big Vic]

Yeah I find it odd that it was so high, and they only read one listener comment on air. I am guessing all the other listener comments were also saying it should be out of the top ten which is why they were not read.

[hb2k]

23 got some love on a couple of the boards if I recall correctly, but if the feedback consists of just listing the great matches without any additional insight I won't read it, which is why I stuck with the one I read, which pretty much said everything. Here's a couple from the PWO message board:

BenjaminKicks - "My #4 is Mania 23 (2007) Everything here besides Kane/Khali is at least solid. The Money in the Bank is good, the battle of the billionaires is goofy fun, and both world title matches are great."

BigBadMick - "I'm a 17 at no1 and 19 at no2 guy. Possibly 30 at 3, then 23 as my top 4."

On the F4W Board a couple of people who wrote their own Top 10 lists in response both had it in there around the same spot as me too, but I didn't read any of that.

14 was far more criticised as a Top 10 pick than 23, and people felt strongly about 30 being higher, and I read all that on the show, so by no means am I shy about the differing opinions, to me that's the fun of the discussion. I will say that I while I love the one hour match on Raw with Michaels/Cena too, I couldn't call the Mania match a snoozefest by any stretch.

Out of curiosity, which ones would you put Top 10 in its place?

[Big Vic]

You should have read my comment ;), I think your top 5 is solid and would not rearrange that without rewatching each again But I would Rank 10-5 like this:

#10- WrestleMania 12
#9 - WrestleMania 16
#8 - WrestleMania 28 (2012)
#7 - WrestleMania 20 (2004)
#6 - WrestleMania 30 (2014)
#5 - WrestleMania 19 (2003)
#4 - WrestleMania 14 (1998)
#3 - WrestleMania 10 (1994)
#2 - WrestleMania 3 (1987)
#1 - WrestleMania 17 (2001)

I would stick 18 in there (at #7) but i would be biased because I was there an I'm an nWo/DDP mark.

[Jazzy Foot]

Whichever one had the largest combined booby size of all the Divas on the card