10 Greatest WrestleMania storylines in WWE History

WrestleMania is often called 'the showcase of the immortals.' The WWE plans for some of the best storylines heading into Wrestlemania owing to the reputation the pay-per-view has set in its three-decade course.

WWE storylines during the WrestleMania season, their biggest show of the year, are often head scratching. Take, for example, the 2019 Mania. While WWE was slowly making a mess out of what could have been the greatest female rivalry in the history of the company, they have also, out of nowhere, recreated another magical underdog story with Kofi Kingston and Daniel Bryan.

Similarly, while booking Kurt Angle in a retirement program with Baron Corbin is a horrific idea, a feud between Randy Orton and AJ Styles focussing on their career paths is a stroke of genius. WWE usually tries to bring out the best product it has to offer during WrestleMania season and this results in some of the most iconic Mania storylines as well.

As WWE moves one step forward in its build to Mania 38, here are the 10 greatest WrestleMania storylines in the history of WWE.

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#10 McMahon vs McMahon, Father vs Son (WrestleMania X-Seven)

There is a reason why fans get agitated with every McMahon vs McMahon storyline nowadays, and that is because the organization presented the very best version of it way back in 2001. Back then, it was not just a rivalry over issues like control of Raw and Smackdown, it was about doing the right thing when everything around you was going the wrong way. It was a war between a Father and a Son. It was Mr. McMahon vs Shane McMahon.

Vince's alleged affair with Trish Stratus and his desire to leave Linda McMahon (who was in a supposed unconscious state till Mania) for Stratus forced Shane to return and defend his mother's honor by challenging his father to a match at Mania. However, the feud took a whole new turn when Shane, from under the nose of his father, bought WCW and gave Vince a new reason to hate him.

The image of Shane McMahon announcing the acquisition of WCW on WWE television while being live on WCW Nitro's final episode is still one of the most iconic images in WWE history. Even though the Invasion storyline that followed this one still invokes mixed opinions from fans, this WrestleMania rivalry is the perfect example of how good the WWE product was back during the Attitude Era.

The McMahons have never shied away from putting on a show and this was just another example of the fabled family feud.

#9 Indestructible Force meets Immovable Object (WrestleMania 3)

In early 1987, Hulk Hogan was in his third year as the WWF Champion and the company was running out of heel superstars to challenge the Hulkster. The only option left for them was to turn one of their popular superstar against Hogan, and they went with the guy who was undoubtedly as popular as The Champion - Andre The Giant - and kick-started one of the most popular rivalries in WWE history.

Beginning out of jealousy on an episode of Piper Pit where both Hogan and Andre were awarded trophies for their respective achievements, this rivalry became more personal when Andre joined hands with Bobby Heenan and confronted Hogan on another episode of Piper's Pit.

In one of the most memorable backstage segments, Andre challenged Hogan to a match at WrestleMania by ripping his T-Shirt and crucifix necklace. And just like that, the stones for the biggest wrestling rivalry at that point got laid. Even their contract signing segment was enough to pump the excitement to a new level. While their match, and that Body Slam, were great, one cannot forget the emotion involved during the build for this mammoth encounter.

This was a classic example of how to build a storied rivalry between two of the biggest 'baby-face' superstars of their era.

#8 Flair's Last Hurrah (WrestleMania XXIV)

As one of the greatest to have ever graced the squared circle, Ric Flair achieved everything in his over three-decade-long career in the wrestling industry. In late 2007, despite being in the twilight of his career, he wanted to wrestle for as long as he could. Vince McMahon, on the other hand, had other ideas as he gave The Nature Boy an ultimatum - win all your singles matches and keep wrestling, but if you lose, your in-ring career is over.

And with this began a series of matches where Flair, at the age of 58, had to put everything he had to win and keep his career alive. From MVP to Mr. Kennedy, Umaga, even Triple H and Mr. McMahon himself, Flair defeated every superstar that came in his way. However, with WrestleMania 24 approaching and WWE inducting Flair into the Hall of Fame, it became evidently clear that Flair would eventually lose to someone at Mania. But, to whom?

The answer - The Heart Break Kid Shawn Michaels. Putting Michaels over as the best of his generation, Flair got Michaels to agree for a match at Mania 24 and initiated a memorable feud that featured some of the best Mic work by the two veterans. Drenched with emotions and with "I'm Sorry, I Love You" on his lips, Michaels brought an end to this feud with Ric Flair's illustrious WWE career in an all-time classic encounter.

Flair made a ton of appearances in the WWE post this famous bout. But his in-ring career was put to bed.

#7 The Owens-Jericho Bromance (WrestleMania 33)

Chris Jericho is an evergreen living legend, and this is something that every wrestling fan all over the world can agree with. Despite being in the industry for almost three decades and seeing both the highs and lows in his career, the man continues to reinvent himself and enthrall the fans with his majestic talent. Be it as the savior of the world or as the narcissistic villain, Jericho's runs have always had fans craving for more.

But it was during the last leg of his WWE career that Chris Jericho 'The Entertainer' was at his best. Finding a partner in crime and a fellow victimized heel in Kevin Owens, the duo kick-started a run that saw them become the only entertaining storyline on Raw's boring programming. Despite portraying villains, the two got highly over with the fans courtesy of their goofy segments, majestic mic work and Jericho's infamous List.

With both holding a title above their shoulder, things were going pretty well. And then came The Festival of Friendship. Fuelled with anger over Jericho accepting Goldberg's challenge for his title, Owens decimated his former best friend. Jericho retaliated by costing Owens the Universal Title to Goldberg and officially kicked off a dream WrestleMania feud. While there match left a lot to be desired, everything before that was just a pure gem

#6 End of an Era (WrestleMania XXVIII)

The WrestleMania XXVII encounter between The Undertaker and Triple H was, in one word, Brutal. Even though The Deadman somehow managed to win the match, the wounds of the battle were so bad that he couldn't walk out of Georgia Dome on his feet and had to be stretchered out and disappeared from WWE for the rest of the year. His opponent, on the other hand, walked out on his feet like a proud man.

Reappearing after ten months of inactivity, The Undertaker challenged The Game to another match at Wrestlemania. However, Triple H declined the same, provoking the Undertaker to attack the former's long-time friend Shawn Michaels.

The Undertaker also went on to call Triple H a coward and questioned his insecurities of living in the shadow of Michaels. This finally forced HHH to accept the challenge, who suggested a Hell in a Cell match to finally bring an End to an Era.

With so much history between the three superstars, the in-ring segments during the build-up to the WrestleMania encounter were just pure gold. Adding more intensity and excitement was the fact that Michaels, HHH's best friend and Taker's arch-enemy, announced himself as the special guest referee. The emotions built throughout this storyline were quite visible during the match, as the three legends produced a once in a lifetime match in Miami.

#5 The Mega Powers Explode (WrestleMania V)

Breaking up a popular team, by turning one of them on the other, and then having them feud with each other is actually the simplest way of igniting a rivalry, and this is exactly what WWF did with WWF Champion Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan back in 1989. A perfect storyline laid out over the course of one full year, this was easily the best WrestleMania program WWE had ever produced till that point.

After Hogan assisted Savage to win the WWF Championship at WrestleMania IV, the duo started teaming together as The Mega Powers. With Miss Elizabeth as their manager, the dominant trio fought and defeated every single heel tag team in the WWF throughout 1988. However, Hogan's closeness to Miss Elizabeth in early 1989 led to some outbursts from Savage.

Things escalated further when Hogan accidentally eliminated Savage from the Royal Rumble and the two had a face-off thereafter, which laid the foundation stone of a Savage Heel turn. This was solidified when Savage attacked Hogan with the title belt in a medical room, where Elizabeth was being checked. It was the best WWE had ever done with a Mania storyline, and it led to one of the most anticipated bouts in the history of WWE.

#4 The Brothers of Destruction Saga (WrestleMania XIV)

The arrival of Kane at Bad Blood 1997 was easily the best-executed debut moment in the history of WWF. However, what preceded and succeeded the Big Red Monster's debut was an equally phenomenal and surreal part of the long history between The Brothers of Destruction. Beginning as a feud between Paul Bearer and The Undertaker in 1996, this program took a superb turn in the Summer of 1997.

Revealing to the world that The Undertaker had a younger brother who had a burnt face thanks to a fire set by Taker, The Father of Destruction announced that he was coming to take revenge from The Deadman. After costing Taker the Hell in a Cell match, Kane and Paul Bearer challenged him to a match at WrestleMania XIV. With Taker constantly refusing to fight Kane, the duo cost Taker his match against Shawn Michaels at Royal Rumble 1998.

If that wasn't enough, the two locked Taker in a Casket and set it on fire to burn Taker alive. In what can be described as the most spine chilling moment in WWE, The Undertaker made a phenomenal return to Raw from a similar casket and accepted Kane's challenge to a fight at Mani XIV. While there have been a lot of storylines in the glorious history of The Brothers of Destruction, the one preceding Mania XIV easily stands ahead of them all.

#3 The Yes! Movement (WrestleMania XXX)

A WrestleMania program between an underdog superstar and a heel authority figure is always a delight for every wrestling fan. Last time out, Kofi Kingston's feud with Vince McMahon and Daniel Bryan over the WWE Championship is inarguably the best program for the 2019 year's Mania. But Kofi's adversary, Daniel Bryan, can actually lay claim of being the star of the single most popular underdog program in WrestleMania history.

Just look at the video above. It is not just a small group of people standing in the ring chanting for Bryan, it was an arena full of D-Bry fans raising their voice against all the had happened with their beloved hero in the last 8 months. From getting robbed of his title win at SummerSlam 2013 to his surprise exclusion from the Royal Rumble match, it was at this point that fans decided to take revenge from The Authority.

Often called as the night when Bryan hijacked Raw, it was also the night when not only Bryan re-ignited his rivalry with Triple H but also earned an opportunity to be a part of the main event of WrestleMania XXX. On a night where the most prestigious streak in wrestling history died, it was the culmination of this Yes! Movement by D-Bry that was the major talking point at the end of Mania XXX.

#2 Michaels' Obsession with The Deadman (WrestleMania XXVI)

The entire four-year WrestleMania program between The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and Triple H was a piece of gold for the WWE. While we have already talked about how the ending of this period was truly an End of an Era, it was actually the period during the build-up of WrestleMania XXVI that stands out as the most grueling and anticipated part in the 35-year history of Mania.

The all-time classic match between Taker and Michaels at WrestleMania XXV seemed to have brought an end to this decade long rivalry. However, a simple realization at the 2009 Slammy Awards that he lost to Taker forced Michaels to challenge him to another match at Mania XXVI. After Taker, who was the world champion at that time, rejected the challenge, Michaels became obsessed with earning a title shot against Taker.

So bad was Michaels' obsession that when he failed to win the Royal Rumble match, he cost Taker his World Championship. Irate at losing the championship, Taker agreed to face Michaels again but with the same stipulation that his opponent at Mania XXIV went through - Lose the match and your career is done. And the rest, as we all know, is history.

#1 Rock and Austin II

Has there ever been a rivalry more intense and personal than the one between The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin? I mean, the two were constantly at odds with each other between 1997 and 2003 and wrestled loads of show-stealing matches with and without titles on the line. Their trio of WrestleMania bouts is still a specimen of what two superstars can do when they have a phenomenal story between them.

While their bouts at Mania XV and Mania XIX had the perfect heel face dynamics and were on par with their Mania X-Seven match, it was the build-up to the match in 2001 that keeps it not only above their other two matches but also above other Mania main events. It was not just about the WWF Championship, it was about proving who was the best among the two. The iconic pre-match video illustrates this better than anything else in the world.

Things got a little too personal with the addition of Debra, Stone Cold's then-real wife, as the manager of The Rock and Vince McMahon, who eventually played a massive role in the outcome of this match. Given that this match was the main event of Mania X-Seven, a show that is often cited as the ending of the Attitude Era, one can certainly say that WWF put everything that they had at that time in the build-up of this classic encounter.