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WWE WrestleMania is WWE's biggest show every year. The event marks a "season finale" for the company after 12 months of storytelling. Some of the biggest matches and stories culminate and take place on the grandest stage of them all.
Historically, the main event of a WrestleMania pay-per-view will be a match for a WWE World Championship. Titles such as the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, WWE Universal Championship and WWE Women's Championship are the pinnacle of a professional wrestler's career. So, it makes sense that the biggest show of the year features such a prestigious title in its main event.
However, there have been rare occasions where the WrestleMania main event doesn't feature a World Championship match. Instead, a personal rivalry, dream match or celebrity attraction takes's the place of the World Title.
Let's take a closer look at 5 non-title WWE WrestleMania main events.
#5 Bam Bam Bigelow vs Lawrence Taylor (WWE WrestleMania XI)
The major storyline heading into WrestleMania XI featured WWE Superstar Bam Bam Bigelow feuding with NFL legend Lawrence Taylor.
After losing in the finals of the WWE Tag Team Championship tournament at the 1995 Royal Rumble, Bam Bam Bigelow was incredibly frustrated with the jeers from the WWE Universe. Bigelow lashed out by shoving NFL star Lawrence Taylor, who was at ringside watching the pay-per-view.
Instead of apologizing, Bam Bam Bigelow challenged Lawrence Taylor to a match at WrestleMania XI.
WWE Champion Diesel defended the WWE Championship against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XI. Regardless, the decision was made for Bam Bam Bigelow vs Lawrence Taylor to be the main event of the show due to its mainstream press coverage.
After hitting Bam Bam Bigelow with a flying forearm from the second rope, Lawrence Taylor got a shock upset win in his WWE in-ring debut.
#4 The Undertaker vs AJ Styles (WWE WrestleMania 36)
WWE WrestleMania 36 was the first ever WrestleMania event to be split into two nights across an entire weekend.
Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, WrestleMania was moved from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida to the WWE Performance Center in front of zero fans on a closed set.
This meant WWE had to become more creative for some of their planned WrestleMania 36 bouts. One such match affected was The Undertaker vs AJ Styles.
Planned initially to be a regular match at Raymond James Stadium, Styles and Undertaker's bout was changed to a cinematic presentation billed as a "Boneyard Match."
The match was essentially a buried alive match, but also featured several other participants including Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson of AJ Styles' faction, The OC.
The Boneyard Match between AJ Styles and The Undertaker main evented Night 1 of WrestleMania 36, despite the night featuring a WWE Universal Championship match between Goldberg and Braun Strowman.
The Boneyard Match between The Undertaker and AJ Styles was a huge critical success and also marked The Deadman's final performance as an active in-ring performer before his retirement later that year.
#3 John Cena vs The Rock (WWE WrestleMania XXVIII)
WWE WrestleMania 28 saw the culmination of 12 months of promotion and hype between The Rock and John Cena.
After The Rock cost John Cena the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 27 against The Miz, Cena confronted The Great One the following night on RAW. John Cena and The Rock agreed to face each other in 12 months time at WrestleMania XXVIII.
The iconic dream match between John Cena and The Rock was billed as "once in a lifetime" and was set to take place from The Rock's hometown of Miami, Florida.
Despite featuring WWE Championship and WWE World Heavyweight Championship matches on the card, it was obvious that the true main event of WrestleMania XXVIII was John Cena vs The Rock. WWE also wanted to avoid a situation similar to The Rock vs Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8 where, in retrospect, the dream match should have closed the show. So it was no surprise to see the match close out the show.
After an action-packed encounter, The Rock scored a pinfall victory over John Cena after hitting his Rock Bottom finisher for the victory.
#2 Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker (WWE WrestleMania XXVI)
At WWE WrestleMania XXV, Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker faced off in a match widely regarded as the greatest in WrestleMania history.
After a series of false finishes that included both icons kicking out of each other's finishers, The Undertaker defeated The Heartbreak Kid, extending his WWE WrestleMania undefeated streak.
12 months later, Shawn Michaels was desperate to once again challenge The Undertaker on the grandest stage of them all and attempt to break "The Streak". After a series of setbacks, Michaels went as far as costing The Undertaker the World Heavyweight Championship to get what he desired at WrestleMania.
The Undertaker eventually accepted Shawn Michaels' WrestleMania challenge, but under one condition. If Shawn Michaels lost the match, he would be forced to retire. The Heartbreak Kid glady accepted by stating, "If I can't beat you, I have no career."
The WrestleMania XXV re-match was billed as "Streak vs Career" and was arguably the most anticipated WrestleMania rematch of all time. Because of the implications added by the match stipulation, it was impossible for the match not to be the main event of WrestleMania XXVI.
Despite the event featuring matches for the WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championship, Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker closed out the show.
In what was once again a WrestleMania classic, The Undertaker eventually defeated Shawn Michaels, extending his WrestleMania undefeated streak and retiring The Heartbreak Kid in the process.
#1 Hulk Hogan and Mr. T. vs "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff (WWE WrestleMania I)
WWE WrestleMania I was the biggest gamble in WWE history. WWE Chairman Vince McMahon has openly stated that if the event had not been the monumental success it turned out to be, the WWE would have likely gone out of business.
McMahon's vision for WrestleMania saw professional wrestling mixed with mainstream pop culture and celebrity in a way that hadn't been done before in the world of sports entertainment.
For the event, Vince McMahon cross-promoted WWE with the emerging MTV, airing two professional wrestling specials. This included appearances from mainstream stars such as Cyndi Lauper, creating what was known as the Rock n' Wrestling connection between WWE and MTV.
Prior to WrestleMania, WWE's top heel "Rowdy" Roddy Piper chastised the Rock n' Wrestling connection on an episode of his talk show "Piper's Pit". This led to a confrontation with WWE Champion Hulk Hogan on The War to Settle the Score special on MTV.
Hogan won the match by disqualification after interference from Paul Orndorff and Mr. T. Due to this, a tag team match was made for WrestleMania I, pitting Hogan and Mr. T. against Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff.
As this was the angle that the entire event was centered around, and it featured WWE Champion Hulk Hogan, it was only natural that the main event of WrestleMania I was this highly anticipated tag team match.
Mixing celebrity and sports entertainment, Hulk Hogan won for his team after pinning "Mr Wonderful" Paul Orndorff.
