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WWE always tries to fill WrestleMania up with the biggest matches possible. Usually, they will be fresh new match-ups, but there have been times when the company has repeated the same match at a different WrestleMania.
A few rationales go behind the decision to book a rematch from a previous edition of the event. WWE has usually them after the original proved to be a great success. Others happened so the company could right a wrong from a few years prior.
WWE's success with these rematches has varied. Some of them have lived up to - and even surpassed - their previous matches. However, a few did not reach the same level they did the first time around.
Here are five WrestleMania rematches that were better than the original, and four that were worse.
#9 Rock vs. 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin at WrestleMania 17 (Better)
The Austin-Rock trilogy is among the greatest stories in WrestleMania history. The two WWE legends did battle with each other at three alternating 'Manias during the company's biggest boom period.
'Stone Cold' Steve Austin defeated The Rock at WrestleMania 15 in what was a great match. However, they surpassed it by some distance two years later. Their main event of WrestleMania 17 was iconic, both by design and in execution.
For starters, it happened right when WWE hit its peak. Vince McMahon bought WCW and the 2001 edition of the Show of Shows was seen as the perfect swansong for the Attitude Era. There was no other way to mark the occasion than to put the two biggest stars in WWE history against each other in the main event.
The video package put together for the match was outstanding, with "My Way" by Limp Bizkit providing the perfect soundtrack. What followed was even better, as Rock and Austin put on an intense back-and-forth No Disqualification Match. They went nearly 25 minutes before Vince McMahon showed up.
The Texas Rattlesnake won the match and the WWE Championship, with help from the Chairman of WWE. He turned heel and effectively ended the Attitude Era, with the moment living in infamy to this day. Still, the match was excellent - the best of the trilogy.
The Rock defeated Steve Austin in the latter's final match at WrestleMania 19 to round out the series. It was typically great, but the 2001 encounter stands above all as the greatest match of the most iconic trilogy in WrestleMania history.
#8 Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant at WrestleMania 4 (Worse)
The match between Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant at WrestleMania 3 was by no means an in-ring classic, but it remains legendary. The two icons clashed in a big-time main event, drawing over 93,000 fans to the show. Hogan's bodyslam on the '8th Wonder of the World' was hugely significant for the evolution of WrestleMania.
However, WWE was unable to recapture the magic a year later. Hogan and Andre clashed during the world title tournament at WrestleMania 4. Their match ended in a double disqualification, with both stars being eliminated. It felt pretty throwaway for a match that defined the legacy of the event.
This paled in comparison to the previous year's showdown, largely because of the lack of a true standout moment. Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant at WrestleMania 3 was essentially a moment disguised as a match. The rematch was just an angle to move the tournament forward.
#7 Dudley Boyz vs. Hardy Boyz vs. Edge and Christian at WrestleMania 17 (Better)
It would take an insane amount of effort for the Hardy Boyz, the Dudley Boyz and Edge and Christian to surpass their Triangle Ladder Match at WrestleMania 16. The three teams did so at SummerSlam 2000 in the first-ever TLC Match. They then took it to another level at WrestleMania 17.
TLC 2 remains one of the greatest matches in 'Mania history thanks to its incredible innovation, the risks that were taken and the chaos that ensued.
Some of the most legendary spots include Jeff Hardy's Swanton Bomb from the top of a huge ladder, Bubba Ray Dudley and Matt Hardy going through four stacked tables at ringside, and of course, that spear from Edge. Enough said.
The effect of the match was felt on all six participants, as they put their bodies on the line in incredible fashion.
#6 The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 26 (Worse)
This isn't a slight on the Career vs. Streak match at WrestleMania 26 at all. In fact, that match was excellent. However, it was not as good as the original. The Undertaker defeated Shawn Michaels one year prior at the Grandest Stage of Them All, in what was possibly the greatest match in WrestleMania history.
The whole basis of the Deadman's feud with HBK in 2010 was the classic they shared at 'Mania 25. Michaels was so desperate for a rematch with 'Taker, it was eating him up inside. Their storyline heading into WrestleMania 26 was definitely better, but not the match.
The two of them could have done the impossible and exceeded their previous match, but Undertaker suffered a leg injury early on. He still carried on and put on another fantastic match in his WrestleMania Streak.
#5 The Undertaker vs. Triple H at WrestleMania 27 (Better)
One year after retiring Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker took on Triple H at WrestleMania 27. It was a rematch from their first encounter at the Show of Shows, ten years prior.
The match at WrestleMania 17 was unique, thanks to much of the action taking place outside the ring. However, The Game and The Deadman overtook that effort with a No Holds Barred classic. It was brutal, with both stars pulling out all the stops.
Triple H hit three Pedigrees and multiple chair shots. He even hit 'Taker in the head with the chair before executing a Tombstone Piledriver of his own. Of course, the Deadman reigned supreme after making The Game tap out Hell's Gate. The match took so much out of him that he had to be carted out of the arena.
The Undertaker proceeded to have an even better match with Triple H at WrestleMania 28, inside Hell in a Cell with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee. It tied all of the last few years of 'Mania classics together perfectly.
#4 Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 34 (Worse)
Going from The Undertaker to the two men who hold WrestleMania victories over him, Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns have an interesting history. They faced each other at two different 'Mania main events, both of which saw Reigns get viciously booed by fans.
The Tribal Chief's WrestleMania 31 match against Lesnar was incredible. It was a violent slugfest, enhanced by the news of The Beast staying with WWE. The two stars destroyed each other before Seth Rollins came in. He cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to make it a triple threat and won the WWE Championship.
WWE tried to crown Reigns against Lesnar three years later, but the match was emphatically rejected by the fans. The in-ring work was similar to their previous match, but it wasn't as unique anymore.
Also, Roman Reigns winning seemed like a foregone conclusion. Even with the swerve of Brock Lesnar retaining the Universal Championship, the main event of WrestleMania 34 was a major flop.
#3 Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg at WrestleMania 33 (Better)
While Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 34 was poor, the former's worst 'Mania match came in 2004. He took on Goldberg in a match that had zero passion and zero consequences. Both Superstars left WWE following WrestleMania 20, rendering the match utterly pointless.
The rabid Madison Square Garden crowd that night rejected both the men and the match. Lesnar and Goldberg got a chance to redeem themselves 13 years later. Following a successful 86-second squash at Survivor Series, the two-time Universal Champion looked to slay The Beast again.
Goldberg and Brock Lesnar engaged in a violent brawl that only featured German suplexes, F5s, spears, and Jackhammers. It went on for less than five minutes and lit up WrestleMania 33. It is the most remarkable improvement seen in a WrestleMania rematch from its original encounter.
#2 John Cena vs. The Rock at WrestleMania 29 (Worse)
The 'Once in a Lifetime' match between John Cena and The Rock at WrestleMania 28 was truly memorable. It may have been the biggest match in 'Mania history. However, the events of the following year diluted it. Booking Cena and Rock to face each other twice was completely unnecessary.
There was no way the sequel would match up to their epic first encounter, even with the addition of the WWE Championship. The match was predictable as hell and there were no surprises at all. It ended with a finisher-fest from both men, ultimately won out by the 16-time world champion.
Perhaps the rematch between The Rock and John Cena would have been much better had the latter turned heel. The entire three-year plan from WrestleMania 27 to WrestleMania 29 was a bad idea, as it stunted the growth of rising stars during the period.
#1 John Cena vs. 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 36 (Better)
One year after beating The Rock at WrestleMania, John Cena went over Bray Wyatt. It was the first of many big mistakes WWE made with The Eater of Worlds. He had a lot of momentum heading into WrestleMania 30, but it was compromised in favor of Cena getting another big moment at the Showcase of the Immortals.
The match was not bad, it was just disappointing. WWE ended up righting this wrong six years later, as the Leader of the Cenation stepped inside the Firefly Fun House. He relived various significant plot points of his career, with Wyatt pulling the strings.
It was a fantastically layered deconstruction of everything that was wrong with Cena, from his 2002 debut all the way to his parallels with Hulk Hogan, and the heel turn that never was. The Firefly Fun House featured loads of easter eggs and little nuggets that rewarded long-time WWE fans.
In the end, The Fiend laid John Cena to rest with Sister Abigail and the Mandible Claw. His own promo about the "most overvalued, overhyped and overprivileged WWE Superstar in existence" was played in the background. It was masterful.
The company could do the same thing this year, with The Fiend taking on Randy Orton at WrestleMania 37.
