It’s been one week since WrestleMania 33 and the only thing fans can agree on was the fact that it was a better show than WrestleMania 32.
Some fans claim the show was one of the best in years with a lot of memorable moments, while other fans were disappointed and believed the show could’ve been much better if the WWE did things differently
On one hand, AJ Styles, Bayley, Seth Rollins, Naomi, and Kevin Owens had their WrestleMania moments and registered significant wins under their belt. On the other hand, a lot of matches on the show were complete duds that bored the audience and brought down the enjoyment of the show.
Comparing WrestleMania 33 to WrestleMania 32 would be a bit too easy, considering how bad it was. Fans unanimously believe that WrestleMania 33 was superior to WrestleMania 32, but comparing ‘Mania 33 to every ‘Mania of the last decade puts a whole different spin on this year’s show.
Many fans claim that WrestleMania 32 was the worst show ever, but how does it compare to WrestleMania 27? Some fans even claimed that WrestleMania 33 was one of the greatest shows of the last few years but does it really compare to WrestleMania 28 or 31?
This decade has given us 11 WrestleManias and all of them have aspects that make them great, good, or bad. So this article will attempt to see how WrestleMania 33 stacks up against the other shows by look back at every WrestleMania from WrestleMania 23 in 2007 to WrestleMania 33 in 2017.
#11 WrestleMania 27
WrestleMania 27 had a few good matches such as Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio, Randy Orton vs. CM Punk, and Cody Rhodes vs. Rey Mysterio.
The match of the night would be the bout between Triple H and The Undertaker. However, the quality of the matches mentioned above was not enough to erase all the other lacklustre and/or terrible matches that would take place.
A promising mid card match between Daniel Bryan and Sheamus was bumped from the card and moved to a dark match. The Corre, a lesser version of The Nexus, lost a quick match against a random team comprised of Big Show, Kane, Kofi Kingston, and Santino Marella instead of being prominently featured.
Also read: Ranking the 7 greatest WrestleMania sets of all time
The main event of the show was a boring match between John Cena and The Miz that was used to set up the main event of WrestleMania 28 with The Rock.
However, the biggest sin of the show was Michael Cole wrestling Jerry Lawler in a match that was way too long and way too boring. And to make matters worse, Cole won via disqualification after the Anonymous Raw General Manager reversed the decision.
Had the WWE booked the Nexus correctly back in 2010, this entire show could’ve been a lot better and WrestleMania 27 could’ve been the culmination of an invasion angle done right.
#10 WrestleMania 32
While WrestleMania 32 wasn’t bad enough to be dead last on the list, it was a strong contender. The main reason this show gets a pass is because of the matches that were originally planned but didn’t materialise because several top stars were injured.
So while the WWE booked the show the way they did out of necessity, it was still pathetic.
Like any WrestleMania, there were definitely some highlights like the Intercontinental Championship match and the Women’s Championship triple threat. However, the majority of the show was just boring.
The match between Shane McMahon and The Undertaker was too long and only good for a handful of spots, the United States Championship that John Cena worked hard to elevate was relegated to the pre-show, Brock Lesnar vs. Dean Ambrose was a disappointing squash match.
Zack Ryder randomly won the Intercontinental Championship, The League of Nations won a non-title match against The New Day, and Roman Reigns won his third world championship against Triple H in a match that was as predictable as it was bad.
WrestleMania 32 will remain a history-making show for two reasons; their record-breaking crowd that nearly reached 100,000 people in attendance and the fact that it was one of the worst WrestleManias of all time.
#9 WrestleMania 29
It’s a shame that WrestleMania 29 had such a beautiful set for a show that no one really liked. Unlike WrestleMania 32, all their stars were healthy and there was no reason for the show to be as boring and uninspired as it was.
The best matches of the show were The Shield vs. Big Show, Sheamus, and Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H, and CM Punk vs. The Undertaker. Aside from those bouts, the rest of the show had matches that were either too predictable, too boring, or just uninteresting.
Ryback lost his WrestleMania debut against Mark Henry, Alberto Del Rio retained the World Heavyweight Championship in a boring match against Jack Swagger, Daniel Bryan and Kane fought Dolph Ziggler and Big E in a match that no one remembers, and Fandango defeated Chris Jericho in a boring match.
However, all that pales in comparison to the bore of a match that was John Cena vs. The Rock II.
The WWE could’ve booked a triple threat match with CM Punk to change the dynamic, but they decided to stay the course and the results weren’t kind. The Rock sustained heavy injuries and the last 10 minutes of the match were a finish fest that led to Cena winning a boring main event to end a boring show.
#8 WrestleMania 33
While this year’s WrestleMania had a beautiful set and some good matches, there were a lot of bad matches and drawn out encounters that brought the show down.
The highlights of the show were The Hardy Boyz returning to the company to win the Raw Tag Team Championships, Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg, Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho, and the show-stealer between AJ Styles and Shane McMahon. Despite all this good, the bad matches levelled out the show.
The Intercontinental Championship match was terrible, The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal was wasted on Mojo Rawley, neither Women’s Championship match was anything worth re-watching despite the happy endings, the mixed tag team match was bland, Triple H vs. Seth Rollins was slightly disappointing, and Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton was complete trash.
Despite how bad Orton vs. Wyatt was, the match that was the most problematic was the encounter between Roman Reigns and The Undertaker.
Aside from the fact that fans wanted to see Cena, Styles, Braun Strowman or even Finn Bálor face The Undertaker instead, the buildup to the match was lazy with little more than three interactions between the two on TV.
The match featured the return of Jim Ross to commentary and was made ‘No Holds Barred’, but the match was a struggle to watch as Reigns beat down The Undertaker and hit him with several spears to win the match.
After Reigns got his firework celebration, The Undertaker left all his gear in the ring, and the show ended with one of the greatest wrestlers of all time hanging up his boots for good.
#7 WrestleMania 25
WrestleMania 25 was a memorable show for both good and bad reasons.
On one hand, it was the place where one of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all time occurred. On the other hand, there were a lot of matches that just didn’t need to happen or ended with the wrong guy winning. Needless to say, it was a good show, but far from perfect.
The worst part of WrestleMania 25 was the handicap match between Chris Jericho and the WWE Legends, Rey Mysterio vs. JBL lasting 22 seconds, the tag team title unification being bumped to a dark match, the mess that was the Miss WrestleMania Battle Royal, and the disappointing main event that was Randy Orton vs. Triple H for the WWE Championship.
Despite these flaws, there was a lot of good wrestling on the show.
The Money in the Bank Ladder Match was a great showcase that saw CM Punk make history as the first back-to-back Money in the Bank winner. The feud between Matt and Jeff Hardy was a brutal encounter that surprisingly ended with Matt getting the win with a Twist of Fate on a steel chair.
The triple threat match with John Cena, Edge, and the Big Show was a good match that saw Cena recapture the World Heavyweight Championship after lifting both Edge and The Big Show off their feet for the Attitude Adjustment.
Lastly, Shawn Michaels faced The Undertaker in a match so great that it should’ve been the main event of the show.
WrestleMania 25 certainly had flaws, but there were more good matches on the show than bad ones and that’s all you can really ask for.
#6 WrestleMania 23
WrestleMania 23 is another good show that suffers from too much filler and a few too many bad matches. Were it not for those bad matches, WrestleMania 23 could’ve been one of the best shows in WrestleMania history.
The main detractors from the show were the Women’s Championship match between Melina and Ashley, the uninteresting ECW Originals vs. ECW New Breed Match, and the atrocity that was The Great Khali vs. Kane.
With those matches out of the equation, WrestleMania 23 had a lot of good matches that almost made up for the filler and the uninteresting matches mentioned.
The Money in the Bank match was good and saw Jeff Hardy hit Edge with a huge leg drop and Mr Kennedy secure the briefcase, Chris Benoit and MVP had a fine match, and the Battle of the Billionaires was memorable in its own right.
The two best matches on the show were the two world title matches as Batista fought The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship and John Cena fought Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship.
Both were fantastic matches that lived up to the moniker of the Showcase of the Immortals.
#5 WrestleMania 26
WrestleMania 26 was a highly enjoyable show with a lot of great matches and memorable encounters. It had one of the best WrestleMania sets of all time and the show didn’t disappoint.
WrestleMania 26 started with a forgettable tag team match between John Morrison & R-Truth and Big Show & The Miz. It also featured a short and also forgettable match with Rey Mysterio and CM Punk, a boring Divas tag team match, and a long, drawn out match between Vince McMahon and Bret Hart.
On the better side of the show, the members of Legacy competed in a solid triple threat match, the Money in the Bank match was good, Triple H vs. Sheamus was good, the World Heavyweight Championship match between Chris Jericho and Edge was fantastic, and the WWE Championship match between Batista and John Cena was fantastic.
The match of the night was the main event which saw The Undertaker retire Shawn Michaels in a match that takes the cake for best WrestleMania rematch in WWE history.
Many wrestlers don’t get the benefit of retiring on a high note like HBK did, but his incredible performance at WrestleMania 26 was a great way to end his career.
#4 WrestleMania 30
There’s not a lot of bad things to say about WrestleMania 30 aside from a lack of title defences on the main show and a few bad matches.
The worst parts of WrestleMania 30 were The Shield vs. Kane and the New Age Outlaws ending so quickly as well as John Cena beating Bray Wyatt and the Divas Championship match.
Despite these negatives, the positives from WrestleMania 30 elevated the show to one of the best in recent memory.
The show kicked off with Daniel Bryan and Triple H putting on a wrestling clinic to determine who would be added to the championship main event, followed a few minutes later by Cesaro picking up and dumping Big Show over the top rope to win the inaugural Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (when it seemed like it would mean something).
The match between Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker wasn’t anything too memorable, but the finish will live on in infamy as the day Lesnar conquered The Streak and became the 1 in 21 and 1.
Lastly, the night ended on a positive note with Bryan winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and getting the spotlight that fans desperately wanted for him.
#3 WrestleMania 28
If you don’t remember any of the mid-card matches for WrestleMania 28, then it’s probably because most of them weren’t memorable.
Randy Orton fought Kane in a good match with an uninteresting storyline, Team John Laurinaitis fought Team Teddy Long for control of both shows, and Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos defeated Beth Phoenix and Eve Torres.
Of all the mid card matches that occurred, the best one was probably the Intercontinental Championship match between Big Show and Cody Rhodes.
The main reason why WrestleMania 28 is one of the better shows is because of the three headlining matches that made the show great.
The Undertaker and Triple H ended their two-year rivalry in an amazing Hell in A Cell match that saw special guest referee Shawn Michaels hit the Sweet Chin Music-Pedigree combo for a breath-taking near fall.
The match was incredible and the iconic photo of all three men revelling in the crowd’s praise felt like the End of An Era. CM Punk would defend his WWE Championship against Chris Jericho in a good match. The storyline between both men was fantastic and the match lived up to all the hype surrounding it.
The main event of the show delivered an epic encounter between John Cena and The Rock that will go down in history as one of the few dream matches that the WWE brought to life.
#2 WrestleMania 31
The buildup for WrestleMania 31 wouldn’t lead most people to believe that it would be one of the best shows in years. Despite the lacklustre build, WrestleMania 31 was a fantastic show.
The only matches that weren’t that interesting were AJ Lee and Paige vs. The Bella Twins, The Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt, and the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal which was won by Big Show.
Aside from those matches and the finish of Triple H vs. Sting, there wasn’t a single match that disappointed.
The pre-show tag team match was a fantastic bout that got fans hyped up, the Intercontinental Championship Ladder match saw Bryan win the title, Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton was a good match and ended with a beautiful RKO outta nowhere, John Cena vs. Rusev didn’t disappoint, and Roman Reign and Brock Lesnar had a good match to close out the show.
But the biggest surprise of the night came when Rollins made history and became the first man to cash in the Money in the Bank contract and win the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.
Great wrestling, good storylines, and an unpredictable main event placed WrestleMania 31 up there with some of the best Manias in history.
#1 WrestleMania 24
WrestleMania 24 was a fantastic show and is easily in the conversation for one of the best Manias of all time. The WrestleMania set had a good design and the show had one of the best WrestleMania cards in years.
The only matches that weren’t that interesting were the Playboy BunnyMania Lumberjill match and the match between Chavo Guerrero and Kane for the ECW Championship; which lasted 8 seconds. Aside from these two matches, WrestleMania 24 was filled with a lot of good to great bouts.
The show kicked off with JBL and Finlay having an entertaining Belfast Brawl. The opening match was followed up by one of the best Money in the Bank matches of all time which saw CM Punk win the briefcase and begin to make his mark in the WWE.
Batista and Umaga was a good match which saw The Animal defeat The Samoan Bulldozer, the celebrity match between Big Show and Floyd “Money” Mayweather was the best celebrity match of all time, the triple threat WWE Championship match between John Cena, Triple H, and Randy Orton was a solid bout, and the retirement of “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair at hands of Shawn Michaels was an emotional encounter.
The main event featured a great match between Edge and The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship. There was a lot of great run-ins and chaos with The Ultimate Opportunist using every trick in his arsenal to beat The Deadman, only for Edge to tap out to Hells Gate and close out a fantastic show with a fantastic match.
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