Ranking the last 5 WrestleMania opening matches

The Showcase of the Immortals is right around the corner and while there is still a degree of uncertainty surrounding the show and whether or not it'll take place, one thing that can't be taken away from fans are the memories of 'Manias gone by.

One of the best things about the Show of Shows, in our mind, is the first match of the night. It sets the tone for what we're going to see throughout the remainder of the evening and, more often than not, it's a slobberknocker of a bout.

Across the last five years, that has certainly been the case with all five of the examples on our list being truly great matches. Of course, some are better than others, and we want to explore why exactly that was the case as we take a trip down memory lane.

#5 Brock Lesnar vs Seth Rollins - WrestleMania 35

Fans were caught off guard in a big way last year when it was announced that Brock Lesnar vs Seth Rollins was going to serve as the first match of the night. Nobody really knew whether or not that was going to be a good or a bad thing, but one thing was for sure: it was going to make some headlines.

In the end, Seth Rollins was able to finally topple The Beast and win the Universal Championship in front of an electric crowd at MetLife Stadium. The reason we've put it at the bottom of the pile, despite it being a great moment, is because it was too short to really be called anything more than that.

They got the job done by getting the title off Lesnar in a quick and decisive manner, and that was what everyone was looking for, anyway.

#4 IC Title Ladder Match - WrestleMania 32

This match was utter chaos with many believing that it was just thrown together at the last minute - probably because it was.

WrestleMania 32 would've looked very different if it wasn't for the many injury problems WWE had to deal with, but even with that being the case, this was still a really entertaining match. It gave us the joy of seeing Zack Ryder climb to the mountain top and win the Intercontinental Championship in a twist that genuinely felt shocking as opposed to manufactured just for the sake of it.

The issue was that this match was more of a carbon copy of the previous year's IC title ladder match than anything else, and in addition to there being far less star power, the execution just didn't turn out quite as good.

Finishing fourth on this list shouldn't be viewed as a insult by any stretch of the imagination, because every single competitor in this was able to shine in one way or another.

#3 The Miz vs Seth Rollins vs Finn Balor - WrestleMania 34

The steady build towards this triple threat showdown in New Orleans was really fun to see, with all three men coming across well in the weeks leading up to the contest.

When it actually went down, they all seemed to connect and flow really well from the first minute all the way through to Seth Rollins finally capturing the Intercontinental Championship. It made the IC title feel important and all three men contributed towards that, with Rollins being the clear alpha, Miz being a great champion and Finn Balor being the dangerous underdog.

All three had special entrances of some description, too, and the value of something like that really can't be understated on a stage like WrestleMania.

'Mania 34 was always going to be a show with high expectations courtesy of WM30, which also took place at the Superdome in NOLA, being such an overwhelming success.

This match was used to generate hype and crown a new champion - and both were done splendidly.

#2 AJ Styles vs Shane McMahon - WrestleMania 33

The reason we've placed this so high isn't just because very few people thought it'd be as good as it actually was but also because it's a great match in its own right.

For the first time in a long time, Shane McMahon didn't need any insane spots in order to get himself over or have a strong showing. He was put in there with one of the best in the world after building a really intriguing story for months, and in the end, it just worked.

The Orlando crowd was already pumped up after The New Day opened up the show, and this was the perfect choice to follow that segment.

You could almost sense throughout the match that AJ Styles was going to be turning babyface after it was all said and done, but that didn't take away from the clear disdain both men had for one another.

Pro wrestling is all about getting caught up in the madness of it all without thinking too much about the specifics, and they achieved that.

#1 IC Title Ladder Match - WrestleMania 31

Daniel Bryan, Bad News Barrett, Dolph Ziggler, Dean Ambrose, Cody Rhodes (Stardust), Luke Harper and R-Truth. That's one hell of a line-up for a ladder match that really did help to build the sense of fascination around a WrestleMania that had very low expectations heading in.

This was the kind of blockbuster showdown that delivered on all fronts, from fun side stories to great tussles for the title at the top of the ladder.

For a few years fans had been missing the thrill of seeing a ladder match at the Showcase of the Immortals after Money in the Bank was given its own pay per view. In 2015, though, those emotions came flooding back in a match that saw seven guys go out there and put it all on the line in the name of entertaining the WWE Universe.

While the end result - Daniel Bryan's Intercontinental Championship win - didn't really lead anywhere due to his injury problems, it was still one hell of a moment for someone who had been through so much in the previous 12 months.