Best entrances from the last 5 WrestleManias

As WWE approaches what promises to be the most unique WrestleMania in history, they will be looking at how to can create memorable moments befitting of the event in spite of the trying circumstances.

One thing they will be unable to replicate is the giant spectacle the event has become known for. The pomp and circumstance that usually surrounds the show simply won’t work in a small building made to resemble an empty arena.

When people think of WrestleMania, they think of the over-the-top pyro, the live musical performances, and the grandiose entrances of many Superstars. From Shawn Michaels using a zipline to enter the arena at WrestleMania XII to Undertaker’s eerie arrivals changing the entire atmosphere in a venue each and every year, the way the men and women of WWE have made their way down to the ring has become a major part of the yearly extravaganza.

Recent years have definitely highlighted this fact. As WrestleManias have moved from arenas to giant stadiums, the entrances have scaled up along with them, becoming more and more epic.

With that in mind, let’s look back at the recent history of the event and look at the best entrances from the last 5 years of WrestleMania.

#5 Ronda Rousey (WrestleMania 35)

Last year’s WrestleMania will largely be remembered for its trio of crowd pleasing victories. Wrestling fans have become accustomed to not necessarily getting what they want from WWE, but they got even more than they bargained for last year when Seth Rollins, Kofi Kingston, and Becky Lynch all captured the respective World Championships for which they were challenging.

The latter of the 3 also competed in the historic first-ever WrestleMania main event to feature a women's match. Becky defeated Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey to win both the SmackDown and RAW Women’s Championships.

Despite going on at the end of an extremely long event, the match still felt special. Becky Lynch was the hottest thing in all of wrestling at the time and Ronda Rousey’s mainstream appeal had brought more eyes onto the product.

Special entrances were appropriate in order to match the occasion. While Becky’s was fairly simplistic, it fit her no-nonsense character perfectly, and that was all she needed. The immense crowd support did all the talking for her. Meanwhile, Charlotte Flair paid tribute to her father, Ric Flair, by arriving at the stadium in a helicopter.

However, the most memorable entrance, and best of the night, has to go to Ronda Rousey. The MMA fighter-turned pro wrestler was played to the ring by legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Joan Jett. The live rendition of "Bad Reputation" made Rousey feel like a bigger star than she already was and helped give this historic match a big fight feel.

#4 Shinsuke Nakamura (WrestleMania 34)

Given his current standing in the company, it’s sometimes easy to forget just how special of a performer Shinsuke Nakamura is. He was instantly embraced by the WWE fans when he came to the United States-based company, jumping from New Japan Pro Wrestling. Many Japanese wrestling purists may prefer his old theme song (titled "Subconscious"), but WWE fans immediately took to his extremely awesome new theme, which first debuted when he made his arrival in NXT.

Fans were obsessed with singing Nakamura’s entrance theme every time he made his way down the ramp, so much so that when he turned heel, WWE had to remix his theme in an attempt to stop fans from participating.

As a babyface heading into WrestleMania 34, the Japanese star was on top of the world. Having won that year’s Royal Rumble match, Nakamura was set to compete in a dream match for the WWE Championship against long-time rival, AJ Styles.

While the match itself was good but failed to live up to its massive hype, Shinsuke’s entrance more than met expectations. Alice Cooper’s guitarist Nita Strauss, flanked by a bevy of violinists, played a rendition of his entrance theme as he made his way to the ring.

Nakamura has never felt like more of a superstar during his main roster run in WWE than he did in this moment. It was a memorable entrance and the best of WrestleMania 34.

#3 The Hardy Boys (WrestleMania 33)

There might not have been anything particularly grandiose or spectacular about the Hardy Boys’ entrance at WrestleMania 33, but my goodness, what a moment.

After 7 years away from the company, speculation began in the weeks building up to WrestleMania 33 that the legendary tag team could be making their long-awaited return to WWE. This would have been a monumental moment anyway, but the bizarre ‘Broken Universe’ that Matt had created in his time away had mesmerized wrestling fans and they were fascinated to see what he could do with it in WWE.

From the moment that WrestleMania hosts The New Day came out onto the stage to announce two new surprise participants in the RAW Tag Team Championship Ladder match, fans were on the edge of their seats. Could it be true? Are the Hardy Boys back in WWE?

The New Day teased the reveal perfectly, to the point that when the music finally hit, the whole arena exploded with excitement, boasting one of the most deafening pops in WrestleMania history. It instantly became an iconic 'Mania entrance that will never be forgotten.

#2 The New Day (WrestleMania 32)

The New Day has earned a reputation for being one of WWE’s most entertaining and creative acts in recent years, if not in all of WWE history. Whether it’s pancakes or trumpets, the trio of Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, and Big E can seemingly get anything over.

Therefore, when it comes to WrestleMania, there is a certain expectation they need to meet whether that be as hosts of the event (which they knocked out of the park at WrestleMania 33) or coming up with fun ideas for their costumes and entrances.

This was the case before WrestleMania 32, but WWE did not go for their original idea. Xavier Woods explained on their ‘Feel The Power’ podcast that the guys originally wanted to have a big van that looked like a unicorn drive into the stadium. They would emerge from the backdoors of the van, which would have been made to look like giant butt cheeks. An amazing idea, I’m sure you would agree, but Triple H had an even better idea in mind.

In one of the most memorable WrestleMania entrances of recent times, Woods, Kofi, and Big E emerged from a giant box of Booty-O’s cereal as prize toys. Brilliant.

#1 Rusev (WrestleMania 31)

WrestleMania 31 was a pretty strong show when it came to spectacular entrances. Triple H had his memorable Terminator-themed entrance while Bray Wyatt walked to the ring through a group of creepy, dancing scarecrows. Not to mention Sting’s entrance with the Japanese Taiko drummers, which was strange, but still pretty cool.

Rusev, however, had a tank. Do I really need to say any more?

Prior to his match with John Cena, Rusev had been built up as a monster heel that looked set for a bright future in the company. As such, the Bulgarian Brute was brought into the spotlight in March 2015 in one of the most grandiose manners imaginable. The militant European Superstar rode into the building on an army tank.

In spite of the immense and amazing entrance, the proceeding match would be the beginning of a downward spiral. His unfortunate few months spent across the ring from John Cena, including a loss at WrestleMania 31, ground his momentum to a halt, and he has never quite gotten it back.

Rusev obviously had a brief career revival with his "Rusev Day" gimmick, but through no fault of his own he was launched into the main event spot that many people believed he deserved. The Bulgarian has disappeared from WWE TV recently and many fans believe (or at least hope) that he may be on his way out of the company when his current contract expires.

But hey, at least he can always say he rode a tank into WrestleMania.