Our Definitive Ranking of the Greatest WrestleMania Events Ever

This Sunday, all eyes will be locked in on MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The WWE will be celebrating its 35th year of the “granddaddy of them all,” WrestleMania. With countless WWE legends from the past and present creating iconic moments in the ring, it is only right I get the chance to walk in the footsteps of Good Ol’ J.R. and provide you with a rundown of the top three greatest WrestleMania events of all time.

March 29, 1987, can be marked in history as the day WrestleMania found its swagger and voice in the sports entertainment realm. The legend of Ricky Steamboat was born when he unexpectedly countered Randy “Macho Man” Savage’s scoop slam with a pinfall to become the new Intercontinental champion. But it wasn’t enough, as Hulk Hogan stole the show with his epic showcase of strength by power slamming the 520-pound André the Giant. He followed it up by landing his signature leg drop and a pin to retain his WWE heavyweight title belt.

Hulkamania was alive and running wild, brother!

With “the baddest man on the planet” Mike Tyson having his boxing license revoked thanks to his controversial biting of Evander Holyfield’s ear, Tyson decided to step into another ring and become a special guest enforcer of one of the best rivalries in WWE history. With Tyson already establishing his loyalty to D-Generation X, home of WWF heavyweight champion Shawn Michaels, the crowd assumed that “Stone Cold” Steve Austin would be screwed. But once they saw Tyson deliver one of the fastest three-counts in WrestleMania history, people were in awe as the world began to become witnesses of the “Austin 3:16” era.

“If you like this knockout punch by Iron Mike...GIMME A ‘HELL YEAH!’”

New Orleans was the place to be to witness a historic joyride for the ages with the birth of a movement and the death of an era. Fans took in a lot of first-time moments. For starters, Daniel Bryan made history as the first wrestler to win two matches, including a triple-threat match, to become the new WWE heavyweight champion while being severely injured. The Yes! Movement was fully intact, but it didn’t outweigh one of the biggest upsets in sports history.

The Undertaker’s epic defeat to Brock Lesnar not only put an end to one of the biggest streaks in the sport’s history but was also the buildup to the last days of fans getting to see the Deadman’s iconic moments on the “grandest stage of them all.”

By the way, we can’t forget the fact that it was the birth of one of the most accurate memes in social media history.