It’s hard to believe we’re nearly halfway through the 2020’s already. It feels like 2020 was as long as 2021-2024 combined. One thing that’s kept me grounded against the absurdity of time passing is pro wrestling. And the tumultuous third decade of the 21st century is perfectly reflected in the peak of the wrestling calendar: WrestleMania.
For over 40 years, WrestleMania has been THE spectacle in professional wrestling. WWE’s equivalent of the Super Bowl or World Series. And, like those other events, some are better than others. WrestleMania has certainly felt the impact of the chaos both on and off the screen. From a global pandemic to the company being pried out of the death grip of a dinosaur to sales and mergers drastically altering production.
So let’s take a look back at all six WrestleManias of the 2020s so far. Seeing what each show had to offer, and how the super cards stack up against each other. In this totally factual and objective list not at all driven by opinion.
WrestleMania 36
Well, this is the fault of no one involved. In hindsight, WrestleMania 36 has become a very historically significant show. From the final match for The Undertaker, to the establishment of the two-night format that has been used since. However, the entire show is marred with the depressing silence of an empty warehouse. All thanks to the pandemic.
If only he could’ve heard our applause
Matches and moments that should’ve felt big like Drew McIntyre fulfilling his destiny as “The Chosen One” against Brock Lesnar had everything stripped away from them, feeling like an episode of The Twilight Zone you never want to watch again. But, even with the circumstances, this is a 16-match card where you’re only ever going to go back and watch two of them.
The cinematic matches of AJ Styles vs. The Undertaker in the Boneyard and The Fiend (RIP) vs. John Cena in the Firefly FunHouse are WrestleMania classics. But half the matches on the show would’ve been bad even before the pandemic. Goldberg vs. Braun Strowman. Aleister Black vs. pre-Hurt Business Bobby Lashley. Elias vs. King Corbin, anyone?
Bray Wyatt is forever
The deck may have been stacked against WrestleMania 36, though the show wasn’t a total fold. It stands as the worst WrestleMania of the 2020’s, but I’d wager a bet that there are many WrestleManias before it that are worse.
WrestleMania 41
Recency bias? Maybe. But this was the biggest soulless sellout show since the WCW show Souled Out. A platform for WWE and TKO to brazenly whip their sponsorship deals around to the rousing applause of investors and annoyed sighs of their fanbase.
Never take your eyes off The Genius of The Sky
Now, WrestleMania 41 wasn’t all bad. It gave us two of the greatest triple threat matches of all time in Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins and IYO SKY vs. Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley. But that’s pretty much all the time the show had to dedicate to good wrestling. It distracts from the brand deals, you see. Almost everything else on the show was forgettably bland or unforgettably bad. Except for that Joe Hendry pop.
Jey Uso proving yet again he’s the only wrestler who can’t have a good match with Gunther. New Day vs. War Raiders not even being Battleground quality. El Grande Americano vs. Rey Fenix. Tiffany Stratton vs. Charlotte Flair. Logan Paul vs. AJ Styles. Lyra Valkyria & Becky Lynch vs. Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez. It felt less like WrestleMania and more like Raw-stleMania.
CM Punk walks into his first WrestleMania main event
And then the main event. “The war for wrestling” between Cody Rhodes and John Cena being a 20-minute slog of nothing happening until the storybook title reign of The American Nightmare ends at the hands of Travis Scott to the sounds of utter confusion. How do you squander John Cena winning his record-breaking 17th world championship so badly? A huge moment that had all the life sucked out of it.
WrestleMania 37
WrestleMania 37 didn’t suffer nearly as much from the pandemic as 36 did. In fact, this being WWE’s first show with a live crowd in over a year most likely contributed to its spot on this list. As no amount of rain delays could dull how good it felt to hear the roar of the crowd again.
This was only the beginning for Roman Reigns
Like the previous year, WrestleMania 37 is mainly remembered for two good matches: Bianca Belair vs. Sasha Banks, and Roman Reigns vs. Edge vs. Daniel Bryan. However, many of the undercard matches are solid as well. Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre. Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins. Damian Priest & Bad Bunny vs. Miz & Morrison. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn. Matt Riddle vs. Sheamus. All good matches.
Though that’s not to say WrestleMania 37 doesn’t have its stinkers. Braun Strowman vs. Shane McMahon, anyone? How about Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler vs. Natalya & Tamina? Even matches that should’ve been good like Rhea Ripley vs. Asuka failed to deliver. And Randy Orton vs. The Fiend was the final depressing nail in the coffin of WWE’s most interesting character in decades. And, sadly, the last WrestleMania match Bray Wyatt would ever have.
Don’t touch the hair
WrestleMania 37 is far from a bad show, but it doesn’t compare to the upper echelon of WrestleManias. Who knows, maybe having Bayley in a more prominent spot than being punked out by Legends after she carried the company on her back during a global pandemic would’ve boosted it? Regardless, WWE got a do-over in Tampa, and they delivered.
WrestleMania 38
This was the most WrestleMania feeling WrestleMania in years. And, similarly to 36, became a lot more historically significant in hindsight. Being the final WrestleMania under Vince McMahon’s control. As well as the WWE return of Cody Rhodes, who would essentially become the main character of wrestling in less than a year.
From undesirable to undeniable
WrestleMania 38 was a variety show that had something for everyone. A perfect mixture for the first WrestleMania with a proper full attendance since WrestleMania 35. Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair, Seth Rollins vs. Cody Rhodes, and RK-Bro vs. Alpha Academy vs. Street Profits were in-ring marvels. The Miz & Logan Paul vs. Rey & Dominik Mysterio and Pat McAfee vs. Austin Theory were surprisingly fun. And Kevin Owens vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin and Sami Zayn vs. Jackass’ Johnny Knoxville were masterpieces of spectacle and crowd work.
There were some low spots without a doubt. I don’t think anyone watched “The Most Stupendous Two-Night Event in WrestleMania History” for Bobby Lashley vs. Omos or Drew McIntyre vs. Happy Corbin. Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey was a match no one not named Vince McMahon wanted to see. Edge vs. AJ Styles was surprisingly bad. New Day lost in under two minutes only a few short months after Big E broke his neck. And Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar disappointed in the main event for what felt like the 500th time.
You’d never guess what Sami Zayn would be doing next year
While he didn’t know it at the time, Vince McMahon went out with a bang for his final WrestleMania. A very remarkable and, dare I say, stupendous show that delivered in some regard on both nights. The card was far from perfect. But WrestleMania 38 reached highs that the Granddaddy of Them All hadn’t been able to reach in years.
WrestleMania Goes Hollywood (39)
Bring me back to this time. When we were all riding high on the waves of the newly-beginning “Renaissance Era” of WWE following Vince McMahon’s ousting and Triple H taking over the creative duties. This was a WrestleMania put together by someone with something to prove, and it shows. Though the warning signs of what was to come were there.
Only brothers could beat the brothers
The beating heart of WrestleMania 39 was the red-hot Bloodline storyline. Leading to two incredible main events in The Usos vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn and Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes. And, while Cody losing proved to be the right decision in hindsight, it certainly didn’t feel like it at the time. But WrestleMania’s second journey to Tinseltown also saw incredible matches like Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair, Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio, the men’s four-way tag match, and the instant classic between Gunther, Sheamus, and Drew McIntyre.
That’s not to say everything was worthy of the silver screen. Austin Theory vs. John Cena and Brock Lesnar vs. Omos both disappointed as openers. Damage CTRL vs. Trish Stratus, Lita, and Becky Lynch and Edge vs. Finn Balor seemed like Vince-levels of refusal to put over current and future stars. Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul and Bianca Belair vs. Asuka were surprisingly unremarkable. And the women’s four-way tag match was certainly a use of eight minutes.
I need this Gunther back
Triple H found himself under the bright lights of Hollywood for his debut WrestleMania, and his performance passed with flying colors. Far from perfect, WrestleMania 39 was the most consistently solid WrestleMania in decades. Producing some of the best matches and moments of the year. However, it would also help set the stage for what was to come in one year’s time.
WrestleMania XL
This may be recency bias, but I’d put WrestleMania XL in consideration for the greatest WrestleMania of all time. It’s at least up there with X-Seven. It’s not a perfect show. But few WrestleManias have ever felt this big. Perfectly fitting for “The Biggest WrestleMania of All Time.”
Cody finished the story
Pun fully intended, the whole show was electrified by the main event drama between Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns & The Rock. With Rock’s heel turn and creation of “The Final Boss” persona shooting the Road to WrestleMania full of adrenaline that boosted not only the main events, but everything else on the show. Both Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns & The Rock and the Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns rematch were amazing main events that told a great story. Ending with the cathartic and emotional end of Roman’s historic title reign.
But that’s not the only good on the show. Bayley and IYO SKY produced one of the best women’s matches in WWE history to culminate their story. The tag teams of WWE went all-out in a six-pack ladder match. LA Knight vs. AJ Styles was surprisingly great. Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre was a blast and the best they could do with how banged up Seth was at the time. And Logan Paul vs. Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens was way more fun than anyone expected.
Bayley enters her first WrestleMania singles match
There were some duds here and there. Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso was one of the worst matches of the year. Sami Zayn stole Chad Gable’s moment. Rey Mysterio & Andrade vs. Santos Escobar & Dominik Mysterio is one of the WrestleMania matches of all time. And Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch had everything working against it. But none of those can compromise the greatness of WrestleMania XL.
WWE has yet to disappoint with the WrestleManias in the 10’s. WrestleManias X, XX, XXX, and XL are all incredible shows boosted by the heartwarming final moments. And WrestleMania’s 40th outing may just be it’s best one to date.
