The hype machine makes it clear that WrestleMania is WWE’s biggest show in any given year, but it isn’t always the BEST WWE show of the year. So when there’s a particularly great ‘Mania, it feels really special. For many fans, the best WrestleMania ever was the 17th, 2001’s WrestleMania X-Seven, which is also the last one of the beloved Attitude Era.
It’s undeniably a great WrestleMania, but is it the best one? There are loads of contenders to the throne, so let’s take a look at why X-Seven has strong arguments for being the best in WWE history, as well as some other WrestleManias that make strong cases for being even better.
10 WrestleMania X-Seven: End Of The Attitude Era
For all intents and purposes, WrestleMania X-Seven can be looked at as the final show of the Attitude Era. It’s one of the best ‘Manias ever, featuring many of its stars, a quick look at the goofy gimmicks of pre-Attitude Era, and its main event is Rock vs. Austin with Vince McMahon interference. So much of it is classic Attitude Era, and the following year with the Two-Man Power Trip and the abortive Invasion storyline feels like a transitional period to usher in Ruthless Aggression. WrestleMania X-Seven is the last “true” Attitude Era PPV.
9 Alternative: WrestleMania XXX
When it comes to beloved WrestleManias, you can’t leave out the 30th installment. After all, Daniel Bryan’s main event triumph is something that fans basically willed into existence. It’s a great moment that’s the centrepiece of the overall vibe of WrestleMania XXX, which is all about passing the torch. Daniel Bryan beat three Ruthless Aggression icons, The Shield triple powerbombed the New Age Outlaws and Kane, and Brock Lesnar dethroned Undertaker as WWE’s monster attraction. Even Cesaro dumping Big Show out of the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal felt like a statement.
8 WrestleMania X-Seven: TLC Match
A trio of tag teams -- Edge & Christian, The Hardy Boyz, and The Dudley Boyz -- delivered a classic with the first-ever TLC match at SummerSlam 2000, and months later they produced a sequel that, by many fans' accounts, is better than the first one.
When it comes to these kinds of “car crash” matches, the second TLC ever is a perfect work of excess. There are lots of insane, borderline dangerous spots to top the original, plus lots of run-ins. It’s the sort of wild match that holds up even today.
7 Alternative: WrestleMania 21
X-Seven may have given fans one of the best TLC matches, but WrestleMania 21 gave fans a first: the Money in the Bank ladder match. Long before it had its own PPV, MITB was contested exclusively at WrestleMania until the gimmick match got a devoted pay-per-view in 2010. Other than that milestone, WrestleMania 21 also has an awesome opener between tag partners Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio Jr., and an excellent bout between Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle.
6 WrestleMania X-Seven: Undertaker vs. Triple H
By the time of WrestleMania X-Seven, The Undertaker’s ‘Mania winning streak wasn’t actually acknowledged yet -- that would come the following year after defeating Ric Flair. But X-Seven did present ‘Taker with his biggest WrestleMania rival in Triple H, who would come for Undertaker’s streak three times over the course of his career. While this bout isn’t quite as good as the other two, it’s still a strong match with lots of great moments, laying the foundation for a legendary feud years later.
5 Alternative: WrestleMania 24
At WrestleMania 24, The Undertaker put on an awesome main event against Edge, and Triple H was in a strong triple threat with Randy Orton and John Cena. Even the often-obligatory celebrity match -- Floyd Mayweather vs. The Big Show -- was actually well-received. But the best match of the evening had Shawn Michaels retiring Ric Flair via the world’s most emotional superkick. That iconic moment alone puts WrestleMania 24 in the conversation of which is the best ever.
4 WrestleMania X-Seven: Amazing Undercard
Wrestling pay-per-views can be tricky -- they tend to sell themselves based on one or two big matches, and there’s always a chance you’ll have to slog through a less-than-stellar undercard to get to the good stuff. But not WrestleMania X-Seven, which has one of the most consistent undercards in the history of the show.
There are several highlights on the undercard, including Chris Jericho vs. William Regal, the aforementioned TLC match, a Hardcore Title triple threat and a technical masterpiece between Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit. Even goofier stuff like Shane McMahon vs. Vince McMahon and the Gimmick Battle Royal have fun moments.
3 Alternative: WrestleMania XIX
Out of all the alternatives on this list, WrestleMania XIX has one of the most consistent cards to compete with X-Seven. The main event is one of several epics in the Kurt Angle/Brock Lesnar feud, but then there’s also Steve Austin’s last match ever, in addition to an amazing bout between Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels. The “20 Years in the Making” street fight between Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon sounds like it’s going to be a slog, but is actually a great brawl.
2 WrestleMania X-Seven: Twist Ending
As much as fans go to pay-per-views for big conclusions to storylines, pro wrestling also revels in ongoing soap opera style storytelling, and even WrestleMania is not immune to that practice. WrestleMania X-Seven ends on a hell of a plot twist, as Vince McMahon not only helps Steve Austin win his title match against The Rock, but also shakes hands with his former rival, signalling a heel turn for Austin. The show practically begged you to watch Raw the next day to get answers.
1 Alternative: WrestleMania 31
It’s hard to argue with WrestleMania X-Seven’s twist ending, but WrestleMania 31 pulled off theirs with months of set-up and dread. Fans were infuriated with Roman Reigns’ Royal Rumble win in January, believing that Reigns was finally going to be ordained the new face of the company, but during his ‘Mania main event title bout with Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins came in with his Money in the Bank briefcase and stole the title out from under Roman. It was a legitimately surprising twist, and one of the best endings to a WrestleMania ever.