The Greatest WrestleMania Moments
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Few phrases in wrestling get tossed around more than “WrestleMania Moment.” For many wrestlers, it’s the dream, the destination—the defining milestone of a career. But over time, the term has lost some of its luster. It’s become so overused that not everything branded a “moment” truly lives up to the hype. So… what actually does?
With WrestleMania season in full swing, there’s no better time to revisit the moments that genuinely delivered. These aren’t just historic wins or five-star classics—they’re the raw, personal highlights that hit hardest as they happened. No rewatches, no rose-colored nostalgia. Just eight unforgettable WrestleMania moments that remind me why I love this season—and this crazy world of pro wrestling.
No. 6 – Finishing the Story
Is there some recency bias in picking this as my top moment? Probably. But that doesn’t make it any less meaningful—or any less vital to WWE’s current boom period.
Cody Rhodes’ journey from “undesirable to undeniable” is one of the best modern wrestling stories. After cycling through various gimmicks and titles, his 2016 departure from WWE felt like a permanent exit. But his run in AEW shattered long-held doubts from WWE brass—proving he wasn’t just a wrestler, but a brand-builder, pouring everything into his stories.
That time away molded a different Cody—one who returned at WrestleMania 38 as a genuine star. Even after a gruesome torn pec, he fought through to deliver a classic with Seth Rollins, eventually winning back-to-back Royal Rumbles and chasing the dream his father never could: a WrestleMania main event.
Cody came up short against Roman Reigns the first time. But WrestleMania 40 felt like a make-or-break moment. Their rematch—less technical but far more theatrical—was a spectacle for the ages. With interference galore, jaw-dropping moments, and surprise appearances from Cena, Taker, and more, it became an instant classic.
Cody overcoming The Bloodline, The Rock, and Reigns to finally win it all wasn’t just a win—it was the payoff to nearly five years of storytelling, and a defining moment for a new generation of fans.
No. 5 – 21-1
As divisive of a decision as this remains to this day, I don’t think there’s a single moment in professional wrestling history that was as shocking and downright unpredictable as what unfolded at WrestleMania XXX.
The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak was synonymous with the show itself, almost of equal importance to so many fans. Years of classics against the likes of Triple H, Shawn Michaels, CM Punk, Batista, Ric Flair & Kane built up an undefeated streak that, while inevitable, produced some of the best matches in WrestleMania history at points. The year streak match wasn’t about the possibility of Undertaker losing, it was about who his next victim would be. All of this changed at WrestleMania XXX when Brock Lesnar broke the streak.
Seeing an audience unanimously, audibly gasp at what they just saw is a rare feat in any form of entertainment. Over 70,000 fans’ jaws dropped to the floor, the arena fell into brief silence before screams of absolute shock set in when 21-1 flashed across the titantron in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. It’s a wrestling moment unlike any other, one of true unpredictability, for better or for worse. The fallout from this would see the monstrous rise of Brock Lesnar, and an Undertaker that never quite felt the same with the 0 attached to his record.
Many argue this moment could have been used to elevate a younger, hungrier rising name, like Roman Reigns or Bray Wyatt. Others thought the shock factor is what makes events like WrestleMania so special. It’s a moment that set the stage for the next few years in WWE and forever defines what makes this showcase special.
No. 4 – Bret Hart makes Steve Austin bleed
Sometimes there’s one shot. That one picture that captures the essence of who a professional wrestler is within one single moment. WrestleMania 13 is home to the photograph that in my opinion, defined Steve Austin’s legendary career.
Bret Hart & Steve Austin’s submission match on this evening is widely regarded as a Top 3 all-time WrestleMania match. A physical, unforgiving contest of sheer punishment between two of the industry’s hottest stars, then, and the launching pad that would ascend Steve Austin to becoming arguably the biggest star in wrestling history. The two encapsulated what would make the Attitude Era so iconic. But also, defined the character of Steve Austin in the process.
Being locked into Hart’s sharpshooter submission for over 2 minutes, “The Texas Rattlesnake” held on until his final breath to do anything but tap out in the biggest match of his career. With blood pouring down his face and in complete agony, it took two minutes to create a superstar despite the loss. Bret Hart stood tall at the end of the match. But Steve Austin, however, was all anyone at the time seemed to speak about. His character was the ideal contrast to Hart’s in the context of the match, and ended up lighting the spark that would be the industry’s highest peak since the 1980s.
Austin bleeding is much more than a WrestleMania moment; it’s an industry-defining one that stands the test of time to this day.
No. 3 – A Mircale on Bourbon Street
A lot of current fans seem to think Cody Rhodes’ finishing his story is the greatest underdog story ever told. But little do they know, the blueprint for that story existed a decade before WrestleMania 40. While WrestleMania XXX is far from an all-time great event, it’s carried by Daniel Bryan’s incredible hijacking of the card itself, his feud with The Authority, a classic opening match vs. Triple H and being added to the main event.
Standing in the middle of two juggernauts like Randy Orton & Batista encapsulated everything about this story. Bryan, being the outsider against homegrown box office attractions in Batista & Orton, set the stage for an incredible finale to a months-long story brewing in front. But, behind the cameras an injured Bryan, fresh off a 30-minute opener earlier in the show, ate a barrage of punishment from his opponents, interference from Triple H and a monstrous RKO/Powerbomb combo through a table.
Despite this adversity, Bryan returned in the match’s closing moments, submitting Batista to an explosive reaction. Following the breaking of the Undertaker’s streak, which silenced the 70,000 in attendance, was no easy task. But, it was Daniel Bryan’s defying of the obstacles placed in front of him to win the WWE Championship that closed off the night with an infectious energy.
Everyone loves a feel-good moment, and this might be my favorite in all of wrestling. A grassroots, underdog story that showed the power a fanbase can have if you’re vocal enough in shifting the entire landscape around you. One of wrestling’s greatest triumphs.
No. 2 – Hulk Hogan slams Andre The Giant
One of the beautiful things about pro wrestling is that sometimes, simplicity hits hardest. A big moment doesn’t always need glitz, spectacle, or over-the-top theatrics—it just needs the right story at the right time. While many early WrestleManias haven’t aged well due to production limitations and questionable booking, they still carry a certain charm.
WrestleMania III, for me, is a one-match show—Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat remains an all-time classic. But there’s another moment that has echoed through decades of wrestling history: Hulk Hogan body-slamming Andre the Giant. Neither man was known for in-ring finesse. But, few moments have ever captured the scale and spectacle of wrestling quite like that one.
On March 29, 1987, Hogan did what no one had seen before—he slammed the undefeated, untouchable Andre to the mat. The match itself is largely forgettable, but that single moment defined WrestleMania. It symbolized a seismic shift in wrestling’s landscape and launched Hulkamania into mainstream superstardom… All while generating one of the loudest reactions in WWE history.
No. 1 – An Unspoken Celebration
Every fan’s wrestling journey starts somewhere. Maybe it was Hulkamania, the Attitude Era, or the rise of Cena and Batista in Ruthless Aggression. Some toughed it out through the rough 2018–2021 stretch. Others were pulled in by ECW or indie promotions flying under the radar.
For me, it was WCW—NWO chaos, Sting’s mystique, DDP’s grit, Goldberg’s dominance, and way too many Vince Russo fever dreams. As messy as it got, there was a weird charm to it that made me fall in love with wrestling. That all came full circle at WrestleMania XX. Watching two longtime WCW underdogs, Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit, win the top titles—and share an unscripted, emotional embrace to close the show—was surreal. For years, they were treated as afterthoughts. That night, they stood as champions.
Given what’s happened since—especially with Benoit—it’s a moment WWE rarely revisits. But for me, it remains my ultimate WrestleMania memory. Flawed, powerful, unforgettable.
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