Every WrestleMania Of The 2000s, Ranked

The 2000s was a decade that saw a whole lot of change for WWE, going from the heights of the Attitude Era into the Ruthless Aggression Era, before then capping things off with a transition into the PG Era. Over those ten years, WrestleMania was jam-packed with different stars from different generations, offering up various levels of quality on each show.

We will take a look at every WrestleMania from across this decade, determining which show was the absolute best, which WrestleMania event was the worst of the 2000s, and how every other of WWE’s annual spectacle ranked in between too.

10

WrestleMania 25

A One Match Show And WWE’s Weakest Of The Decade

WrestleMania 25 was arguably WWE’s worst of the decade, though it isn’t in contention for being the worst WrestleMania ever. The all time classic match between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker took place on this card, which is thought by many to be the most perfect match in history.

Other highlights saw a fun Money In The Bank ladder match. However, the show did have plenty of negatives including a boring main event between Triple H and Randy Orton, a lackluster World Heavyweight Title triple threat, and an abhorrent Divas battle royal… won by “Santina Marella”.

9

WrestleMania 16

Strange Show With Zero Singles Matches

WrestleMania 16 was a very odd event due to the fact that it is the only WrestleMania to feature no singles matches. Additionally, the only real points of high quality came in the form of the iconic Triangle Ladder Match and the triple threat for both the Intercontinental and European Championships.

The main event involving Triple H, The Rock, Mick Foley and Big Show was fine but arguably too busy and overbooked, but aside from that many matches felt like they would be better suited on an episode of Monday Night RAW.

8

WrestleMania 18

A Hot Show With Up And Down Quality

Hulk Hogan and The Rock had an incredible showdown at WrestleMania 18 which really made the whole show. The rest of the event had some bright spots, as Ric Flair found his form against The Undertaker, but overall everything felt pretty flat.

The main event ended the show on a dull note, though the short and rushed matches up and down the card certainly didn’t help proceedings. The audience was invested due to the star power on display, playing a big part in elevating the show from not quite being the worst of the decade.

7

WrestleMania 23

Far From Perfect But Still A Strong WrestleMania

WrestleMania 23 saw WWE take a step up in the presentation of WrestleMania with a bigger venue, plenty of star power, and attraction matches such as the ‘Battle Of The Billionaires’, that ended with Donald Trump shaving Vince McMahon’s head.

The show itself was mixed in quality, with a strong main event between John Cena and Shawn Michaels and entertaining hoss fight between Batista and The Undertaker, but some pretty bad matches too in The Great Khali vs. Kane and Melina vs. Ashley. The spectacle of this show carried it for sure.

6

WrestleMania 22

WrestleMania 22 Had A Strong Standard Throughout

WrestleMania 22 was very solid, featuring good to great matches including Rey Mysterio vs. Kurt Angle vs. Randy Orton, the Money In The Bank ladder match, Edge vs. Mick Foley, Trish Stratus vs. Lita, Shawn Michaels vs. Vince McMahon, and more!

Downsides did include a Playboy pillow fight and shenanigans involving The Boogeyman, dragging the show down in places, but for the most part fans had very little to complain about, with WWE offering up a strong show in 2006. Given that this is in the lower half of the list compared to other WrestleMania events in the 2000s, it shows the high quality this decade had to offer.

5

WrestleMania 20

A WrestleMania With Plenty Of Highs

Both world title matches on this card had very emotional endings and celebratory moments, not to mention being two terrific matchups in their own right. The setting of Madison Square Garden certainly added a special energy to this show too.

The Undertaker’s return to The Deadman gimmick was iconic, The Rock’s presence teaming with Mick Foley against Evolution was a lot of fun, and there was plenty of entertainment across the show. Some of the matches lacked some quality, and WrestleMania of course played host to the disastrous Goldberg/Brock Lesnar match. For the most part though, this was a strong event.

4

WrestleMania 24

WrestleMania 24 Felt Like A Spectacle

Moving WrestleMania to an outdoors venue for the first time in a while helped to create a huge sense of spectacle and scale to WrestleMania 24, and it was helped along by some brilliant matches such as The Undertaker vs. Edge in the main event, the sports entertainment attraction match in Floyd Mayweather vs. Big Show, and the emotional retirement match between Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels.

The undercard was pretty solid all the way throughout (aside from the Playboy Lumberjill mess), making this a very well rounded card from start to finish.

3

WrestleMania 21

This PPV Created Several New Stars For WWE

The stars of the new era had a big night at this feel-good show. John Cena became WWE Champion, Batista won the World Heavyweight Title in a massive main event, Edge won the first ever Money In The Bank ladder match, and Randy Orton showed up in a major way against The Undertaker.

Outside of all that, Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle wrestled in a classic, and Eddie Guerrero & Rey Mysterio kicked things off with a bang. The world title matches weren’t incredible, but the results were very important in making this WrestleMania a very meaningful and historic one.

2

WrestleMania 19

An Iconic WrestleMania Event In 2003

When looking at the sheer quality of WrestleMania 19, it is wild to think that it isn’t considered the greatest WrestleMania ever. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho had a perfectly wrestled match, Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle tore the house down in the main event, Steve Austin and The Rock wrestled one final classic, and Hulk Hogan & Vince McMahon had a bloody battle that was pure sports entertainment.

This card had a bit of everything, and it served as a great transition show between the Attitude Era and Ruthless Aggression Era. It certainly wasn’t perfect, with Booker T’s loss to Triple H being a big point of contention.

1

WrestleMania 17

Often Regarded As The Best WrestleMania Ever

WrestleMania 17 is a very special show, and it is rightfully considered the greatest WrestleMania not just of the 2000s, but ever. The main event between The Rock and Steve Austin was iconic with a big fight feel, TLC 2 was a thrillride of a car crash, Vince & Shane McMahon went to war in a brutal battle, and Triple H battled The Undertaker in a hard-hitting bout. And that was just some of the good on this show.

WrestleMania 17, when assessing each match, wasn’t entirely perfect, but as a whole package, the show captured the pure essence of the Attitude Era in the most perfect of ways, feeling like a spectacle from top to bottom with a wild audience who ate up everything.