Wrestlemania Ranking 2015

Now that Wrestlemania 31 has officially been in the books for a few weeks, I think it is time to see where it ranks among the previous Wrestlemanias. I will be comparing Wrestlemania 31 to my all-time favorite showcase of the immortals, Wrestlemania 17, in order to see if it really was as good as I had originally thought when the show went off the air.

Wrestlemania 17 is regarded by many wrestling fans, including myself, as being the greatest Wrestlemania of all time. Why is that? First and foremost are the matches, which are fantastic. Every match on the card ranged in quality from good to amazing, and most importantly, they were entertaining to watch.

The same can be said about every match on the Wrestlemania 31 card. Evert bout on the card ranged from good to amazing, and the matches were all very entertaining. The bouts on the kickoff show were fun to watch and set the tone for the rest of the event as all the matches were entertaining and told really good in ring stories.

Another aspect of Wrestlemania 17 that I love is the excitement that oozed from the event. Whether it was Edge spearing Jeff Hardy while he dangled in the air in the WWE Tag Team Championship TLC match, or Shane McMahon going coast to coast with a dropkick to a trashcan that bent around his father Vince’s face, everything about this Wrestlemania seemed exciting.

Was Wrestlemania 31 as exciting as Wrestlemania 17? In my opinion, no it was not. It was close though. Had WWE instead scheduled another match instead of booking the musical performance by Skylar Grey and Kid Ink, then the excitement level as a whole for Wrestlemania 31 could have matched or even passed that of Wrestlemania 17. To me, the musical performance really stifled all the momentum that the matches before it had built. I think WWE should have made the musical performance part of a wrestler’s entrance like they did at Wrestlemania 17 when the band Motorhead performed Triple H’s ring music.

To conclude this comparison, I will talk about if the events gave the fans what they wanted. To me, Wrestlemania 17 gave the fans exactly what they wanted and more. In ring masterpieces from superstars like William Regal, Kurt Angle, and Chris Jericho satisfied the wrestling purists while matches like TLC 2, the Hardcore Championship triple threat, the Street Fight, and the WWE Championship bout satisfied the bloodthirsty wrestling extremists.

Wrestlemania 31 did the same thing. The Intercontinental Championship ladder match was brutal and exciting, Sting and Triple H engaged in a bout that, for one night, resurrected the Monday Night War, and in exciting fashion, Seth Rollins made sure that Roman Reigns did not leave Levi’s Stadium with the WWE World Heavy Championship. The entire event fired on all cylinders and left wrestling fans satisfied.

In my opinion, Wrestlemania 17 is still the greatest Wrestlemania of all time. Wrestlemania 31 however, gave it a run for its money as it was nearly a perfect show. Had there been no musical performance, then it might have taken the top ranking as the greatest Wrestlemania ever. As you recall in my Wrestlemania 31 Thoughts video, I said that the event was amazing and will be talked about for years to come. I believe this comparison helps explain why. It was a fantastic show, is now my second favorite Wrestlemania, and is the reason why I cannot wait until Wrestlemania 32.