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WrestleMania has provided the WWE universe with some of the greatest matches in pro wrestling history, but it has also served up some underrated gems as well.
There are always certain WrestleMania matches that the WWE universe thinks of when thinking of the granddaddy of them all, but certain matches might fall under the radar given how many classics the show has produced over the past 33 years.
But which matches are the most underrated in the history of WrestleMania? It’s next to impossible to include every match, but here are the 15 most underrated matches in WrestleMania history.
15. Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio: WrestleMania 27
The Rated-R Superstar Edge was a major player on WWE TV for many years. Edge had a highly-decorated career as a tag team specialist and a world champion, winning countless championships throughout the course of his career.
But at WrestleMania 27 in 2011, Edge had a different challenge in Royal Rumble winner Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio won the first-ever 40-man Royal Rumble match and earned the right to challenge Edge at WrestleMania 27 for the World Heavyweight Championship. But little did fans know that this would be the last time they would see Edge compete in the WWE again.
He was forced to retire following the match due to injury issues, but he went out in style in a very good match with Del Rio. The World Heavyweight Championship match opened up WrestleMania 27, but it started the show out with a bang. It appeared like Del Rio would get the better of Edge, but The Rated-R Superstar had other ideas.
Edge hit Del Rio with a patented spear to get the win and successfully retain his World Heavyweight Championship for the first time ever at WrestleMania. When fans think of WrestleMania 27, they think of The Rock’s involvement with John Cena vs. The Miz, they think of The Undertaker vs. Triple H, and even CM Punk vs. Randy Orton.
But when looking at things closer, Edge’s final match of his career against Del Rio was a hidden gem and ranks among the most underrated matches in WrestleMania history.
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14. The Undertaker vs. Diesel: WrestleMania 12
By the time WrestleMania 12 rolled around in 1996, the WWE had been going through a major changing of the guard. Hulk Hogan’s and Randy Savage’s days were over, and the era of Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart was in full swing.
But two other key stars to the WWE’s transformation at this time were The Undertaker and Diesel. They were two of the biggest and baddest the WWE had to offer and were set for a collision course at WrestleMania 12, which would turn out to be one of Kevin Nash’s final appearances in the WWE before jumping ship to WCW.
Diesel’s reign as WWE Champion from late-1994 through much of 1995 was criticized by most, but he had a marquee opportunity to shine at WrestleMania 12 against The Deadman. And not only did the two capitalize on the opportunity presented, they had one of the best matches at WrestleMania 12.
Big Daddy Cool controlled Taker at times in the match, but Taker emerged victorious in the end to improve his WrestleMania record to 5-0. For a WrestleMania that served up one of the all-time greatest matches in Michaels vs. Hart in a 60-minute Ironman Match, Taker vs. Diesel got slept on in an otherwise pretty forgettable WrestleMania.
The Phenom’s triumph over Big Daddy Cool isn’t an all-time great WrestleMania match, but it certainly fits the mold as one of the most underrated in the event’s history.
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13. Chris Jericho vs. AJ Styles: WrestleMania 32
For many years, AJ Styles was considered the best current wrestler in the world to never make it to the WWE. But in 2016, that all changed when The Phenomenal One made a historic debut as a participant in the Royal Rumble match.
It wouldn’t take Styles long to ascend towards the top of the WWE as he has won two WWE Championships and two United States Championships since his debut, but his inaugural WrestleMania match came at WrestleMania 32 in 2016 against an all-time great in Chris Jericho in front of the WWE’s all-time attendance record.
As expected, Styles and Jericho put on a very good match that showcased both individuals well. It seemed like Styles would get the win, but Y2J ended up knocking off The Phenomenal One on the grandest stage of them all. Having Styles lose seemed off, but the WWE would quickly announce it had big plans for him.
Styles won a number one contender match the next night and earned the right to compete for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. WrestleMania 32 isn’t viewed as a standout WrestleMania by most, but this match doesn’t get brought up enough by fans given both Styles’ and Jericho’s track records of great matches in the WWE.
It probably won’t be remembered in the same breath as other WrestleMania classics, but Styles vs. Jericho at WrestleMania 32 is a very good match that should be considered one of WrestleMania’s most underrated matches.
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12. Chris Jericho vs. Edge: WrestleMania 26
One of the most forgotten rivalries in WWE history took place due to an unforeseen reason. Edge and Chris Jericho were tag team champion partners in mid-2009, but Edge suffered an injury and was sidelined for several months to abruptly end his run with Y2J.
In the time Edge was gone, Jericho teamed with The Big Show and made several negative remarks towards The Rated-R Superstar. But when Edge surprisingly returned and won the 2010 Royal Rumble, his path was set to cross with Jericho, who won the World Heavyweight Championship inside the Elimination Chamber in February.
These two former tag team partners turned bitter enemies were bound for a WrestleMania 26 showdown in 2010 and despite the match going widely forgotten now, it was a very good battle with a lot of great action and in-ring psychology. There were several impressive counters in this match as well, but towards the end, Y2J’s heelish ways took over when he hit Edge with the world title belt when the ref was distracted.
This didn’t put Edge down for good, but after a codebreaker, Jericho successfully retained his title before Edge got the last laugh and put Jericho through an announce table. It seemed like Edge should have won this match and if he would have won the match, it probably would have ended up higher on this list. It didn’t help that Jericho lost his title to Jack Swagger on the first episode of SmackDown following the show after Swagger cashed in Money in the Bank.
Y2J vs. The Rated-R Superstar at WrestleMania 26 didn’t get the headlines from a show that featured Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker, but it does get a headline as an all-time underrated WrestleMania match.
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11. Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy: WrestleMania 25
WrestleMania 25 in 2009 is widely considered to be a one-match show featuring an all-time great match between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. But the show had a few other hidden gems, including a match between two brothers who were now on separate sides.
Jeff Hardy’s rise to main event status in 2008 was great to see, but throughout the end of 2008 and into the early stages of 2009, his brother Matt was revealed as being the one who was behind all of the misfortunes Jeff had been dealing with. Matt was jealous of Jeff’s success and the Hardy brothers were set for a WrestleMania 25 clash.
The two battled in an Extreme Rules match that was only fitting given how both were trailblazers in terms of ladder matches. And the action in this match was hot and heavy with both getting in their fair share of offense. But the ending caught most everybody by surprise when Matt defeated Jeff and got the big win.
It seemed like Jeff needed the win, but the program between the Hardy brothers continued into the next pay-per-view where Jeff emerged victorious. Not many matches will be remembered from WrestleMania 25 outside of Taker vs. HBK, but this one should get more respect from the WWE universe.
Matt deleted Jeff at WrestleMania 25 and the two put forth one of the most underrated matches in WrestleMania history.
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10. Triple H vs. Sting: WrestleMania 31
One of the greatest and most popular pro wrestlers of all-time was the franchise of WCW, The Icon Sting. Sting had a standout career that ranks among the best in wrestling history, but he never made an appearance on WWE TV, even after WCW went out of business in 2001.
Many wondered if Sting would ever appear in a WWE ring, but in 2014, that skepticism was proven wrong after his shocking debut at Survivor Series. It was all to set up a WrestleMania 31 match in 2015 with Triple H in a battle between two of the most popular superstars in history.
Seeing Sting in a WWE ring was awesome enough, but seeing him wrestle his debut match in the WWE at WrestleMania 31 against The Game was something nobody expected after all the years that went by. But it was happening and despite both individuals being clearly past their prime by that point, they still put on a show that only got better as the match progressed.
The match broke down when past members of D-Generation X and the nWo hit the ring, bringing the Monday Night War back to life in an amazing sequence that had fans marking out everywhere. But in the end, Triple H got the win after a sledgehammer shot to Stinger. Sting really should have won given how he only ended up wrestling two matches in the WWE, but it was still awesome to see the cast of past superstars converge into one match.
It wasn’t a pure wrestling beauty, but Sting vs. Triple H at WrestleMania 31 is one of the most underrated matches in the event’s history that not enough people will remember in a positive enough light.
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9. Rey Mysterio vs. Kurt Angle vs. Randy Orton: WrestleMania 22
The WWE family was saddened by the unexpected passing of Eddie Guerrero in late-2005. The loss hurt everyone involved with the WWE, but out of everyone who was affected, it especially hurt his long-time friend Rey Mysterio.
Mysterio and Guerrero were as close as brothers and losing such a good friend and well-respected member of the WWE family will always leave an impact. But Mysterio turned that into a career breakthrough in 2006 as he won the 2006 Royal Rumble and earned the right to compete for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 22 in 2006 alongside champion Kurt Angle and Randy Orton in a Triple Threat Match.
It wasn’t the main event of the show and it didn’t steal as many headlines as it should have, but the three put on a very good match that didn’t nearly go long enough. The action was stellar from start to finish, but the ending was particularly great to see when Mysterio pinned Orton to win the match and the World Heavyweight Championship on the grandest stage of them all.
It was an emotional moment for Mysterio, who dedicated his run to the world title to Guerrero’s memory and it was especially great to see Mysterio celebrate with Eddie’s family Vickie and Chavo on the top of the stage as he exited. This was a great example of storytelling and shows how great it can be when everything just clicks.
Say what you want about how his title reign ended up in 2006, but Mysterio honoring Latino Heat and winning the world title at the showcase of the immortals is one of the most underrated moments and matches in WrestleMania history.
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8. Seth Rollins vs. Triple H: WrestleMania 33
The on-screen relationship between Seth Rollins and Triple H was a power-driven one for the better part of two years. The Game and The Architect were two key parts of The Authority and had a firm grip on the WWE for a while.
But Rollins’ injury in late-2015 sidelined him for several months. And when he came back, The Game wasn’t so kind to his absence as he surprisingly turned on Rollins and cost him the Universal Championship. This would all eventually lead to an unsanctioned match between Triple H and Rollins at WrestleMania 33 when just a few weeks prior to the event, it appeared like Rollins could miss WrestleMania for the second straight year due to injury.
Thankfully, The Architect was fine and his match with Triple H at WrestleMania 33 in 2017 was on. The two went on to produce a very stellar match from start to finish that has to rank among the best matches at WrestleMania 33. The ending was particularly good when The Game accidentally knocked his wife Stephanie McMahon off the apron and through a table below.
This allowed Rollins to get control of the match and after he hit Triple H with a pedigree, he got the win. Seeing Triple H lose at WrestleMania to his own move would have been unheard of years prior. This match isn’t nearly talked about as much as it should be, but it involved a solid storyline months in the making and led to a very good clash in between the ropes.
The Architect became The Kingslayer at WrestleMania 33 and his win over The Game ranks among the most underrated matches in WrestleMania history.
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7. Diesel vs. Shawn Michaels: WrestleMania 11
A backstage group of friends that helped change the wrestling business forever emerged in the mid-1990’s by the name of The Kliq. These five superstars evoked many differing opinions by wrestling fans and wrestlers in their own right, but their talent and importance to the WWE were never in question.
Two of the top members of The Kliq would face off at WrestleMania 11 in 1995 with the WWE Championship at stake when Diesel defended his title against Shawn Michaels. The outside hype around this match helped things with Pamela Anderson and Jenny McCarthy involved in some capacity, but the match itself goes unfairly widely unnoticed years later.
This match was overshadowed by the main event match featuring the NFL’s Lawrence Taylor against Bam Bam Bigelow, but in an otherwise subpar WrestleMania, Big Daddy Cool vs. HBK was the match of the night. It can be considered Diesel’s best match in the WWE during his run towards the top of the company.
And in the end, Big Daddy Cool was able to put Michaels away for the win and he retained his WWE Championship. Many fans criticize Diesel’s WWE Championship reign, but this was a standout moment that definitely should be viewed at in a positive light despite what other shortcomings that title reign might have brought.
The Kliq was on full display at WrestleMania 11 and Diesel’s battle against HBK ranks among the most underrated matches in WrestleMania history.
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6. Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho vs. Kurt Angle: WrestleMania 16
The WWE career of Kurt Angle took off faster and more effectively than anybody else in the company’s history. He debuted at Survivor Series 1999 and by WrestleMania 16 in 2000, he was the Intercontinental and European Champion simultaneously.
Angle’s dueling title reigns would meet a big challenge at WrestleMania 16 when he faced off with Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit in a two-fall Triple Threat Match for both the Intercontinental and the European Championships. Given the talent in the ring, it wasn’t hard to imagine these three would put on a stellar performance.
The first fall would be for the Intercontinental Championship and the action was hot and heavy from the start. The fall ended when Benoit pinned Jericho to win the Intercontinental Championship. Angle was already down one title, and he wouldn’t be so lucky to retain his second title either in the second fall.
The second and final fall ended much like the first one did with Angle not being involved in the decision. Y2J was able to pin The Rabid Wolverine to win the European Championship with both belts leaving Angle’s side. For a WrestleMania that is basically only remembered for the insane triangle ladder match for the tag team titles, this match didn’t get enough respect and still doesn’t.
The Olympic Gold Medalist lost two titles on this night, but had bigger days ahead and this match is undoubtedly one of the most underrated matches in WrestleMania history.
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5. Kane vs. Raven vs. The Big Show: WrestleMania 17
The WWE’s introduction of the Hardcore Championship in 1998 led to some of the most entertaining moments in company history. And no match during the Hardcore Championship’s existence showed that better than what took place at WrestleMania 17 in 2001.
Crash Holley’s run with the title a year earlier was extremely entertaining, but the Triple Threat Match at WrestleMania 17 between Hardcore Champion Raven, Kane, and The Big Show was the peak of the Hardcore Championship in the WWE. It wasn’t one of the hyped matches at WrestleMania 17, but it delivered and then some.
The match didn’t stay in the ring long, as expected, and the three battled throughout the crowd before making it to the backstage area. The brawl would only get better from there with golf cart chasing, glass window and wall breaking, wooden pallet slamming, and everything else breaking out backstage. The three would eventually make their way back to the arena and on the top of the stage where Big Show had bad intentions for Raven.
He military pressed Raven with the intent of throwing him off the stage, but Kane intervened and pushed both of them off the stage where they crashed below. The Big Red Machine put the finishing touches on the match with a big leg drop from the stage on top of Big Show and Raven who both laid below and Kane got the win. This match couldn’t stand a chance at gaining the hype other matches on this card got, but it’s a brilliant piece of hardcore wrestling.
This match was the peak of the Hardcore Championship in the WWE and it ranks highly among the most underrated matches in WrestleMania history.
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4. Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit: WrestleMania 17
WrestleMania 17 is considered by most to be the greatest WrestleMania of all-time. The show resulted in some absolutely outstanding matches that still resonate to this day, but at the same time, certain matches from this show go unnoticed to a degree.
One match that falls into that category was a middle of the card match between Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit, two of the most gifted in-ring performers in wrestling history. There wasn’t much of a storyline surrounding this match, but it didn’t need one given how talented both individuals were at the time.
Angle was the WWE Champion less than two months prior to WrestleMania 17 in 2001, but he didn’t let losing the title affect his performance in this match. It was a wrestling clinic from start to finish with a nice blend of pure wrestling and WWE-style wrestling. But in the end, the heelish Angle went away from his Olympic routes to secure a win.
He rolled up Benoit and held his tights to get the three count and escape with the win. It wasn’t the most noble way to end such an impressive wrestling match, but it furthered the feud between Angle and Benoit past WrestleMania 17 and did well for both superstars who would both go on to world title success in the months and years to follow.
The Olympic Gold Medalist and The Rabid Wolverine made pure wrestling fun on this night and collectively conceived one of the most underrated matches in WrestleMania history.
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3. The Undertaker vs. Ric Flair: WrestleMania 18
The WWE’s additions of several of WCW’s top talents after Ted Turner’s organization went out of business in early-2001 added a lot to an already stacked WWE roster. And one of the biggest stars to head over to the WWE was Ric Flair when he made his WWE return in late-2001.
By the beginning of 2002, Flair began feuding with The Undertaker, who was in the midst of his heelish persona as Big Evil. Taker began focusing on Flair after The Nature Boy interfered in one of Taker’s matches, and he wanted a match with Flair at WrestleMania 18. His methods of getting said match, however, were particularly brutal as Taker beatdown Flair’s friend Arn Anderson and his son David.
The Nature Boy eventually accepted Big Evil’s challenge and the two squared off at WrestleMania 18 in 2002. Despite Flair not having been in the ring much in recent memory by this point, the match was very good with a lot of solid storytelling involved. It picked up greatly towards the end when Double A came out of nowhere and hit Taker with a spinebuster.
Flair was unable to keep Taker down, however, and after a tombstone piledriver, Big Evil had finally put away Flair to improve to 10-0 at WrestleMania. For a show that was centered around Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock, this match stood out in its own right, but doesn’t get the respect it deserves from most of the WWE universe.
Big Evil’s win over The Nature Boy at WrestleMania 18 deserves way more credit than it gets and it undoubtedly ranks among the most underrated matches in WrestleMania history.
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2. Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch: WrestleMania 32
When fans think about the greatest matches in WrestleMania history, very few fans think of specific women’s matches. Women’s wrestling had been an afterthought for several years in the WWE, but by 2016, a revolution was forming that is still being felt to this day.
A crop of talented women began changing the perception of women’s wrestling, and three of these women would have a major chance to shine at WrestleMania 32 in 2016. Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch competed for the brand-new WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 32 to officially put an end to the diva’s era.
This show doesn’t stand up to the majority of WrestleMania’s, but this Triple Threat Match stood out in a big way. The talent in the ring was evident and some of the moves pulled out in this match were outstanding, to say the very least. But in the end, Charlotte won the title with a little bit of help from her father, Ric Flair.
Regardless of a bit of a screwy finish, this match was great and did wonders for the women’s revolution that has taken the WWE by storm in recent years. It probably won’t be considered a WrestleMania classic in 30 years, but it deserves a ton of praise and should be considered one of the most important matches in WrestleMania history.
Charlotte vs. Banks vs. Lynch is the best women’s match in WrestleMania history and it deserves its label as arguably the most underrated match in WrestleMania history.
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1. Bret Hart vs. Roddy Piper: WrestleMania 8
The Intercontinental Championship has gone through its rough periods over the years, but in the early-1990’s, the title was in a great place. At WrestleMania 8 in 1992, two of the WWE’s top stars would battle for a chance to be called Intercontinental Champion.
Rowdy Roddy Piper was set to defend his Intercontinental Championship against up-and-coming main eventer, Bret The Hitman Hart. Piper was an established top star in the wrestling business by this time, but Hart had broken away from his successful tag team era and was climbing the ladder to singles success.
The two would battle it out in not only one of the greatest Intercontinental Championship matches in WrestleMania history, but one of the greatest WrestleMania matches in general. It went back and forth for a while, but Hart eventually prevailed and won the title on the grandest stage of them all.
It was a great moment for The Hitman and was a sign of things to come as to what the future held for him as a top singles star in the WWE. While this match was great and is pretty highly regarded even to this day, it doesn’t quite get the hype or publicity that other WrestleMania classics get, especially considering Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage was on the card.
The Rowdy One vs. The Hitman was a classic and should be considered one of, if not the single most underrated match in the history of WrestleMania.