WrestleMania is just around the corner and everyone wants a “WrestleMania Moment.” On this list, I’ll settle on the best 40 moments of WrestleMania. I released the first 40-21 that can be found here, but here are the Top 20 moments in the 40 years of WrestleMania.

20 — Austin beats Michaels

At WrestleMania 14, the Austin Era began. Shawn Michaels was on his way out with a back injury, so the company needed a new world champion to carry the Attitude Era. With Mike Tyson’s involvement and turn on D-Generation X, Austin won his first world title and it changed the course of history.

19 — nWo face-to-face with DX

At WrestleMania 31, Sting wrestled his only time at the event against Triple H. It was the big “WWE vs WCW” marquee match. Triple H stacked the deck with his D-Generation X buddies coming out to help, but unlikely allies in the new World order joined Sting to even the odds. While Triple H won and fans didn’t like how Sting was treated as the WCW guy, this was a memorable moment Attitude Era fans never saw – DX and nWo in the same ring.

18 — Hardy Boyz Return

Matt and Jeff Hardy had a phenomenal run in TNA and around the indies with their new “broken universe.” At one point, the Hardy Boyz were the heart and soul of TNA… then their contract ends. There’s a ladder match at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando and The New Day are hosts, only to add a tag team to the ladder match. It’s not The New Day inserting themselves, it’s the Hardy Boyz returning to the WWE! In one of the loudest return pops in Mania history, the Hardy Boyz came back to capture the Raw Tag Team Championships that night.

17 — Edge Spears Hardy

Speaking of the Hardy Boyz, Jeff Hardy was on the receiving end of an iconic video played not only for every WrestleMania, but every WWE show since. It’s the iconic moment of Jeff Hardy dangling mid-air, hanging onto the titles at WrestleMania 17, for Edge to leap off a ladder and hit the Spear! The move couldn’t have been executed any better and fans appreciate it over 20 years later.

16 — End of an Era

Shawn Michaels wrestled The Undertaker back-to-back Manias at 25 and 26, giving fans two of the better WrestleMania matches of all-time. Follow that up with Shawn’s best friend Triple H wrestling The Undertaker at the next two WrestleManias. Following a Hell in a Cell encounter with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee, The Undertaker’s Streak continued, but everyone knew what we saw over 4 years was special. While Undertaker would go on to wrestle 8 more years and Triple H sporadically during that time, this night signaled the End of an Era of the three biggest names doing it at a high level every week. It was a perfect 4-year story, but it was even a better acknowledgment of their work since the 1990s.

15 — Stone Cold’s Return to Texas

At WrestleMania 19, Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock completed their trilogy (at WrestleMania 15-17-19) with Austin losing to The Rock. Austin’s neck issues were well documented and this forced him into an early retirement. Fast forward 19 more WrestleManias and the Texas Rattlesnake returned at WrestleMania 38 at AT&T Stadium (home of the Dallas Cowboys) to have an impromptu match against Kevin Owens. The best part? The match was actually good. Austin put the work in at home to give fans a memorable moment. This was my first time watching Stone Cold in action and not on a taping, so this was special for any fan who grew up after the Attitude Era.

14 — WrestleMANia

Women haven’t always been treated well in the wrestling world. Some women’s matches in WrestleMania past would be pillow fights or scrapped altogether. So for Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Ronda Rousey to main event WrestleMania 35 in New York, it was a special moment for the women. Especially being under Vince McMahon’s regime, this was a day nobody ever saw coming. To win both the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Championships at WrestleMania, “The Man” Becky Lynch became “The Man” and this was the epic culmination of her hard work.

13 — Eddie and Benoit Close the Show

This moment is often buried due to the heinous actions at the end of Chris Benoit’s life, and rightfully so. That’s why it’s outside my Top 10 but you have to acknowledge the moment. At WrestleMania 20 in Madison Square Garden, two best friends won their first world title in their respective matches, Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit. They end the night with confetti falling, tears streaming, and hugging in the center of the ring. It was a magical moment that was supposed to live for the rest of time.

12 — “I’m Sorry, I Love You”

Speaking of the rest of time, we thought Ric Flair’s career would go on forever. Technically it has, if you include his TNA run and his “Last Match” at Starrcast 2022 in Nashville. But his original retirement match was against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 24. The entire match is a love letter to Flair’s career with homage to the moves that made him famous. In promo battles leading up to this match, Shawn compared Ric Flair to “Old Yeller.” At the end of this match, Michaels mouths the infamous words, “I’m Sorry, I Love You,” before superkicking the Nature Boy into retirement.

11 — KofiMania

We talked about magical moments at WrestleMania 35, this was another unlikely story. KofiMania started with a string of injuries and the support of fans. Kingston was never supposed to challenge for the WWE Championship, period, let alone at WrestleMania against Daniel Bryan. The fans willed Kofi into the title picture, recognizing his hard work for the company and as a member of The New Day. It resulted in Kofi’s first world title and a moment fans will remember.

10 — Macho Man and Miss Elizabeth Reunite

The greatest couple in wrestling history are “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth. Anyone who refutes that claim doesn’t know wrestling. Miss Elizabeth was the first lady of wrestling, so when they were split up, it was a big deal. Miss Elizabeth was a big part of Macho Man’s presentation. At WrestleMania 7, Savage lost his career (temporarily) against the Ultimate Warrior, but he found the ultimate prize: Miss Elizabeth emerging from the crowd to come back to Randy Savage.

9 — Cody’s Return

In 2019, Cody Rhodes helped start an alternative wrestling product called All Elite Wrestling. WWE would lay off talent and they would all find themselves becoming “All Elite.” Nobody jumped from AEW to WWE… until WrestleMania 38. As the mystery opponent to Seth Rollins, Cody Rhodes returned to the company as “The American Nightmare” to shock the foundation of the wrestling business and win his return match. After his Stardust run and him being an EVP at AEW, nobody ever expected Cody to return to WWE. Now, he wrestles Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 this year for the WWE Championship, which I discuss on my wrestling podcast Drop the Mike for Tobacco Road Sports Radio.

8 — Boyhood Dream has Come True

We can all hear the voice, “The boyhood dream has come true!” Shawn Michaels ziplined to the floor to fight Bret “The Hitman” Hart in a 60-minute Iron Man main event for the WWE Championship. After going 60 minutes without a single fall, the match goes into sudden death and somehow, the dismissed and small wrestler Michaels beat the standard at the time, Bret Hart, to win his first world title. As we mentioned earlier about Stone Cold’s career being made by defeating Shawn Michaels, the Heart Break Kid was made by defeating Bret Hart at WrestleMania 12.

7 — Austin Won’t Tap

Or you can be in the crowd Stone Cold was already a made-man after WrestleMania 13. Stone Cold didn’t win this match, but everyone knew he was one tough (you know what) after this match. In the Sharpshooter, blood gushing down his bald head, Austin would not give up and his stubbornness led him to pass out in the ring. Hart walked away the winner of the match, but this match propelled Austin to the main event scene where he would defeat Michaels a year later to become the WWE Champion.

6 — Icon versus Icon

WrestleMania 18. Hulk Hogan and The Rock. That’s really all you need to know. Right after the two icons made their entrance, the fans gave a standing ovation for the two legends just staring at each other for the first few minutes. Everyone knew this moment was special and the electricity was unmatched. If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favor, go rewatch that moment, and let yourself be a prisoner of the moment.

5 — Austin and Vince Shake Hands

Batman and the Joker. Spider-Man and Green Goblin. Austin and McMahon. Stone Cold Steve Austin was notorious for sticking it to his boss and not conforming to Vince McMahon’s corporate ways. However, at WrestleMania 17, Stone Cold made a deal to unite with Vince McMahon and win the WWE Championship from The Rock. It wasn’t entirely clear until we saw the image we’d never imagine: Stone Cold and Vince McMahon shake hands in the middle of a WWE ring. Austin turning heel was one thing, but uniting with his arch-nemesis was a completely different level. Why, Austin, Why?

4 — Miracle on Bourbon Street

We talked about underdogs in this article such as Kofi Kingston and Becky Lynch having their moments. Those don’t happen without the YES! Movement to propel Bryan into the main event scene. For 8 months, the WWE Universe got behind Daniel Bryan and was furious for The Authority keeping him in his “B+ player” role. After Batista won the Royal Rumble that year to challenge Randy Orton, the fans were outraged and we inevitably got Daniel Bryan in a spot to contend. After defeating Triple H in the opening match of WrestleMania 30, Bryan was added to the main event and went on to submit Batista and win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the Miracle on Bourbon Street!

3 — Heist of the Century

A year after Daniel Bryan’s underdog triumph, fans were even more upset about the title picture. The fans turned on Roman Reigns and rejected the idea of WWE pushing the next John Cena, yet Reigns was locked into the main event against WWE Champion Brock Lesnar. After a brutal match and fans having a strong disdain for both men, Seth Rollins rushed to the ring, inserted himself into the match, and became the first Money in the Bank holder to cash the briefcase in at WrestleMania. Rollins stomped Roman Reigns to the mat, pinned “The Big Dog” and ran up the ramp with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, saving WrestleMania for the fans!

2 — Hogan Slams Andre

At WrestleMania 3, you could call this the first, true WrestleMania Moment. Andre the Giant was massive at 7’4” and 520 pounds. Hulk Hogan had an entire sea of Hulkamaniacs willing him on against his largest test yet. The moment Hogan lifted Andre off his feet and slammed him in the middle of the ring, it was over. Hulk Hogan was made and WrestleMania itself was never the same again.

1 — The Streak Ends

For two decades, WrestleMania was synonymous with The Undertaker and his undefeated streak. It was commonplace for The Undertaker to have a marquee match at WrestleMania, put on a spectacle for the fans, and walk away a victor. At WrestleMania 30, Undertaker walked into a match with Brock Lesnar and got punched in the mouth. Undertaker legitimately got concussed this match and was struggling against a physical specimen like Lesnar. You could hear a pen drop in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome when the official counted 3 and Brock Lesnar conquered The Streak. The fans couldn’t process enough to boo, but just couldn’t believe it. Fans at home couldn’t fathom what they had just seen. A big part of their childhood, and a big part of WrestleMania history, was over. This was the greatest WrestleMania Moment of all-time, because they didn’t see it coming.

There you have it, the greatest moments in the 40 years of WrestleMania! What new moments will be made this year at WrestleMania 40? What do you believe is the best moment in WrestleMania history? Let us know in the comments what you think is #1 and if you missed it, don’t forget to check out Part 1 of this series here with moments 40-21 ranked.

You can watch both nights of WrestleMania this weekend, April 6th and 7th on Peacock. There will be more content on Fans First Sports Network covering this weekend’s festivities.