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WWE WrestleMania is the pinnacle that all WWE Superstars look to reach during their professional wrestling careers. The showcase of the immortals has housed some of the greatest and most epic matches in the history of WWE.
A great WrestleMania classic can elevate a WWE Superstar into legendary status amongst members of the WWE Universe. However, certain matches require a greater amount of allotted time on a WrestleMania card than a regular match to reach their epic potential.
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There is often a fine line between a match being too short to tell the required story and being so long that it becomes boring and laborious to watch. Nevertheless, the allotted time during a WrestleMania match is prime real estate.
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From main events to show stealing classics, let's take a closer look at the 5 longest matches in WWE WrestleMania history.
#5 The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels - WWE WrestleMania 25 (30:44)
WWE WrestleMania 25 is largely remembered for presenting arguably the greatest match in WrestleMania history. The event was marketed as the "25th Anniversary of WrestleMania" and was mostly a lackluster show.
However, the quality of the show quickly became irrelevant once the WWE Universe witnessed The Undertaker go one-on-one with Shawn Michaels. The Deadman and The HeartBreak Kid certainly have a large amount of history together in WWE. The duo have competed against each other in classic matches including the first ever Hell in a Cell match at In Your House: Bad Blood in 1997 and a Casket Match at the 1998 Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
But since Shawn Michaels' return from retirement in 2002, The Undertaker and HBK's paths had rarely crossed on WWE television. This all changed in 2009 when Mr. WrestleMania attempted to break The Undertaker's fabled WrestleMania undefeated streak.
The entrances alone were spectacular. Shawn Michaels descended from the heavens, whereas The Undertaker rose up from the depths of hell.
Once the action got underway, it became a spectacle of WrestleMania moment after WrestleMania moment, causing a cacophony of noise from 70,000 fans in Houston, Texas.
Shawn Michaels incredibly kicked out off Chokeslams, Last Rides and even a Tombstone Piledriver, much to his opponent's amazement. The Undertaker responded by surviving not one, but two editions of Sweet Chin Music. The match finally came to a close after 30 minutes and 44 seconds with The Undertaker hitting a second tombstone for the victory and ending the one of greatest matches in the history of WrestleMania.
#4 The Undertaker vs Triple H - WWE WrestleMania XXVIII (30:50)
One of WWE WrestleMania's greatest stories ever told is the rivalry between The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and Triple H. The storyline spanned from WrestleMania 25 where The Undertaker defeated Shawn Michaels until WrestleMania 28 where The Phenom took on Michaels' best friend, Triple H.
The previous year, at WrestleMania 27, The Undertaker and Triple H faced off in an epic No Holds Barred match that stole the show. After Triple H brutalized his opponent, The Undertaker was able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat by trapping The Game in the Hells Gate submission hold, causing Triple H to submit.
Despite the victory, The Undertaker was unable to leave on his own power. The Phenom collapsed after the match and was carted out of the Georgia Dome whilst being attended to by WWE Medical Staff.
After being off WWE television for close to 12 months, The Undertaker returned and challenged Triple H to a re-match at WrestleMania 28. The Game accepted under the condition that the match was inside Hell in a Cell. Eventually, it was revealed that Shawn Michaels would be the special guest referee for the match, which was now billed as the "End of an Era."
The match was even better than the previous year's showdown between The Game and The Deadman, with false finishes, weapons and brutal violence exchanged between the WWE icons.
Despite Shawn Michaels working against The Undertaker on occasions, The Phenom was able to defeat Triple H once again and maintain his WrestleMania undefeated streak after 30 minutes and 50 seconds.
Once the match, and the era, was over, all 3 WWE legends stood on the WrestleMania ramp together as the WWE Universe applauded the WrestleMania classic that they had just witnessed.
#3 Triple H vs The Rock vs The Big Show vs Mick Foley - WWE WrestleMania 2000 (36:24)
WWE WrestleMania 2000's main event certainly had a confusing build and outcome. The main storyline heading into the showcase of the immortals centered around two separate storylines that eventually overlapped and involved the McMahon family.
WWE was in the midst of the original McMahon-Helmsley regime, with WWE Champion Triple H and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley running roughshod over WWE.
During this time, The Game was involved in a vicious rivalry with Mick Foley over the WWE Championship. The Hardcore Legend and The Game battled in brutal matches at the Royal Rumble and No Way Out for the WWE Championship, in which Triple H retained and Foley ultimately had to retire.
Meanwhile, The Rock was embroiled in a rivalry with The Big Show on WWE television. The two WWE Superstars were the final two men in the 2000 Royal Rumble match. The Rock won by last eliminating the world's largest athlete.
The Big Show insisted that The Rock hit the floor first, which led to a number one contenders match at No Way Out. During the match Shane McMahon screwed The Rock and assisted The Big Show to get the victory and challenge The Game at WrestleMania for the WWE Championship.
WWE Chairman Vince McMahon returned to RAW after Stephanie McMahon had betrayed him late the year prior and sided with The Rock, allowing The Great One to be added to the WrestleMania main event.
Linda McMahon then announced that she had reinstated Mick Foley, who would also be added to the WrestleMania main event. This meant that the WrestleMania 2000 main event was now a Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match with a McMahon in every WWE Superstar's corner.
Due to the 4 WWE Superstars involved and the elimination format, the match lasted 36 minutes and 24 seconds. After both Mick Foley and The Big Show had been eliminated, the main event culminated with The Rock facing off against Triple H.
Despite being in The Rock's corner, WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon turned on The People's Champion and attacked The Rock with a steel chair. This allowed Triple H to pin The Rock and retain the WWE Championship.
#2 Edge vs Randy Orton - WWE WrestleMania 36 Night 2 (36:35)
WWE WrestleMania 36 marked Edge's first in-ring WrestleMania match in 9 years. After being forced to retire due to a career-ending neck injury in 2011, the Rated R Superstar made his shocking return to action during the 2020 Men's Royal Rumble.
Despite being unsuccessful, the WWE Universe was overjoyed to see The Ultimate Opportunist back to being an in-ring performer once again.
The following night on RAW, Edge celebrated his return to action and was joined by former Rated RKO tag team partner Randy Orton. After welcoming Edge back to WWE, The Viper viciously attacked his former friend, dropping him with an RKO. Orton then took the attack to a new level by hitting Edge with the conchairto on his former partner's surgically repaired neck.
This set up Randy Orton and Edge's WrestleMania 36 showdown, which was eventually agreed to be a Last Man Standing match. Due to the global pandemic, WrestleMania 36 was moved from Raymond James Stadium to the WWE Performance Center in front of zero fans on a closed set.
This meant that The Rated R Superstar and The Viper brawled all over WWE's training facility in Orlando, Florida during their encounter. Edge and Orton fought into the the Performance Center's gym, meeting rooms and production facilities.
After a grueling 36 minutes and 35 seconds, Edge was the Last Man Standing, giving Randy Orton a taste of his own medicine and hitting The Viper with a conchairto on top of a WWE production truck.
#1 Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels - WWE WrestleMania XII (01:01:56)
The longest match in WWE WrestleMania history is arguably one of the greatest main events ever seen in WWE. Bret "Hitman" Hart vs Shawn Michaels in a 60-minute Iron Man match for the WWE Championship.
Shawn Michaels earned his opportunity to challenge Bret Hart for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XII after winning the 1996 Royal Rumble. The HeartBreak Kid would also later defeat Bret Hart's brother, Owen Hart, at In Your House 6 to keep his WrestleMania WWE Championship opportunity.
The rules of the Iron Man match were that the winner would be the WWE Superstar who had won the most falls before 60 minute time limit was reached. At the time, the WWE Universe had very rarely seen a match go this length.
Featuring two of the greatest in-ring performers of all time, there was no doubt that it was going to be a classic. Despite the 60 minute time limit, there was not a single fall earned during the original time span.
Initially labeled as a draw, it was announced that the match would go into sudden death over time. During overtime, Shawn Michaels connected with Sweet Chin Music, pinning Bret Hart and winning the first WWE Championship of his career after a grueling 1 hour, 1 minute and 56 seconds of action.
