5 Times the live audience made a WrestleMania match great

For the first time, WWE is expected to stage WrestleMania in an empty arena next month. The company has proven its ability to stage effective television without a live audience in recent episodes of RAW, SmackDown, and NXT. Nonetheless, the concept of a WrestleMania — known for drawing tens of thousands of fans to fill stadiums — happening without an audience feels quite strange.

Looking back through WrestleMania history, there are a number of times when a live WrestleMania crowd elevated a match. That’s not to say that the matches at hand weren’t good in their own right, but rather that the way in which the live crowd responded took matters to another level, making a well-worked encounter the stuff of legend based on the way in which they responded to the performers in the ring.

For every Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat style encounter from WrestleMania 3 that thrived on technicality, or succeeded in winning fans over for its quality, there are these alternatives that fans were all too ready to invest in.

These were the encounters that drew outsized pops to push matches to a higher level.

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#5. The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 18

The Rock and Hulk Hogan electrified the stadium crowd like few matches before or since.

The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan marked a true dream match. From an exclusively WWE perspective, it was an intergenerational clash between WWE’s definitive star of the 1980s and one of the top stars of the 1990s. From a broader view of wrestling, it was one of WCW’s top stars of the Monday Night War against one of WWE’s. On top of all of that, it was two big personalities with incredible physiques squaring off in the middle of a stadium.

The crowd buzzed.

The start of this match saw Hogan and Rock pause to look out at the sea of fans losing their minds before the wrestlers so much as locked up. From there, the crowd bit hard on everything they did, coming to side with Hogan, before the climax of the audience marking out to no end for Hogan’s post-match face turn. Yes, this was a good match, but it became an all-time classic for the crowd’s response.

#4. Sting vs. Triple H at WrestleMania 31

A masterfully booked match got the crowd unglued for Sting vs. Triple H.

Sting vs. Triple H undeniably felt like a dream match when it took shape in 2015. But for as much the prospect of these top guns from WCW and WWE's respective Monday Night War rosters squaring felt appealing, there was also an uncomfortable reality. Triple H was past his physical prime, and Sting was even further removed. No one could realistically expect a great match from a purist’s perspective.

WWE pulled out all of the stops, however, in not just casting Sting against Triple H, but using the match as a platform to stage a dream collision between DX (on behalf of The Game) and the New World Order (backing Sting). Each faction’s arrival drew a monster pop from the crowd. The nostalgia-fueled adrenaline rush of each turn of this match elevated what easily could have been a forgettable legends’ match, and made it one of the most positively unforgettable outings from a good ‘Mania event.

#3. Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant at WrestleMania 3

For its mechanical limitations, Hogan vs. Andre remains one of the most iconic wrestling matches of all time.

In 1987, it was virtually impossible to book a match between two higher-profile professional wrestlers than Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant. The Hulkster was riding an unprecedented wave of popularity as the face of WWE and the anchor of the company’s national expansion.

Andre the Giant was a legend known worldwide, seemingly on the verge of getting phased out of the limelight. Only here he was for one more main event angle, uniquely positioned as the insurmountable heel to Hogan’s heroic face character.

Any fan who watches their WrestleMania 3 main event with their television muted is likely to feel underwhelmed, particularly with the expectations for pacing and action contemporary wrestling has established. However, with the sound on, it’s easy to get lost in the historic moment as these two had 93,000 fans in the palms of their hands all match long, culminating in Hogan’s positively iconic body slam and leg drop to retain his world title.

#2. The Hardy Boyz vs. The Bar vs. Enzo and Big Cass vs. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson at WrestleMania 33

A surprise return of the Hardy Boyz led to a positively electric live audience.

The RAW Tag Team Championship Ladder Match between The Hardy Boyz, The Bar, Enzo, and Big Cass, and Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson was perfectly solid. However, there’s little denying that it went from a good match to an unforgettable instant classic based on the crowd’s investment, and particularly their support for The Hardys.

After an extended absence from WWE, Matt and Jeff Hardy made a surprise return in the moments before this match began. While rumors had swirled about the brothers potentially coming back, they had also wrestled for Ring of Honor over the same weekend, and it felt like a bit of a pipe dream to anticipate their return. When the Hardy music hit, the live crowd in Orlando came unglued, and they stuck with the match full tilt straight through to the end, making it feel like one of the most epic tag team collisions in WrestleMania history.

#1. Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar (vs. Seth Rollins) at WrestleMania 31

Seth Rollins cashing in Money in the Bank made the crowd explode at WrestleMania 31.

When Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar were scheduled for WrestleMania 31, the fan response felt pretty tepid. Reigns wasn’t yet over as a main event level star, and indeed a vocal percentage of fans booed him for feeling forced in the top guy role. While Lesnar was over as a monster heel, it didn’t exactly feel exciting to think of him retaining his WWE Championship at WrestleMania.

The match exceeded expectations as a fast-paced, hard-hitting brawl. Things went to the next level, however, when Seth Rollins’ music hit, and the reigning Mr. Money in the Bank stormed the ring.

Fans went ballistic at the reality of the first-ever Money in the Bank cash-in midway through a WrestleMania main event. The dream scenario took hold, and though Rollins was a heel, the sheer electricity of him cashing in under these circumstances made the match feel like an instant classic.