Ranking every WrestleMania of the past decade: Part I (10 to 6)

WrestleMania is the biggest annual event in all of sports and entertainment. Every year, it somehow gets bigger and bigger. The event is always special because of the spectacle, if not for the moments.

The evolution of the enormity of WrestleMania in the past decade has been incredible to see, with WWE constantly turning out in huge American football stadiums filled with anywhere between 70,000 and 100,000 fans in attendance.

And with WrestleMania 36 taking place in the Performance Center, the 2010s will remain the only complete decade where every 'Mania has taken place in a huge stadium.

While almost every edition is a success from a business and aesthetic point of view, not all of them is a success in the ring. A few of them were a bit dull and left a lot to be desired.

Some of the elements that would lead to a WrestleMania not living up to expectations would be the lack of exciting matches and the monotonously predictable booking surrounding part-timers. In most of these entries, the main event was really poor, having a detrimental effect on the entire show.

Here is the first half of every WrestleMania in the 2010s ranked, from 10 to 6. These shows ranged from poor to decent, so not all of them were bad.

Stay tuned for Part II, which will be out tomorrow.

#10 WrestleMania 27 (2011)

This show was set up to fail, mainly because it's primary focus was to sell the following year's WrestleMania. The Rock returned to WWE to be the host of this show and immediately started a feud with John Cena, who challenged The Miz for the WWE Championship in the main event.

The Great One under-delivered on the night, partaking in some uncharacteristically lame segments. It was disappointing, as was the payoff to the Michael Cole vs Jerry Lawler storyline.

Lawler did not even get his proper revenge, as Cole won by disqualification. Vince McMahon called it the "worst thing he's ever witnessed in 60 years".

If not for a great No Holds Barred Match between Triple H and The Undertaker, WrestleMania 27 would have flopped harder. Other bouts featuring CM Punk, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, and others were also solid, but not enough to make the show good.

This was also the site for Edge's last match before his sudden retirement in 2011, as he defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Alberto Del Rio.

Cena vs Miz was an absolute disappointment as the show-closer, with the latter retaining his title thanks to interference from The Rock. However, it was the People's Champion who stood tall at the end of the show.

#9 WrestleMania 29 (2013)

While WrestleMania 27 saw the start of the rivalry between The Rock and John Cena, WrestleMania saw the end of it. The two faced each other in the main event of the show once again, this time for the WWE Championship. Cena got his win back in a pretty long and tiring contest.

Overall, this was one of the most mediocre 'Manias in modern history. Not a whole lot happened, aside from The Undertaker having his last truly great match on the 'Grandest Stage of Them All'.

The match between the Deadman and CM Punk was also the final match in his undefeated streak at WrestleMania. Triple H vs Brock Lesnar was a predictable rematch from the previous year, much like Cena vs Rock.

Drifting away from the part-timer heavy main event scene, The Shield scored a big victory over Randy Orton, Sheamus, and The Big Show, while Fandango and Big E made their WWE in-ring debuts. The former pinned Chris Jericho clean in the middle of the ring.

At least the RAW after 'Mania was an absolute blast. There was arguably more energy and excitement in that show than at MetLife Stadium for WrestleMania 29.

#8 WrestleMania 32 (2016)

WWE seemingly had major plans for WrestleMania 32, with the show taking place at the massive AT&T Stadium in the heart of Texas. However, a lot of them were crushed due to some poorly timed injuries to the likes of John Cena and Seth Rollins among others.

What we got was a really long and underwhelming mess of a show. The undercard had some good matches. The opening Intercontinental Title ladder match was spectacular, with Zack Ryder claiming a shocking victory.

Also, the WWE Women's Championship was introduced in grand fashion, as Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair tore the house down. However, the biggest matches were all letdowns.

Dean Ambrose was not allowed to get anything substantial in on Brock Lesnar during their Street Fight, while Shane McMahon vs The Undertaker was just a high spot waiting to happen for 25 lumbering minutes.

The final hour of the show was weird, as The Rock defeated Erick Rowan in six seconds before taking out the Wyatt Family with the help of an unfit John Cena. The main event was another boring match in which Roman Reigns defeated Triple H to win the WWE Championship.

The Big Dog celebrated his victory to a chorus of boos, ending WrestleMania 32 on a downer. But there were a number of cool moments earlier on to make it a passable show. Remember when the New Day entered through a giant box of cereal?

#7 WrestleMania 26 (2010)

This was somewhat of a last hurrah for many top WWE Superstars. Two months after WrestleMania 26, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Batista all ended their full-time in-ring careers.

The Undertaker also became a part-timer soon after. He and Michaels had a sensational follow-up to their classic at WrestleMania 25, with the added layer of HBK's career being on the line.

This gargantuan main event was well-supported, with John Cena vs Batista and Chris Jericho vs Edge deeming themselves worthy of world title status at the Show of Shows.

The undercard was decent but suffered from a slight lack of time. CM Punk and Rey Mysterio criminally got only nine minutes, while the final Money in the Bank Ladder Match to take place at 'Mania had a bloated ten competitors and was won by Jack Swagger.

WrestleMania 26 would have been higher on this list had Bret Hart vs Vince McMahon not been a stinker that went on far too long. It was an abomination of a match and WWE would have benefited from shifting some time from that to the aforementioned Punk vs Mysterio match.

#6 WrestleMania 34 (2018)

The first half of WrestleMania 34 was one of the greatest in history, with some great wrestling and top-class storytelling. But a terrible final hour prevented it from finishing much higher.

The show had incredible potential, kicking off with an excellent triple threat for the Intercontinental Championship. Seth Rollins claimed the IC Title before Charlotte Flair defeated Asuka to end her historic unbeaten streak.

But the show was stolen by Ronda Rousey in her debut match. The Baddest Woman on the Planet teamed with Kurt Angle to face Stephanie McMahon and Triple H as they blew the roof off the Superdome. It was a perfect demonstration of how good sports entertainment could truly be.

Elsewhere, Daniel Bryan returned to in-ring action and The Undertaker squashed John Cena. It was all good, until that final hour. It started with AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura's WWE Championship disappointing from all the hype.

After that, a 10-year-old boy called Nicholas won the RAW Tag Team Championship with Braun Strowman and the night was concluded with a dumpster fire of a main event.

Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns faced off for the Universal Championship, in front of a rabid and indifferent WWE Universe. Lesnar retained the title, ending the night on a further downer.

It's a real shame, as WWE was one hour away from producing a likely all-time classic WrestleMania.

Edited by Zaid Khan