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This is not the first time anyone's saying this and this won't be the very last, WrestleMania will forever be the greatest wrestling event in the world of professional wrestling.
The event, with its visual spectacle and widespread mainstream attention, has managed to transcend generations whilst reminding us all why we fell in love with this business in the first place.
Though every performer scratching and clawing the surface ultimately wishes to showcase their proficiency at Vince McMahon's greatest gift to mankind, it's an altogether different feeling when you are entering the Showcase of the Immortals with a Championship around your waist.
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It's a surreal feeling when a WWE Superstar earns his way to Championship gold in Vince McMahon's billion dollar company, and to enter WrestleMania, and being able to successfully defend the gold one worked so hard for, truly places them on a different pedestal.
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With WrestleMania 36 just around the corner, this article aims to throw the spotlight on superstars that entered the Grandest Stage of Them All with a title around their waist and a huge chip on their shoulder. Not only did these Superstars manage to defend their Championship with pride, but did so, by entertaining us to the very core.
These are the 10 greatest Championship defenses in WrestleMania ranked.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article belong to the writer and doesn't necessarily represent Sportkeeda's stand.
#10 Neville (C) Vs. Austin Aries - Singles match for the Cruiserweight Championship, WrestleMania 33
Superstars that usually come to blows in the kickoff shows are rarely able to gravitate the spotlight from the other top-tier competitors performing on the main show. However, Neville's Cruiserweight title defense against Austin Aries at WrestleMania 33 was one such rare instance.
This match from its very beginning to the end was outstanding. The interestingly hard-hitting fusion of technical mastery and high-flying offensiveness coerced the WWE Universe to sit and absorb the greatness of these two incredible performers.
Neville and Austin Aries opened the Grandest Stage of Them All the way Vince McMahon wanted it to be: on a very high note. Though legions in the internet wrestling community criticized the bout's placement on the card, it didn't stop the two technicians to go out there and give us an absolute belter of a match.
Neville, here, executed his heel role perfectly whilst making Austin Aries look like a legitimate threat to his Cruiserweight Championship.
One of the many reasons why this match makes the list is because the two performers, with all they were given, took their chances and coerced us all to sit back and witness magic.
Not being on the main card does hurt, but this didn't stop these two fine wrestlers to do what they do best.
#9 AJ Styles (C) Vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - Singles match for the WWE Championship, WrestleMania 34
Ever since the King of Strong Style cracked a deal with WWE and moved to the States, every single member of the WWE Universe craved to see the Japanese sensation slug it out with perhaps the greatest in-ring performer of this generation, AJ Styles.
And whilst Nakamura had to take the NXT route to get to the main roster, the former Intercontinental Champion did find his way to the top of the heap, when he outshined 29 credible Superstars in the Men's Royal Rumble match in 2018 and sealed his ticket to the Grandest Stage of Them All.
The two masters of the mat finally collided for the WWE Championship in their first WWE match at WrestleMania 34 and gave us, what was, a reasonably good match.
Considering the fact that the event was scheduled to be closed by Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar, legions in the WWE Universe had their money on the WWE Championship bout to blow the roof off the Superdome and give us a match for the ages.
However, the match never really ticked the right boxes and probably suffered from its placement on the card. Perhaps the only takeaways from this bout was Nakamura's Kinshasa reversed into a visually stunning Styles' Clash by the Phenomenal One followed by a shocking post-match heel turn by the King of Strong Style.
Since everyone expected Styles to drop the title to the former NXT Champion that night, victory over Nakamura only proved why Styles had become one of Vince's favorite Superstars in the entire company, let alone the Blue brand.
This match may not seem like a standard Styles and Nakamura match, but it still is one of the very best title defenses in the event's history.
#8 Diesel (C) Vs. Shawn Michaels - Singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, WrestleMania XI
WrestleMania XI saw Diesel successfully defend his WWF World Heavyweight Championship against one of the greatest wrestlers alive, Shawn Michaels, in a fairly enjoyable outing.
Widely considered as one of the worst WrestleMania events of all time, this World Heavyweight bout is perhaps the only thing most of us would want to remember from this event.
Judging by how the entire feud between the two transpired, from Diesel parting ways with the Showstopper, vacating the WWF Tag-Team Championship he shared with the latter, going on to defeat Bob Backlund for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship and watching Shawn Michaels win the Royal Rumble match.
And without sounding like a naysayer, it did deliver, to an extent. Playing second fiddle to the main event clash between Bam Bam Bigelow and Lawrence Taylor did hurt the entire main-event feel surrounding the match, but HBK and Diesel still managed to tear each other apart whilst giving us a good wrestling bout.
With the match almost exceeding the 20-minute mark, everyone expected Michales to outshine his former tag-team partner and claim the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.
Despite of Shawn's commendable attempts to get the title around his waist, Diesel managed to control Mr. WrestleMania himself and ultimately got the job done with an almost botched Jackknife powerbomb to retain the title.
#7 Hulk Hogan (C) Vs. Andre the Giant - Singles match for the WWF Championship, WrestleMania 3
If you're a fan of old-school professional wrestling and get chills experiencing two larger than life characters test each other's strengths whilst telling an incredible story between the ropes, then Hulk Hogan's titanic WWF Championship clash with Andre the Giant at WrestleMania 3 would be one of your most favorite WrestleMania bouts of all time.
Not only is this match one of the most talked about collisions in the company's history, the WWF Championship bout ascended Vince McMahon's stature in the wrestling business and also proved vital in helping the industry make its mark all over the world.
The story heading into this match was excellent. Hogan's three-year illustrious WWF Championship reign pitted against Andre's 15-year long undefeated streak, giving us one of the greatest WWF Championship defenses in WrestleMania history.
Considering how much attention Andre gravitated due to his physical stature, Hulk body slamming him in front of a deafening crowd of over 90,000 fans not only made us fall for the Hulkster's heroism, it gave us, the fans, a moment we will never, ever, forget.
Regardless of the fact that the bout may not be everyone's cup of tea as far as the in-ring action is concerned, Hulk tussling his way to retain the title against one of wrestling world's greatest names is still a thing of beauty to this date.
#6 CM Punk (C) Vs. Chris Jericho - No Disqualification match for the WWE Championship, WrestleMania 28
The next bout that makes the list is CM Punk's impressive defense of the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 28 against one of the greatest minds to ever grace the professional wrestling business, Chris Jericho.
It took two of the most high-profile in-ring technicians, an interestingly booked personal feud, and the most coveted prize in WWE history up for grabs to give us all one of the best WWE Championship defenses in the company's history.
Considering John Cena's once in a lifetime clash with The Rock and the Undertaker's monumental rivalry with Triple H was overshadowing almost everything placed on the card, Punk and Jericho still managed to push each other to the absolute limits, giving us a convincing high-stakes WWE Championship bout in the process.
Though the match did get affected due to its slow start, Jericho's smartly crafted heel role, Punk's desire to exact revenge on the Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rolla, and an intriguing no-disqualification stipulation kept the fans hooked and settled till the very last move.
The 22-minute slugfest ended with the Second City Saint reversing Jericho's finishing move and coercing the latter to submit to a stunning Anaconda Vise. Despite the fact that the bout did receive the adulation of the hardcore fans, had it opened the show that night, the bout would have surely made the Top 3 of this list.
#5 Eddie Guerrero (C) Vs. Kurt Angle - Singles match for the WWE Championship, WrestleMania XX
Without a shadow of a doubt, Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle are two of the finest men to ever grace the squared circle and this WWE Championship bout at WrestleMania XX proves the same.
After working his socks off to defeat Brock Lesnar and win the WWE Championship, Eddie Guerrero entered the Madison Square Garden for his first title defense on PPV against his former ally, Kurt Angle.
Judging by the respect these two earned between the ropes, this WWE Championship bout was one hell of a technical contest. The initial stages of the bout were a little slow with both the in-ring magicians testing each other's strengths, but the minute the Mexican Icon went rib first into the railing, the in-ring encounter became more intense, more pacy, and incredibly entertaining to watch.
Although this 21-minute outing concluded with Eddie getting a roll-up victory over a frustrated Angle, which was, let's say, rather underwhelming, the ending was still a text-book Eddie Guerrero style finish and certainly solidified his spot at the very top of the food chain.
#4 Chris Jericho (C) Vs. Edge - Singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship, WrestleMania XXVI
Another Chris Jericho match that makes the cut is his impressive title defense over one of professional wrestling's most respected competitors, Edge.
The two in-ring magicians locked horns for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXVI after the Rated-R Superstar made a shocking return at the 2010 Royal Rumble match, winning the highly popular gimmick match in the process.
After sealing his ticket to the Showcase of the Immortals, almost everyone expected Edge to walk out of the University of Phoenix Stadium with the coveted World title. However, this is where WWE is at its very best, when they are able to give the fans something shocking whilst keeping them entertained throughout.
Despite being overshadowed by The Undertaker's epic clash with Shawn Michaels in the main event that night, Edge and Jericho did everything they could to bring respect to the World Heavyweight title.
The storyline, the spots, the near-falls, everything was booked almost perfectly in this 16 minute clash. Although Jericho played his heel role to perfection by working on Edge's achilles tendon, hitting the latter with the World title, and capitalizing on the recently returned legend's vulnerability to get the job done, it was the Rated-R Superstar who walked out of Arizona with the last laugh after hitting Y2J with a stunning spear through the barricade.
Whilst this may not be one of WrestleMania's greatest in-ring encounters, Jericho's retention over Edge was perfectly executed and kept the fans intrigued throughout.
#3 Charlotte (C) Vs. Asuka - Singles match for the SmackDown Women's Championship, WrestleMania 34
Deservedly taking the number third spot on this list is Charlotte's unforgettable title defense against one of the greatest women's wrestlers on the planet, Asuka.
Taking into account the time it took for these credible female performers to even get to the main event spot, this riveting bout definitely played its part in putting the women's division on the map.
Right from its inception to its very end, this match was a classic. Charlotte's incredible SmackDown Women's title reign pitted against Asuka's undefeated streak gave this match a far more better intrigue than any other women's match in WrestleMania before, and boy did it deliver!
Both the female performers gave the fans what was expected of them, a hard-hitting tussle. If you analyze the match closely, you come to realize how clinically these two studied each other's in-ring strategies, which of course, is a testament to their in-ring IQ's .
Asuka, with all her offensiveness, took Charlotte to her absolute limits by constantly targeting the Queen's shoulder which got Flair over as a babyface, and ultimately, making us all realize why the women's division deserves all the adulation it gets.
An event that saw AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura clashing for the WWE Championship, John Cena and The Undertaker coming to blows, and Daniel Bryan returning, not only did this collision stole the entire show that night, the match itself proved why women's wrestling is the need of the hour.
#2 John Cena Vs. Shawn Michaels - Singles match for the WWE Championship, WrestleMania 23
Whilst legions in the WWE Universe used to detest John Cena that time for his superheroic antics, his stellar title defense against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 23 proved everyone wrong.
This WrestleMania clash is one of John Cena's most acclaimed outings at the Grandest Stage of Them All.
With Shawn Michaels failing to win the Men's Royal Rumble match in 2007 after being thrown over the top rope by The Undertaker in the concluding stages of the bout, HBK fought his way by defeating Edge and Randy Orton to earn the No. 1 contender's spot for the WWE Championship.
Though the two performers heading into a collision course were basically babyfaces, the creative team had to give the fans something special that night, to even make this work.
And to be honest, this match had it all. This was the last time the Showstopper fought for a Championship at the Grandest Stage of Them All and still managed to give John Cena one of the greatest matches of his career.
Despite most of the heat Cena received for his in-ring style, the Cenation Leader took his chances, took Michaels to his absolute limits, and proved why he deserves to be in the position he is.
Coming back to HBK on this, there's absolutely nothing Michaels cannot do when he's out there to prove a point and have a fantastic wrestling match. This 30-minute belter ended with Big match John coercing the Showstopper to submit to a stellar STFU, retaining the most-coveted prize in sports entertainment in the process.
This may not be the greatest title defense in WrestleMania history, but it's still up there with the very best.
#1 Razor Ramon Vs. Shawn Michaels - Ladder Match for the Undisputed WWF Intercontinental Championship, WrestleMania X
And the match that claims its position at the very top of the heap is Razor Ramon's game changing tussle with Shawn Michaels for the WWF Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania X.
There's absolutely no denying that this is the very night Shawn Michaels cemented his position in WWE history as one of the greatest to ever lace a pair of boots.
One of the biggest reasons why this earns the top spot on this list is because of the story that translated between the ropes which led to this visually stunning masterpiece.
Got to give it to these two, not only did they produce one of the most iconic WrestleMania matches of all time, they literally tore each other apart using ladders to their advantage, and giving us, the fans, something we may never ever see again.
There are absolutely no flaws in this gem. Though the Ladder match was Bret Hart's brain child, this was the very first time WWF were televising the gimmick match and judging by the way things translated on screen, Vince definitely made the right call.
This 19-minute spectacle kept the audience at the very edge of their seats. Michaels and Razor Ramon went back and forth to give us a match, which not only enlightened the entire wrestling community, but established this gimmick match into what it is today.
