WrestleMania is more than just a pay-per-view; more than a mere professional wrestling show; more than a sports-entertainment spectacle - WrestleMania is a global phenomenon, imbibed as deep in popular culture as anything could be.
Mania is the kind of event that can attract even the biggest detractors of the WWE, forcing them to set their resentment toward the company and its monopoly aside, in order to witness the glory of The Showcase of the Immortals.
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Today we present the 3rd and final part of our special ‘WrestleMania in Photographs’ segment, looking back at WrestleMania 21-32. Let’s get ready to rumble!
Also read: WrestleMania In Photographs: 1-10
Also read: WrestleMania in photographs: 11-20
WrestleMania 21
WWE date: April 3, 2005.
Venue: Staples Center. Los Angeles, California.
Attendance: 20,193.
WrestleMania 21 saw the WWE go to Hollywood baby! The event featured a ‘Sumo’ match between Big Show and MMA freakshow fighter Akebono. The Undertaker defeated Randy Orton in a singles matchup and Trish Stratus defended her WWE Women’s Championship against Christy Hemme, with career-long nemesis Lita watching ringside.
Kurt Angle submitted the ‘Heart Break Kid’ Shawn Michaels and John Cena beat JBL for the WWE Championship. The main event of the evening saw Batista best Triple H (w/ Ric Flair) for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
WrestleMania 21 also saw the first ‘Money In The Bank’ ladder match, that saw Edge emerge victorious with the MITB briefcase.
WrestleMania 22
WWE Date: April 2, 2006.
Venue: Allstate Arena. Rosemont, Illinois.
Attendance: 17,159.
WrestleMania 22 saw Edge (w/ Lita) beat Mick Foley in a high-octane Hardcore match. Torrie Wilson beat Candice Michelle in a ‘Playboy Pillow Fight’ and Mickie James won the WWE Women’s championship by defeating Trish Stratus.
The Undertaker bested Mark Henry in a Casket match and Shawn Michaels beat Vince McMahon in a ‘No-Holds-Barred’ bout. Rey Mysterio won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Randy Orton and Kurt Angle in a Triple Threat title fight.
The main event of WrestleMania 22 saw John Cena win the WWE Championship by submitting Triple H with the STF.
WrestleMania 23
WWE Date: April 1, 2007.
Venue: Ford Field. Detroit, Michigan.
Attendance: 80,103.
Ah! The Battle of the Billionaires! WrestleMania 23 saw Vince McMahon get his head shaved after his ‘wrestler’ Umaga, lost to Donald Trump’s henchman Bobby Lashley. This circus act was followed by Donald Trump eating a ‘Stone Cold’ stunner. Yep, Steve Austin has stunned the current POTUS- nobody is safe from the Rattlesnake!
The ECW originals beat the ‘New Breed’ in an eight-man tag-team match. Furthermore, the Undertaker won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by beating ‘The Animal’ Batista.
The event’s headliner saw John Cena submit the ‘Heart Break Kid’ Shawn Michaels and successfully defend his WWE Championship.
WrestleMania 24
WWE Date: March 30, 2008.
Venue: Florida Citrus Bowl. Orlando, Florida.
Attendance: 74,635.
WrestleMania 24 saw CM Punk win the Money In The Bank ladder match and Ric Flair face Shawn Michaels in a Retirement match.
HBK beat ‘The Nature Boy’, which led to Flair staying retired from the squared-circle for quite some time after the match and bidding adieu to the WWE as an in-ring performer, although he’d still be involved in several on-screen segments with WWE in the future.
WM 24 also saw Beth Phoenix and Melina beat Maria and Ashley in a ‘Playboy Bunnymania Lumberjill’ match, with Snoop Dogg acting as a special ring enforcer. Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeated Big Show in a no-DQ matchup in the penultimate bout of the evening.
Randy Orton successfully defended his WWE Championship in a Triple Threat match against Triple H and John Cena. The main event of the evening saw the Deadman win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Edge using his signature ‘Hells-Gates’ manoeuvre.
WrestleMania 25
WWE Date: April 5, 2009.
Venue: Reliant Stadium. Houston, Texas.
Attendance: 72,744.
The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania saw CM Punk win the Money In The Bank Ladder match yet again, putting on one of the greatest performances of his career on the grandest stage of them all. Matt Hardy beat his brother Jeff Hardy in an Extreme Rules match.
WM 25 saw the Undertaker defeat Shawn Michaels in one of the greatest professional wrestling matches of all time. Meanwhile, John Cena won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by beating Big Show and Edge in a Triple Threat title matchup.
The main event of WrestleMania 25 saw ‘The King of Kings’ Triple H defeat Randy Orton and successfully defend his WWE Championship.
WrestleMania 26
WWE Date: March 28, 2010.
Venue: University of Phoenix Stadium. Glendale, Arizona.
Attendance: 72,219.
WrestleMania 26 was a special event, not only due to the fact that it was one of the rare Manias to be headlined by a non-title match, but also due to said match being the last official match of Mr. WrestleMania Shawn Michaels’ legendary career.
The event saw Randy Orton beat Ted Dibiase and Cody Rhodes in a Triple Threat match. The 26th edition of Mania also saw a returning Bret Hart defeat Vince McMahon in a No-Holds-Barred submission match with several notable members of the Hart family present as lumberjacks.
Then-WWE World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho successfully defended his strap against Edge and John Cena defeated Batista for the WWE Championship by way of submission.
The main event of the evening saw Taker face Mr WrestleMania himself, with both competitors putting on a show for the WWE Universe. In what was a Retirement match for HBK, the night ended with him coming up short in a bid to beat the Deadman, thereby forcing Michaels to retire.
WrestleMania 27
WWE Date: April 3, 2011.
Venue: Georgia Dome. Atlanta, Georgia.
Attendance: 71,617.
WrestleMania 27 was the first edition of Mania to be held in the state of Georgia.
The event saw Adam Copeland aka Edge in his last televised match, successfully defending his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Alberto Del Rio and retire the following week owing to real-life injury issues.
Cody Rhodes beat Rey Mysterio and Randy Orton defeated CM Punk in their respective singles-matchups. Furthermore, the team of John Morrison, Trish Stratus and reality TV star Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi beat the team of Dolph Ziggler, Michelle McCool and Layla.
The main event of WrestleMania 27 saw The Miz successfully defend his WWE Championship against John Cena, albeit with a little bit of assistance from Alex Riley. The 27th edition of Mania ended with the WWE tactfully setting up one of the biggest pro-wrestling clashes of all time that would take place the following year.
WrestleMania 28
WWE Date: April 1, 2012.
Venue: Sun Life Stadium. Miami Gardens, Florida.
Attendance: 78,363.
WrestleMania 28 featured the ‘Once in a Lifetime’ match between John Cena and The Rock, somewhat similar to the ‘Icon vs Icon’ matchup between The Rock and Hollywood Hulk Hogan a few years prior at WrestleMania 18.
Rocky went on to beat Cena at ‘Mania 28 and the duo would wrestle again at ‘Mania 29 for The People’s Champion’s WWE strap, with Cena emerging victorious the second time around.
WrestleMania 28 saw Sheamus beat Daniel Bryan for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in just 18 seconds. The Undertaker defeated Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match, with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee for the bout.
The event also saw a 12-man tag-team match in order to determine the General Manager for WWE’s RAW and SmackDown brands, with Team Johnny (John Laurinaitis and co.) emerging victorious.
The penultimate bout of the evening saw CM Punk successfully defend his WWE Championship against Chris Jericho by way of submission.
The night’s headliner saw The Brahma Bull aka The People’s Champion aka Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson defeat John Cena in a surprisingly good performance, given the fact that Rocky had been away from the squared-circle as a performer for quite some time coming into ‘Mania 28.
WrestleMania 29
WWE Date: April 7, 2013.
Venue: MetLife Stadium. East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Attendance: 80,676.
WrestleMania 29 marked the Mania debut of The Shield, with the team of Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns beating the team of Randy Orton, Big Show and Sheamus. Alberto Del Rio defeated Jack Swagger and successfully defended his WWE World Heavyweight title.
WrestleMania 29 saw The Undertaker defeat CM Punk who was accompanied by Paul Heyman. Furthermore, in a ‘Retirement’ match, Triple H saved his career by eking out a win over ‘The Beast Incarnate’ Brock Lesnar.
The main event of the evening saw John Cena challenge The Rock for the WWE Championship - a matchup in which Cena dethroned The People’s Champion whilst simultaneously avenging his WrestleMania 28 loss.
Cena walked out of ‘Mania 29 as the WWE Champion.
WrestleMania 30
WWE Date: April 6, 2014.
Venue: Mercedes-Benz Superdome. New Orleans, Louisiana.
Attendance: 75,167.
WrestleMania 30 aka WrestleMania XXX was a monumental event in every sense of the term. It was the first edition of Mania to be simultaneously aired on Pay-Per-View as well as the WWE’s newly-formed WWE Network.
The PPV’s main segment featured WrestleMania 30’s host Hulk Hogan take center-stage, getting the fans pumped up, before being joined by The Rock and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin. The trio reminisced about past Manias and concluded the segment with a trademark Stone Cold beer celebration.
The first match of the main card saw Daniel Bryan beat Triple H, thereby qualifying for the main-event’s WWE World Heavyweight Championship matchup. Furthermore, The Shield beat the team of The New Age Outlaws and Kane.
Besides, Cesaro won the inaugural ‘Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal’ at WrestleMania XXX.
The 30th edition of Mania also saw one of the most impressive winning streaks in the history of pro-wrestling come to an end when Brock Lesnar defeated The Undertaker to become the ‘One’ in 21-1. (Cue Paul Heyman’s voice) Baaarrockkk Lesnarrr!!!
The main event of the evening saw Daniel Bryan defeat Batista and Randy Orton for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, in what is now considered as one of the most iconic moments in the history of professional wrestling. Yes! Yes! Yes!
WrestleMania 31
WWE Date: March 29, 2015.
Venue: Levi’s Stadium. Santa Clara, California.
Attendance: 76,976.
WrestleMania 31 saw Mixed Martial Arts icon and Women’s MMA pioneer ‘Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey in an entertaining segment wherein she teamed-up with The Rock against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.
The event saw Seth Rollins lose to Randy Orton in a singles matchup in the initial part of the main card. Rollins, however, would go on to cash in his Money In The Bank contract in the main event of the evening, thereby inserting himself into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship matchup against Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar.
‘The Architect’ walked out of Mania 31 as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
Other notable matchups on the card were Undertaker vs Bray Wyatt, John Cena vs Rusev and the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. The Battle Royal was won by Big Show who’s a self-confessed fan and longtime admirer of the late Andre The Giant.
WrestleMania 31 also saw the WrestleMania debut of Sting, with the baseball bat-wielding ‘Icon’ performing in his first official match for the WWE.
Triple H defeated Sting in a no-DQ matchup that saw outside interference from members of the nWo (Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash) as well as DX (Billy Gunn, Road Dogg and X-Pac).
All in all, it was a good event that was capped off by a star-making, show-stealing title-win by ‘The Architect’ Seth Rollins.
WrestleMania 32
WWE Date: April 3, 2016.
Venue: AT&T Stadium. Arlington, Texas.
Attendance: 101,763.
WrestleMania 32 marked the Mania debut of AJ Styles, who impressed the WWE Universe in a losing performance to Chris Jericho. Besides, Ric Flair’s daughter, the athletic specimen Charlotte, won the WWE Women’s Championship which replaced the old Divas Championship.
Furthermore, Brock Lesnar defeated ‘The Lunatic Fringe’ Dean Ambrose in a No-Holds-Barred Street Fight. The event also saw the Undertaker take on Shane McMahon in a fight that saw Shane O’Mac jump off of the Hell in a Cell cage.
The Rock beat Erick Rowan in what is the shortest WrestleMania match of all time. Also featured on the card was the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal that saw Mania debutante Baron Corbin win the match and the prestigious trophy.
The main event of WrestleMania 32 saw the rise of the ‘Roman Empire’, when Roman Reigns defeated Triple H for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
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