History

1980s

The World Wrestling Entertainment staged the first WrestleMania on March 31, 1985 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The main event was a tag-team match between the WWE Champion Hulk Hogan and Mr. T, accompanied by Jimmy Snuka against the team of Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff, who were accompanied by Cowboy Bob Orton. The financial and critical success of the event secured the company's status as the most successful promotion in the United States, rising above competitors such as the National Wrestling Alliance and American Wrestling Association. In attendance were business celebrity Sy Sperling and broadcasting executive Tony D'Angelo. WrestleMania 2 was held the following year and took place in three venues across the country. The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois, and the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. They each featured multiple matches that led up to the main event; this saw WWE Champion Hulk Hogan defeat the challenger King Kong Bundy in a steel cage match.

A world indoor attendance-record of 93,173 fans was set at WrestleMania III, which was also the largest paying attendance in the history of professional wrestling at the time. The event is widely considered to be the pinnacle of the 1980s wrestling boom. To make certain that every seat in the Pontiac Silverdome would be filled, the WWE decided to exclude the entire state of Michigan from pay-per-view access to the event, which made attending the event the only way for fans in Michigan to see it. The event featured Hulk Hogan defending the WWE Championship against André the Giant and the WWE Intercontinental Championship match between Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat.

WrestleMania IV was an all tournament event to crown a new WWE Champion. The second round of the tournament featured a rematch of the previous year's main event between Hulk Hogan and André the Giant while Randy Savage went on to defeat Ted DiBiase in the finals. The event returned the following year to Atlantic City, New Jersey for WrestleMania V, in which Hulk Hogan defeated Randy Savage for the WWE Championship Savage had won the previous year.

1990s

The first time WrestleMania took place outside of the United States was WrestleMania VI, which was held at the SkyDome, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In the main event match,The Ultimate Warrior won the WWE Championship from Hulk Hogan. The following year, the event returned to the United States for WrestleMania VII, which was originally scheduled to be held at the outdoors Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The event was moved to the adjacent indoors Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena for security reasons related to the Gulf War. The event saw Hulk Hogan face Sgt. Slaughter for the WWE Championship, while The Undertaker made his WrestleMania debut defeating Jimmy Snuka. Following this, The Undertaker was undefeated in 21 of his WrestleMania matches, until he was defeated by Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XXX. The next edition, WrestleMania VIII, was held in the Hoosier Dome with Macho Man Randy Savage defeating Ric Flair for the WWE Championship and Hulk Hogan defeating Sid Justice via disqualification.

WrestleMania IX was the first WrestleMania held at an outdoor venue. It was also the first and only time in Wrestlemania history that the WWE title switched twice. Yokozuna defeated Bret Hart to become the WWE Champion, only to lose it to Hulk Hogan. The tenth edition of the event, WrestleMania X saw its return to Madison Square Garden. The event featured Owen Hart defeating his elder brother Bret; a ladder match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship also headlined, in which Razor Ramon defeated Shawn Michaels. Bret having been defeated earlier won the WWE title from Yokozuna in the main event. Bret is the only wrestler in Wrestlemania history to lose his first match and come back to win the WWE title in the main event. Michaels defeated Bret Hart to win the WWE Championship in a 60-minute Iron Man match at WrestleMania XII. The match is considered to be one of the best matches in the history of the event. The event also saw the return of the Ultimate Warrior who defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley (later known as Triple H) in the latter's WrestleMania debut. The following year at WrestleMania 13, a submission match pitted Bret Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin against one another in a bout that received much acclaim and The Undertaker defeated Psycho Sid for the WWE Championship in the main event.

At WrestleMania XIV, Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated Shawn Michaels to become the new WWE Champion in a match that featured Mike Tysonserving as the special enforcer. Although Tyson had been aligned with Michaels and his stable D-Generation X, Tyson revealed to have been aligned with Austin all along as he personally counted the pinfall and declared Austin the winner. The Undertaker and Kane fought for first time at this event where The Undertaker won. The event became known for starting "The Attitude Era." The following year at WrestleMania XV, Austin defeated The Rock to regain the WWE Championship. The event featured the first of many encounters at WrestleMania between Steve Austin and The Rock in the rivalry of the two most prominent and popular stars of The Attitude Era.

2000s

WrestleMania 2000 featured the first ever Triangle Ladder match for the WWE Tag Team Championship, involving the Hardy Boyz, the Dudley Boyz and Edge and Christian. The main event featured the WWE Champion Triple H successfully defending his title in a fatal four way match against three challengers: The Rock, The Big Show and Mick Foley. This match was billed as having 'a McMahon in every corner' as Triple H was accompanied by Stephanie McMahon, The Rock by Vince McMahon, The Big Show by Shane McMahonand Mick Foley by Linda McMahon.

At WrestleMania X-Seven, Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated The Rock and regained the WWE Championship. The event also featured Vince and Shane McMahon in a Street Fight, while Edge and Christian won the WWE Tag Team Championship against the Hardy Boyz and Dudley Boyz in the second Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match. The event was the pinnacle of the 1990s wrestling boom, concluding The Attitude Era. It was also the first WrestleMania held after the dissolution and WWE's subsequent purchase of the company's rival, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and the end of the Monday Night Wars. WrestleMania X8 was the last WrestleMania to be produced under the WWF (World Wrestling Federation) name and featured Triple H defeating Chris Jericho to win the Undisputed Championship. Steve Austin, The Rock and The Undertaker defeated Scott Hall with Kevin Nash, Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair respectively, all whom had rejoined the company after their stints with WCW. Also Rob Van Dam won his first Intercontinental Championship in his WrestleMania debut. WrestleMania XIX saw Steve Austin's last match to date as he faced The Rock for a third time at WrestleMania, ending their long-running feud. Hulk Hogan defeated Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels participated in his first WrestleMania match in five years, defeating Chris Jericho. The World Heavyweight Championship was defended for the first time at the event with Triple H retaining against Booker T, while Brock Lesnar defeated Kurt Angle to win the WWE Championship.

World Wrestling Entertainment celebrated the twentieth edition of WrestleMania at Madison Square Garden with WrestleMania XX. The event featured The Undertaker (who returned to his Deadman persona) defeating the unmasked Kane in their second encounter and the WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championship victories of Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit, respectively with Guerrero defeating Kurt Angle to retain the WWE Championship and Benoit defeating Triple H and Shawn Michaels to win the World Heavyweight Championship. The event also featured the Rock 'n' Sock ConnectionThe Rock and Mankind/Mick Foley versus Batista, Randy Orton, and Ric Flair of Evolution where this 2-on-3 handicap match saw The Rock's last match for over seven years, as well as Steve Austin as the guest referee in an interpromotional singles match between the departing superstars Brock Lesnar (who would return to the company eight years later) and Bill Goldberg. The WWE Hall of Fame was reintroduced with an annual induction show held the night before WrestleMania.

At WrestleMania 21, the concept of the Money in the Bank ladder match was introduced as a six-man ladder match that featured a briefcase suspended above the ring containing a contract that guaranteed the winning Raw brand participant a world title match at any time and place of their choosing within one year up to the next year's WrestleMania, in which Edge went on to win this match. In the main events, the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship passed on to John Cena and Batista respectively by defeating John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Triple H in their respective matches. Eddie Guerrero's last WrestleMania match took place at WrestleMania 21 against Rey Mysterio as he died later that year. The event also featured the return of Stone Cold Steve Austin after a year long hiatus, while Kurt Angle defeated Shawn Michaels in a highly acclaimed match. The Money in the Bank ladder match was also held at WrestleMania 22 as a six-man interpromotional match where the winner would get a world title match of their choosing, regardless of the brand they were on, and this match was won by Rob Van Dam. At WrestleMania 23, the Money in the Bank match expanded to include eight men and would include stars from the revived ECW brand which was won by Mr. Kennedy. John Cena would go on to retain his WWE Championship at both WrestleMania 22 and 23, while the same events would see Rey Mysterio and The Undertaker win the World Heavyweight Championship respectively. Representing Donald Trump, ECW World Champion Bobby Lashley defeated Umaga, who represented Vince McMahon, in a match billed as the "battle of the billionaires" and arbitrated by Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 23.

At WrestleMania XXIV, Shawn Michaels defeated Ric Flair in a highly acclaimed match, while the Money in the Bank ladder match included seven participants from all three brands which was won by CM Punk who also wins it again at WrestleMania XXV. The ECW Championship was defended for the only time at a WrestleMania event, when Kane emerged as the new ECW Champion in a record 8 seconds, while Randy Orton retained the WWE Championship and The Undertaker won the World Heavyweight Championship for the second consecutive year, defeating Edge. In an encounter that featured major media coverage, boxing world champion Floyd Mayweather, Jr. defeated The Big Show. The event was the second WrestleMania to be held at an outdoor venue. WrestleMania XXV featured Chris Jericho defeating WWE Hall of Famers Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka, and Ricky Steamboat in a match that featured appearances by Ric Flair and actor Mickey Rourke. Shawn Michaels unsuccessfully attempted to hand The Undertaker his first defeat at a WrestleMania in an acclaimed match, and the WWE Intercontinental Championship was defended at the event for the first time since WrestleMania X8 with Rey Mysterio defeating John "Bradshaw" Layfield. John Cena defeated Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship also involving The Big Show, while Triple H retained the WWE Championship against Randy Orton.

2010s

At WrestleMania XXVI, the professional wrestling career of Shawn Michaels came to an end as he faced The Undertaker in a highly acclaimed re-match of their encounter from the previous year. The event also featured John Cena winning the WWE Championship and Chris Jericho retaining the World Heavyweight Championship. Following Bret Hart's return to WWE in over twelve years since the Montreal Screwjob incident, Bret Hart defeated Vince McMahon in a No-Holds Barred match with members of the Hart wrestling familypresent. Money in the Bank Ladder match included ten participants from both Raw and SmackDown (ECW brand was retired at February), and this match was won by Jack Swagger. This was the last Money in the Bank Ladder match to date at WrestleMania event.

WrestleMania XXVII featured the return of The Rock following a seven-year hiatus to serve as host for the event. Trish Stratus competed in her first WrestleMania since the twenty-second edition, teaming with John Morrison and Jersey Shore's Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi to defeat LayCool and Dolph Ziggler. Longtime WWE announcers Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler brawled in a match officiated by Stone Cold Steve Austin, while Triple H failed in his attempt to avenge Shawn Michaels' loss to The Undertaker from a year prior. This was the first WrestleMania in history in which both the World Heavyweight Champion and WWE Champion were able to successfully retain their titles. World Heavyweight Champion Edge defeated the challenger Alberto Del Rio in what would be Edge's last match before his retirement on April 11, and The Rock closed out the event saluting the fans after laying out John Cena and The Miz with the signature move Rock Bottom following Miz retaining the WWE Championship. This incident would set up the main event for the following year's WrestleMania.

WrestleMania XXVIII had three "main event" matches. In the first main event, The Undertaker defeated Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match via pinfall, officiated by WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels, extending his Wrestlemania streak to 20–0. The second main event featured CM Punk retaining the WWE Championship against Chris Jericho, via submission. The third main event featured The Rock defeating John Cena via pinfall in a "Once in a Lifetime" match, announced a year in advance.

In 2013, WrestleMania 29 had 80,676 fans in attendance, becoming the second-highest attended WrestleMania ever. This WrestleMania had three main events. The first saw The Undertaker extend his undefeated streak to 21-0 by defeating CM Punk. Triple H, with the help of Shawn Michaels, defeated Brock Lesnar in a No Holds Barred match; had Triple H lost, he would have had to retire from in-ring competition. In the final match, John Cena avenged his loss from the previous year by defeating The Rock for the WWE Championship, winning the title a record 11th time. Other matches included Alberto Del Rio successfully defending his World Heavyweight Championship against Jack Swagger, and Fandango pulling off an upset by defeating Chris Jericho.

WrestleMania XXX was the 30th annual WrestleMania event produced by WWE on April 6, 2014 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The event was the first WrestleMania to be held in the state of Louisiana. It saw Daniel Bryan defeat Triple H in the opening match. Per the stipulation this gave Bryan a spot in the main event, where he won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by making Batista submit. It was the first Wrestlemania when the WWE Divas Championship was defended when AJ Leeretained the championship in the Vickie Guerrero Divas Championship Invotational. WrestleMania XXX also saw the end of The Undertaker's undefeated streak as he was defeated by Brock Lesnar.

On December 9, 2013, it was confirmed that Levi's Stadium will host WrestleMania 31, on March 29, 2015. This will mark the first time WrestleMania is hosted in Northern California.

Dates and Venues

WrestleMania

Madison Square Garden (New York City, New York)

March 31, 1985

WrestleMania 2

Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (Uniondale, New York)

Rosemont Horizon (Rosemont, Illinois)

Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (Los Angeles, California)

April 7, 1986

WrestleMania III

Pontiac Silverdome (Pontiac, Michigan)

March 29, 1987