5 greatest WrestleMania matches of all time

World Wrestling Entertainment continuously pulls out all the stops when it comes to its Super Bowl of pay-per-view events, filling up stadiums with thousands of fans paying to see the biggest stars compete in high-profile matches.

There have been 304 bouts over the course of 31 WrestleManias, dating all the way back to WrestleMania 1 at Madison Square Garden. Titles have changed hands, careers have been made, and some even ended on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

Here's a look at the five greatest matches in the history of the event:

Honorable Mentions:

• Bret "The Hitman" Hart vs. Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship (Iron Man Match, WrestleMania 12)
• The Undertaker vs. Triple H (End of an Era, WrestleMania 28)
• Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 21)
• "Macho Man" Randy Savage vs. The Ultimate Warrior (WrestleMania 7)
• Bret "The Hitman" Hart vs. Owen Hart (WrestleMania 10)

5. Edge and Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudley Boyz for the WWE Tag Team Championship (Tables, Ladders, and Chairs, WrestleMania X-Seven)

Very rarely do sequels live up to the expectations set by the original. The first-ever Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match eight months earlier at SummerSlam was a mesmerizing display of brutality, with all six participants putting their bodies on the line in new and creative ways to become Tag Team Champions.

The rematch at WrestleMania X-Seven blew everything The Hardy Boyz, Edge and Christian, and The Dudley Boyz had previously done out of the water. Just when you thought you had seen it all, the three pairings pulled maneuvers and spots out of their arsenals that only a special breed of superstar would even dare to attempt.

With an assist from his partner in crime Rhyno, Christian scaled the rungs of the ladder placed in the center of the ring to bring down the straps, resulting in he and his brother retaining the gold, just like they did at SummerSlam.

4. "Macho Man" Randy Savage vs. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat for the WWE Intercontinental Championship (WrestleMania 3)

On a night when "The Immortal" Hulk Hogan defended his WWE championship in the main event against the seemingly unbeatable Andre the Giant, a record crowd of 93,173 fans at the Pontiac Silverdome bore witness to a wrestling masterpiece between two future Hall of Famers that not only stole the show, but will forever stand the test of time as one of the greatest matches ever.

This jewel between Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat was storytelling at its finest. Near falls, aerial activity, and technical prowess littered a contest that was action-packed right from the opening bell.

In the end, it was "The Dragon" walking away with his first and only title as a WWE competitor after reversing a scoop slam into a small package. Savage wasn't left empty handed though, as his contributions helped elevate him to main-event status, eventually becoming WWE champion at the following WrestleMania.

3. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. The Rock for the WWE Championship (WrestleMania X-Seven)

It's not often WWE gets unconventional with its main-event programs by booking two babyfaces against one another. However, in the case of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Rock at WrestleMania X-Seven, it was the confrontation the company needed to book to fill out its first stadium show in nine years.

In the weeks leading up to the match, Austin emphasized just how important it was for him to defeat "The People's Champion," saying he needed to beat him more than anything he could ever imagine. Little did the WWE Universe know, "The Rattlesnake" was willing to go to great lengths to make that a reality - even if it meant selling his soul and aligning himself with his hated rival.

Growing frustrated in his quest to keep Rock down for a count of three, Austin recruited the assistance of WWE chairman Vince McMahon and a steel chair to decimate his opponent. With no disqualifications, it was all within the confines of the rules. An unholy alliance had been born, and a dramatic shift in Austin's character was set to begin.

2. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. Bret "The Hitman" Hart (Submission Match, WrestleMania 13)

To lose a Submission match, one of the participants needs to verbally submit or tap out to the nearby official in order for the bell to be rung. Now, Austin was too stubborn and prideful to go out like that, so rather than give "The Excellence of Execution" the satisfaction back in 1997, Austin - with blood oozing from his forehead - simply allowed himself to pass out from the pain.

It was a changing of the guard in WWE, with Austin and Bret reversing their respective heel and face roles as a result of what transpired. Hart's refusal to release his Sharpshooter, combined with Austin's resilience while being locked in the hold, immediately turned one of the company's heroes into a despised villain, and the ultimate rebel into a sympathetic antihero worth rallying behind.

Announcer Jim Ross said it best when he pointed out that Austin-Hart looked "more like a bar fight than a wrestling match." It also helped catapult WWE into the infamous Attitude Era - its most successful period ever.

1. Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker (WrestleMania 25)

The Undertaker's undefeated streak at WrestleMania was, at one time, unparalleled in its magnitude and overall significance. It was often perceived as being grander in scale than the headlining title bout, as defeating "The Deadman" would garner a level of immortality one couldn't find anywhere else.

Shawn Michaels - aptly nicknamed "Mr. WrestleMania" for the way he regularly elevated his performance for the show - took his shot at being the "1" in 16-1 during the 25th-anniversary show. The two respected veterans threw everything but the kitchen sink at each other, with the live audience needing to clutch their chests from what seemed like a never-ending cycle of near falls and last-second kickouts.

With the exception of a botched dive over the top rope by Undertaker, this was the closest thing to a perfect one-on-one wrestling match as they could have had, with "The Phenom" extending his streak to 17-0 following a second Tombstone Piledriver. Fans invested so much energy into this instant classic that the Triple H-Randy Orton title match that followed in the card was hindered greatly by an emotionally exhausted crowd.