A look back at every April 1 WWE WrestleMania main event in history
April 1 has proven to be a significant historical date for wrestling fans with five different WWE WrestleManias taking place through the decades: 12% of the entire history, to be exact.
As you might imagine, each featured their share of memorable main events and big moments that grew over time. It seems doubtful that a WrestleMania ever takes place on the date again given recent history and wanting to get away from competition like the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
Without any jokes or pranks, here’s every main event from WrestleManias held on April 1.
WrestleMania VI (1990): Intercontinental Champion Ultimate Warrior vs. World Champion Hulk Hogan in a winner take all match
Promoted as “The Ultimate Challenge,” the feud featured the company’s two biggest fan favorites going head-to-head. Hogan entered the bout as WWF Champion, while Ultimate Warrior was the Intercontinental Champion with both belts on the line. The show was held at the SkyDome in Toronto, Canada — now the Rogers Centre.
The magnitude of stardom at the time made it a noteworthy part of WWE history. After the loss, Hogan handed over the title belt to Warrior and they embraced in the middle of the ring.
It symbolized WWE’s attempt at a passing-of-the-torch moment to position Warrior as the company’s next top star after Hogan. As history would show, that didn’t go too well.
WrestleMania X-Seven (2001): Steve Austin vs. The Rock for the WWE Championship
This match is widely regarded as one of the most career-altering and memorable matches in WWE history. At the time, both Austin and The Rock were at the peak of their wrestling careers, and represented the best of the Attitude Era.
Held at the Reliant (NRG) Astrodome in Austin’s home turf of Texas, the match carried high stakes. It was a no DQ title match, paving the way for a brutal and dramatic showdown between the two stars.
The big shocker happened when the referee was knocked out and Vince McMahon entered the ring with a steel chair. Austin then instructed him to use it on Rock as he held his hands behind his back. Austin won the match, weaponizing the chair against Rock as McMahon looked on. The Texas Rattlesnake stunned everyone when he joined forces with his arch rival in a move fans never anticipated.
The WrestleMania X-Seven main event remains a marquee match in WWE history.
WrestleMania 23 (2007): John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship
The Undertaker won the 2007 Royal Rumble and faced Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship in a streak vs. title match while Michaels was the Rumble runner-up and on the following edition of Raw, he won a number one contenders match for the WWE Championship.
Along the road to WrestleMania, Michaels and Cena were teamed together and dethroned Rated RKO to become WWE Tag Team Champions in January 2007 and were still champions when they faced each other in the WrestleMania 23 main event.
Cena retained the title by putting Michaels in the STFU. The following night on Raw, they put the Tag Team titles on the line against the Hardy Boyz. During the match, Michaels accidentally kicked Cena with Sweet Chin Music, opening the door for Jeff Hardy to pin him for the titles.
WrestleMania XXVIII (2012): John Cena vs. The Rock
Dubbed a once in a lifetime clash, Cena and The Rock’s collision at WrestleMania XXVIII was after a year’s worth of build.
There was no title involved unlike the following year where they rematched in the WrestleMania 29 main event for the WWE Championship.
The build for their rivalry spanned across a year since The Rock returned at WrestleMania 27, the same show where Cena was facing The Miz with the WWE title on the line. The Rock interfered, hitting Cena with an unsuspecting Rock Bottom and costing him the match.
That set the stage for their confrontation on the following Raw where the two megastars stood opposite each other in the ring and finalized their first-ever match for a year later.
Cena’s obsession to get even after “the biggest failure of his career” in his inability to defeat The Rock at that WrestleMania 28 led to the rematch the next year.
WrestleMania 39 (2023 night one): Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. The Usos for the WWE undisputed Tag Team titles
Throughout 2022, The Bloodline terrorized the roster with their dominance. In May of that year, The Usos defeated RK-Bro (Randy Orton & Matt Riddle) in a Tag Team title unification match for the Raw and SmackDown versions of the title.
During this time, Sami Zayn joined The Bloodline and was an honorary Uce. His friend/rival Owens was unhappy about the decision and attempted to get Zayn away from his Bloodline pals.
Things escalated at the 2023 Royal Rumble. Owens faced Roman Reigns for the undisputed WWE Universal Championship with Zayn and Paul Heyman at ringside.
After his victory over Owens, Reigns instructed The Usos to handcuff him to the ropes and attack him. Reigns picked up a steel chair and Zayn then intervened, pleading with him not to weaponize it against his friend. Reigns handed him the steel chair to strike Owens, but Zayn used it on Reigns instead in a huge moment.
In the months that followed, Owens and Zayn were reunited and vowed to get revenge on The Bloodline, ultimately leading to the WrestleMania 39 match where they ended The Usos’ long title reign.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.