With less than 400 individual superstars having a match at WrestleMania over the course of 36 years, it’s clear that not everyone can be a part of every WrestleMania. Between injuries, retirements, and shifting companies, it can sometimes take years for wrestlers to get back to The Showcase Of The Immortals.
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Many superstars over the years have been able to return after their supposed last WrestleMania; some over a decade after their last grand performance. These legends have gone the longest gaps between WrestleMania matches.
Note: Legends who competed in the Gimmick Battle Royal at WrestleMania X7 have been excluded from the list as they would dominate the list otherwise.
10 Ric Flair (10 Years Between WrestleMania VIII & X8)
It took almost 20 years to see Ric Flair in a WWE ring and his first run didn’t disappoint. The Nature Boy was able to win the WWE Title in the first-ever truly great Royal Rumble and walked into his first-ever WrestleMania (VIII) as the defending WWE Champion. It would be ten more years before the living legend would return to WrestleMania, the time becoming the tenth victim of Undertaker's streak at WrestleMania X8.
9 Leilani Kai (9 Years Between WrestleMania I & X)
In the history of women’s wrestling, Leilani Kai isn’t a name that gets mentioned that much. However she is a name that should be remembered - she was one half of the old Women’s tag champs, The Glamour Girls. She’s the only person on this list that was able to challenge for a title in both of her WrestleMania appearances, nine years apart!
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Kai was part of the inaugural show, in a losing effort against Wendi Richter. Ten years later, she would once again fall short, this time to Alundra Blayze.
8 Goldberg (13 Years Between WrestleMania XX & 33)
By his own admission, Goldberg’s first run in WWE was enough to practically scare him away from the business forever. Because he announced that he was leaving, the WWE fans booed Goldberg right out of MSG, along with Brock Lesnar. Thirteen years later, Goldberg would return as the defending Universal Champion in a brief but all-our brutal war with arch-rival, Brock Lesnar.
7 Terry Funk (12 Years Between WrestleMania 2 & XIV)
At WrestleMania XIV, insane, middle-aged and crazy Terry Funk (in his Chainsaw Charlie gimmick) teamed up with Cactus Jack in the first and only Dumpster Match in WrestleMania history. They would collide with the New Age Outlaws to claim the WWE Tag Team Titles.
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Over a decade before, the Funker would team up with his brother Dory at the forgotten WrestleMania, WrestleMania 2 against early Mania stalwarts, Tito Santana and JYD as the first brother tag team in event history.
6 Roddy Piper (13 Years Between WrestleMania XII & XXV)
Roddy Piper is one of the few wrestlers that have the distinction of being part of both Starrcade and WrestleMania “before they had a number.” Hot Rod’s final Mania match for over a decade was the infamous Hollywood Backlot Brawl against Goldust at WrestleMania XII.
By the end of the year, Piper would be a fixture in WCW, once again warring with Hogan. But as far as WrestleMania appearances go, The Mouth That Roared returned to the ring 13 years later at WrestleMania XXV as part of the trio of legends that took on Chris Jericho.
5 Kurt Angle (12 Years Between WrestleMania 22 & 34)
The Olympic Wrestling Machine Kurt Angle was on the road to easily becoming the greatest WWE wrestler of all time. Then he left shockingly for TNA in 2006 and after spending more time with Impact than with the company that made him famous,
Angle returned to be inducted into the Hall Of Fame in 2017. One year later, 12 years after he lost to Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania 22, Angle teamed up with Ronda Rousey in her WWE debut match in a winning effort against Stephanie McMahon & Triple H.
4 Goldust (12 Years Between WrestleMania 18 & 30)
Goldust hasn’t had a slew of grand WrestleMania moments, but he’s also been able to be part of at least one WrestleMania during each era of the company he’s been a part of it. From the New Generation to The Network Eras, Goldust has been able to persevere.
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At WrestleMania X8, Goldust took part in the official Hardcore match before it devolved into any and every superstar trying to get the belt. Twelve years later, he would take part in the inaugural Andre The Giant Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXX.
3 Bret Hart (13 Years Between WrestleMania 13 & XXVI)
Between the way The Hitman left WWE and Goldberg knocking his head into the thirteenth row, hell must have frozen over when Bret Hart returned to the WWE in 2010. But 13 years after his epic match with Austin, The Hitman came back to WrestleMania to eradicate Vince McMahon and the history of The Screwjob. The Pink And Black Attack assaulted The Chairman with an endless amount of chair shots before tapping him out with The Sharpshooter.
2 Shane McMahon (15 Years Between WrestleMania X7 & 32)
Thanks to a lengthy absence from the company, The Boy Wonder, Shane McMahon had a lengthy span between WrestleManias. At WrestleMania X7, Shane-o-Mac, the then kayfabe owner of WCW went to war with his father in a No Holds Barred match where he first introduced the Coast To Coast dropkick as a part of his arsenal.
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The prodigal son would return 15 years later to do battle with The Undertaker in an effort to tell the world about the secrets of the McMahon family.
1 Ricky The Dragon Steamboat (21 Years Between WrestleMania IV & XXV)
Despite his last WrestleMania being a losing effort during the WrestleMania IV tournament, the fans all remember fondly Ricky The Dragon Steamboat’s now folklore-like match with The Macho Man at WrestleMania III.
Over twenty years after the Dragon left WWE for the NWA and WCW, he once again was able to breathe fire on the grandest stage at WrestleMania XXV. He was the sole surviving member of the trio of legends defeated by Chris Jericho, but The Dragon had the fans chanting that he still had it.
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