WrestleMania is the grandest stage of them all. The ultimate goal for wrestlers around the world, to headline WrestleMania, is the greatest honour of them all. Therefore, one would assume that the main event of the granddaddy of them all would be the best match of the year.
Unfortunately, the main event of WrestleMania isn’t always as spectacular as we’d have anticipated. In this article, the worst WrestleMania main events will be broken down and analysed to determine which one gets the (not so) prestigious title of Worst WrestleMania Main Event.
FIVE: Roman Reigns vs. Triple H (WrestleMania XXXII)
Being part of an already lacklustre WrestleMania, the main event for many was the worst part of the night. (Even worse than the six-second match between The Rock and Eric Rowan…). At this point, Roman Reigns was at his most unpopular, with the fan getting tired of him being shoved down their throats week and week out. During the main event, they made sure their opinion was heard.
Many felt that after the amazing match Triple H had put on with Dean Ambrose at Roadblock (March 2016), maybe The Game could salvage something from this matchup. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The match was slow, and the ending was so obvious there wasn’t really much point watching.
Had Vince not been so adamant on pushing Roman, there are a whole host of better matches that could have been booked as the main event. But it was obvious that when Roman won the title the night after TLC that Vince’s ultimate goal was to have ‘The Big Dog’ headline WrestleMania. What a shame.
FOUR: Hogan v Sgt Slaughter (WrestleMania VII)
Oh, boy was this match insensitive or what? The conversation in the writer’s room was either very awkward or everyone in the room thought it was the best idea since sliced bread. The whole angle was stupid and in poor taste.
Riding off growing tensions in the Middle East. WWE was most likely trying to use American patriotism to drive sales of the event. Yet the fact they had to move to a smaller venue, allegedly due to death threats against Slaughter, (however many reports state the move to a smaller venue was due to a lack of ticket sales) proves their plan backfired massively.
The match itself wasn’t that good either. Sgt Slaughter was not a main event competitor at the time, and not even booking could have made him truly look like someone who could headline WrestleMania. And regardless of having booked and how over Hogan once was, his wrestling abilities didn’t come close to the likes of Randy Savage or The British Bulldog, who were also on that year’s card.
Finally, Hogan wasn’t the ticket seller he once was. Vince still must have believed that the combination of Hogan and good ol’ American patriotism would sell out the Los Angeles Coliseum. WWE usually like to close WrestleMania on what they deem to be a feel-good moment, and they believed a real American triumph would have done just that.
Unfortunately, they missed a trick, as the reunion of Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth that had happened earlier in the card was a much bigger and more emotional moment. So emotional it instantly turned The Macho Man face after two years of heelwork. It seems Vince was still high in Hulkamania.
THREE: The Miz vs. John Cena (WrestleMania XXVII)
There are three reasons for this match failing to be a good main event. The Miz being wholly unprepared for the main event scene (unlike now where he deserves all the titles); because the match itself being sloppy and the fact the main event was simply there to set up Rock vs. Cena.
The Miz went from being a loveable heel when tagging with John Morrison, to a weak singles heel. After being buried by Cena a number of times and then ‘mentoring’ Daniel Bryan (really!) The Miz had seriously fallen from grace. Then for some reason, he was given a run with the WWE Championship, successfully defending it against… Jerry Lawler.
By the time it came to The Miz squaring off with Cena for the title, it was obvious he wasn’t prepared to headline WrestleMania. This translated into the sloppiness (compared to Cena’s other WrestleMania matches) of the match. It was slow and clumsy and both finishes were painful. The first being the double count-out, which sucked the air out of the stadium until The Rock restarted the match, but the atmosphere remained shaky.
The second finish being The Rock costing Cena the match. On the one hand, it can be argued that it was an interesting ‘swerve’ and prevented the ‘Cena wins LOL’ memes for that years WrestleMania. However, the fact the WWE Championship match was used simply to set up a cash grab for the following year, devalues the prestige of the belt. (As does 2011 The Miz holding the title…).
As an admitted Rock and Cena mark, even I was disappointed with this outcome. They could have waited until the RAW after, having Cena win at WrestleMania and Rocky cost him the rematch. It would have left fans with a better taste in their mouths.
TWO: Bret Hart/Hulk Hogan vs. Yokozuna (WrestleMania IX)
My personal highlight from this WrestleMania was the fact Tito Santana actually won a WrestleMania Match! Sure it was the dark match… but still, go Tito!
Everything about the Main Event was just wrong. Although there were some highlights like Hart managing to lock in the sharpshooter, and a pretty sweet superkick from Yokozuna, the brevity and end of the match ruined the whole thing.
The main event of WrestleMania should most certainly be longer than 9 minutes! Even Hogan vs. Slaughter got 20 minutes. That gives the crowd the feeling that they’re getting a worthwhile main event. Furthermore, despite being a lover of Mr Fuji, the fact that the match ended simply because of his first interference is disappointing. Especially due to the fact Yokozuna got the pin right after the powder was thrown in Hart’s eyes, not even a finisher was performed!
Now onto my favourite portion of this entrant… the ‘Hulk Hogan wins LOL’ segment. After a young up and coming Bret Hart was essentially buried by an ageing Yokozuna, the best way to solve the situation is Hogan, right? After Yokozuna defeated Hart it took Hulk Hogan only 22 seconds to beat the Sumo Champion. Only 22 seconds.
Not only was Yokozuna buried, but Bret Hart’s singles career came to an abrupt halt. For no feasible reason. Hogan hadn’t regained his late 80s popularity, it seemed once again Vince and co. felt Hogan was a viable feel-good factor. How wrong they were.
ONE: Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Lawrence Taylor (WrestleMania XI)
No words can explain how disappointing this match is as the Main Event of WrestleMania. It’s clear as day that Bigelow is a legend, and could put on amazing matches with any wrestler. Unfortunately, Bigelow wasn’t up against a wrestler. He was up against NFL player Lawrence Taylor who was accompanied by other NFL players.
The match no doubt got WWE a lot of mainstream exposure, which obviously didn’t hurt Vince’s pockets. But to a wrestling fan, it was terrible to have to sit through such a sloppy and borderline disgusting excuse for a wrestling match. Especially one that main evented WrestleMania.
Bam Bam Bigelow tried his hardest to get something out of the match. Performing a beautiful Bam Bam Slam, but he also did sell convincingly for Taylor. Unfortunately, as a wrestling fan, it feels just wrong to watch a legend job out to an NFL player.
Furthermore, although the WWE were lacking talent in 1995, especially evident by that year’s terrible Rumble. It was also inexcusable for them to book this as the main event as opposed to the WWF Championship match. One can understand that they hyped the Bigelow Taylor match a lot because they were suffering in ratings compared to WCW in 1995, but that doesn’t mean it had to headline the show.
The fact is, having an NFL player go over a legend, in the main event of the granddaddy of them all is just a huge slap in the face for wrestling fans. That is why WrestleMania XI will go down as having the worst main event, in history. I doubt WWE will ever make a blunder that bad again. Well, you never know.
There are @KayfabeKrimes five worst Wrestlemania main events. Do you agree? What’s the worst in your opinion? Let us know below or tweet us @SLTDWrestling
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