10 Harsh Realities Of Watching WWE WrestleMania 24, 15 Years Later

In what is sure to make some fans feel old, WWE WrestleMania 24 from Orlando, Florida was a whole 15 years ago as of this writing. The show began the trend of consistent stadium events for the biggest show of the year, kicking things off with a memorable night of action.

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Huge spots, fun moments, variety, and match of the year candidates filled up this card, but not everything was entirely perfect with the power of hindsight. Whether it be the booking of certain wrestlers in the following months, the booking of the actual show itself, or a selection of “what ifs”, there are some harsh realities when revisiting the show.

10 CM Punk’s Lackluster First World Title Reign

CM Punk became Mr. Money in the Bank at WrestleMania 24 in what should have been a star-making moment. He would go on to cash in the gold a few months later and become the World Heavyweight Champion. However, this reign was a disaster.

Punk was booked weakly, was given hardly any edge as a character, and his feuds with Batista and JBL had nothing about them. It would take a repeat Money in the Bank win the following year to get him on track. Him winning the briefcase here was nice, but his win the next year was only due to this one being botched so badly.

9 Batista Wasted On The Card

Batista was one of the biggest stars in the company by the time WrestleMania 24 rolled around, but he was unfortunately involved in a Raw vs. SmackDown battle for brand supremacy match against Umaga.

Batista could have faced the likes of Chris Jericho, gotten involved in the WWE Title match, or some simply anything else that wasn’t a quick and meaningless match. Fans didn’t care for brand warfare, and this would ultimately become the most underwhelming WrestleMania bout for Batista ever.

8 The Awfully Booked Women’s Division

Production issues aside, the “Playboy BunnyMania Lumberjill” match was a peak example of how horribly booked the women’s division was at the time. Everyone was treated like objects, losing their status as professional wrestlers for the night as they all tried to get all over the “Master of Ceremonies” Snoop Dogg.

The tag team match was bad anyway, but made worse with the focus being all on Snoop and Santino Marella. This all led to Snoop kissing Maria in the ring in a moment that felt uncomfortable and unnecessary, and it provided yet another dark WrestleMania showing for the women of WWE.

7 Jeff Hardy Missed Out On A WrestleMania Moment

CM Punk’s Money in the Bank victory wasn’t the original plan, as Jeff Hardy was one of the names pitched to win the iconic MITB briefcase. However, personal issues and getting suspended led to Hardy missing out on the show.

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Hardy never got a major WrestleMania win as a singles star, and this would’ve been his one chance to reach that moment. Later in the year he would eventually become WWE Champion, but it would’ve been nice to see him get a major WrestleMania moment as a solo competitor.

6 Injured Fans

Although it is impossible to notice this moment when rewatching the show, it is hard to forget that during the night’s closing celebrations, a literal fireball was thrown into the crowd courtesy of a wayward firework, injuring many of the fans in attendance (though thankfully not badly).

For those fans this event will no doubt be tainted, and for those who know it happened, it makes the final stretch of the show feel a little uncomfortable knowing what was to come for those sitting in their seats enjoying themselves.

5 ECW Championship Turned Into A Joke

The ECW Championship was never booked all that well in WWE, but it reached a new low at WrestleMania 24. Chavo Guerrero was reigning as champion, but the whole brand couldn’t have looked weaker after this show as Guerrero lost a match to Kane in just over 10 seconds.

Kane beating the best ECW had to offer with just one move was a death blow to the ECW brand, but only continued to deplete in importance as the next two years progressed.

4 Underwhelming WWE Championship Triple Threat

The WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 24 saw three of the biggest stars of all time battle for the belt. However, the match felt a little underwhelming overall. There was nothing inherently wrong with the in-ring action, but it did lack a significant big fight feel.

Orton’s victory was a bit of a blow too as John Cena’s major return to the company and Rumble win felt a little wasted as he lost the match. Given who was involved, this should have been far better and more exciting than it ended up being.

3 Never Doing Another Floyd Mayweather Match

Celebrity matches don’t always work in WWE, but one that did was when Floyd Mayweather took on The Big Show. This match proved to be a spectacle and a draw, and Mayweather showed a clear knack at sports entertainment as he put in a great showing.

Therefore, it is a shame that WWE never brought him back for another match given how entertaining he was. Even a rematch against Big Show would have no doubt been something that fans looked forward to. However, this remained his one and only match in WWE.

2 Ric Flair’s “Retirement”

Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair was one of the most perfect retirement matches of all time - nearly. It was thrilling, emotional, and full of incredible action. That made it all the more saddening when a tired and old Flair came out of retirement in TNA not long later due to monetary issues.

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Flair would also come out of retirement once more in 2022, leaving this WrestleMania 24 match with a huge asterisk next to it. If Flair had sailed off into the sunset, this would have been even better as a match.

1 Edge Should’ve Ended The Streak

Edge rejected the idea of ending The Undertaker’s WrestleMania undefeated streak, and when looking at who did it end (Brock Lesnar) it makes many of The Undertaker’s streak matches feel a little annoying considering there were better choices to get this rub.

Edge is still no doubt a legend, but he would have been elevated ten fold had he won the match here. Seeing Edge get the better of The Deadman in the main event of WrestleMania would have been truly iconic, and it would have arguably been better than Lesnar doing it.