10 Times The Main-Event Was Not The Biggest Match Of The Night
WrestleMania is the biggest event in the world of pro wrestling. Regardless of whether viewers are fans of the overall product or not, no one can deny that there is no other pro wrestling event in the world that comes close to matching WrestleMania in terms of sheer scale and mainstream coverage.
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Over the course of its 36 editions, WrestleMania has given fans some fantastic matches and moments. Being in the main-event of WrestleMania is the end-game for a number of pro wrestlers, but only a select few get to turn that dream into reality.
However, sometimes the main-event ends up paling in comparison to matches lower down the card. Without further ado, here's 10 times the WrestleMania main-event was not the biggest match of the night.
10 Wrestlemania X
Wrestlemania X was saddled with the responsibility of erasing the memories of whatever bad memories fans had of the truly disastrous Wrestlemania IX. In a repeat of the previous year's main-event, Bret Hart took on Yokozuna for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.
While the match was much better than their meeting the previous year, it did not stand a chance against the phenomenal Ladder match between Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon for the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Not only was it the best match of the night, it is considered one of the greatest Ladder and Wrestlemania matches of all time, leaving the main-event in the dust.
9 Wrestlemania XIII
Bret Hart and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin wrestled a once-in-a-lifetime match at Wrestlemania XIII that also witnessed perhaps the greatest double-turn in the history of the business. A bloodied Austin, stuck in the Sharpshooter but refusing to give up is one of the most iconic moments in Wrestlemania history.
It is easy to forget that the duo did not main-event that year's 'Mania. In the final match of the night, The Undertaker defeated Sycho Sid for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. It was a crowning moment in the Deadman's career, that took place under the shadow of the great match between Austin and Hart that took place minutes earlier.
8 Wrestlemania 2000
The Wrestlemania 2000 card was stacked with multi-person matches, and only featured 1 single's match. In the main-event of the night, Triple H successfully defended his WWF Championship against The Rock, Mick Foley and Big Show in a Fatal Four-Way Elimination Match.
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The match was a bit of a drag and received mixed reviews. Fans and critics alike believed the best match of the night had taken place early in the night. The triangle ladder match between Edge and Christian, The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz blew away the rest of the card. It was brutal and breathtaking, and featured spots the likes of which fans had never seen before, making it an instant classic.
7 Wrestlemania X-Seven
Edge and Christian, The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz had created something truly special at Wrestlemania 2000, but they were tasked with out-doing themselves the next year, in a TLC match for the WWF Tag Team Championships at Wrestlemania X-Seven.
Somehow, they managed to re-capture the magic and put together a match that was equal parts train-wreck and pure wrestling entertainment. Even though the main-event of the night; Stone Cold vs. The Rock for the WWF Championship was fantastic in its own right, it failed to surpass the TLC match earlier in the night. Wrestlemania X-Seven featured a stacked card, and is considered the greatest 'Mania ever, and the match for the Tag Team Championships was the match of the night.
6 Wrestlemania 21
Wrestlemania 21 saw the coronation of two of the promotion's biggest stars in the 'co-main-event'; John Cena and Batista. Cena beat JBL to win the WWE Championship in the penultimate match of the night, while Batista bested Triple H to win the World Heavyweight Championship.
But both matches were widely considered to be underwhelming, especially after the amazing Submission match between Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle earlier in the night. In the 27-minute match, Angle and Michaels proved why they were the best active in-ring performers in the world with a wrestling clinic that was the unquestionable highlight of Wrestlemania 21.
5 Wrestlemania XXIV
On most Wrestlemania cards, the main-event between The Undertaker and Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship would have been the biggest and best match of the night.
But Wrestlemania XXIV featured one of WWE's most exciting and emotionally-charged matches ever; Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair, with the Nature Boy's career on the line. In the 20-minute match, Flair put on one last, great performance, as he reminded fans just why he was a living legend in the industry.
Shawn Michaels, not to be outdone, put on yet another top-quality performance at Wrestlemania. Michaels saying, "I'm sorry, I love you" to a teary-eyed Ric Flair before hitting him with one last Sweet Chin Music is one of the greatest, most heart-wrenching pro wrestling moments of all time, and the brilliance of Edge vs. 'Taker could not overshadow it.
4 Wrestlemania 25
Wrestlemania 25 is a show that is fondly remembered by fans for a number of reasons, most notably, the classic match between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker. Their match set a new benchmark for all of pro wrestling to live up to, and any match that followed would simply fail to live up to those impossible standards.
The main event between Triple H and Randy Orton for the WWE Championship played out more like a match that belonged on Raw, and not the main-event of Wrestlemania. Even the penultimate match between John Cena, Big Show and Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship overshadowed the main-event with ease, ending a fantastic event on a relatively sour note.
3 Wrestlemania XXVII
The main-event match between The Miz and John Cena for the WWE Championship was less about the champion, and more about kicking off a two-year storyline between Cena and The Rock. The match itself was underwhelming and an overall disappointment.
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While fans came out of the event talking about The Rock, no one talked about the match that preceded it, as the focus was on Triple H vs. The Undertaker in the No Holds Barred Match that took place minutes earlier. The violent, hard-hitting match far exceeded the quality of the main-event.
2 WrestleMania 34
The main-event of WrestleMania 34 was widely panned by fans and critics alike. The match between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar was boring and undeserving of its spot on the card, with fans chanting, "This is awful!" Viewers didn't even care about the match once it was over.
The most talked about contest of the night, that also happened to be far better than almost everything else on the card was Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka for the SmackDown Women's Championship. Asuka rolled into the match unbeaten, against one of the promotion's most decorated wrestlers. The two wrestled a great match, and Asuka's streak coming to an end was far more notable than Brock Lesnar retaining the Universal Championship.
1 WrestleMania 35
The main-event of WrestleMania 35 was an extremely big deal because of what it represented; the Women's Division finally being treated equal to their male counterparts. The match between Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey was also fantastic, but there was one match that left fans talking the most coming out of the event.
Much lower down the card, Kofi Kingston defeated Daniel Bryan to finally win the WWE Championship. It was a feel good moment that surpassed Lynch's victory in the main-event, as long-time fans had been along with Kingston on his 11-year journey to the top of the promotion. WWE presented Flair vs. Rousey vs. Lynch as the biggest match of WrestleMania 35, but that honor rightly went to Kingston vs. Bryan, who wrestled a phenomenal match and gave fans one of the greatest feel-good moments in 'Mania history.
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