There isnt any bigger stage for a wrestler to make a name for himself than WrestleMania. It usually keeps the stars on the ground and makes some others shoot into the sky as well.But even in such a big pay-per-view there have been moments which fell flatly on the floor thanks to some awful booking. When the fans are hot and just poised to see history being made, the writers usually comes up with some twisted plans and make everyone look like a fool by pulling out the exact opposite result.If they have pulled them off correctly, the history of WrestleMania and even WWE wouldve been completely different. So lets take a look at some of those moments where the WWE failed to cash in on the opportunities that were right in front of them.
#10 Randy Orton vs. Triple H at WrestleMania XXV
The former Evolution team mates were going for a great match fueled by personal rivalry. Orton assaulted Triple H’s family and kissed unconsciousness Stephanie McMahon while Triple H crashed into Orton’s house and tried to kill him as revenge.
However, despite this brilliant buildup, the WWE failed to add the emotions once the match started and two men were just seen dragging out a slow dead match for almost twenty minutes.
It was a complete waste of the momentum that WWE built up through the pre-WrestleMania period. The fans were more disappointed since they didn’t see any sort of emotions despite a great personal feud.
#9 Daniel Bryans 18 second loss against Sheamus
Bryan is simply the most over star in the WWE at the moment and though he was not this popular back in the time of WrestleMania 28, the IWC was really behind Bryan due to the quality he had.
However, WWE saw more money in an Irishman who had more muscle and height and they decided to make Bryan the scape goat. Instead of giving him a stage to show what he really is, Bryan ended up beaten by Sheamus in just 18 seconds.
The fact that it was a match for the World Heavyweight title made Bryan look more idiotic. Sheamus never took off after that however which made this one look very bad for everyone and still remains as a black mark in the career of Bryan.
#8 Edges retirement match
The fact that Edge had his last match in WrestleMania isn’t known by many. And the reason for that is, the WWE never acknowledged it.
Edge’s career which spanned almost over two decades came to an end when he finally stepped into the ring to face Alberto Del Rio at WrestleMania 27 for the title. going in as champion, Edge came out of the match as the winner but no one knew that it was the last time that he’d ever wrestle.
And the WWE failed to give him a fitting farewell thanks to that and Alberto Del Rio never was the last opponent that Edge deserved.
While most of the other legends deserved standing ovations and tears on their last match, Edge saw the fans cheering for him just like an ordinary weekly taping which still is one of the saddest moments of WrestleMania.
#7 Rey Mysterios nine minute win title win
Rey is considered to be the biggest Underdog that WWE has ever produced, and this match was one of the reasons for that.
Randy Orton and Rey had been building and intense feud prior to the match and even had the death of Eddie Guerrero dragged in between. It was the stage set for emotions to unload at WrestleMania and adding in Kurt Angle made things better.
However, despite having these three talented men inside the ring, the WWE messed up the match and ended it in just nine minutes giving Rey the title.
It was a lot of potential that was put to waste at the grand stage and all three men deserved to be booked better.
#6 Hulk Hogan vs. Rock match not being the show stopper
It was a match where the icons of two generations met. And a match of such importance would’ve found the top place in any match card unless the company decides to screw up like they did here.
A dream match, Hogan and Rock had to fight it out very low in the card and they even was below the Divas match that WrestleMania had. Two of the most influential figures fighting it out weren’t enough for the WWE apparently and this made the match look like a smaller deal which it certainly was not.
The main event of the night was Triple H facing Chris Jericho and even the modern age fans would start to think what the hell was the writers thinking when they decided to relegate this epic encounter down the card to make space for two guys who never made it.
#5 Not booking Ric Flair against Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 8
The match between Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan is one of those matches that the fans were dying to see in WrestleMania but never happened.
Both Flair and Hogan was available for a match at WrestleMania 8 and somehow the WWE got the idea that these two men fighting eachother wouldn’t be big enough. Flair getting buried due to the influence of Hogan most of the time also added to the decision and other thought that Flair wasn’t up to the level of Hogan.
Two of the most charismatic and passionate superstars in the history of the wrestling business battling out it in the biggest stage at their prime was something that everyone wanted but then again, the writers have a love to screwing things up.
#4 Brock Lesnars match against Goldberg
One can only imagine how exciting the fans would’ve been back then when they came to know that Goldberg and Brock Lesnar was to face off with Steve Austin as the special guest referee at the biggest stage that WWE has to offer.
The hype was clearly touching the sky for this one, but once the match started everyone was just praying for it to end soon. Lesnar and Goldberg had a drab slow match which never took off from the floor.
Steve Austin got most of the cheers thanks to the performance that Lesnar and Goldberg were putting on. And the fans who wanted to see an epic match went home wishing they’ve tuned into Velocity or any other B grade show instead.
It was just one of those instances of WWE making bad use of Goldberg and since it happened at WrestleMania, the impact was much larger.
#3 Bret Hart not beating Yokozuna at WrestleMania 9
WrestleMania 9 is considered to be one of the worst shows that WWE has ever put in its rich history. The pay-per-view barely had a great match and its main event was the most disappointing from the lot.
Bret Hart squared off against Yokozuna for Bret’s title in some sort of a David against Goliath match. Many wanted to see Bret overcome the situation and keep the title around his waist, but instead the WWE decided to make Bret look bad and give the giant a win.
What followed after that was more bizarre. Hulk Hogan came out and accepted the open challenge from Yokozuna and slammed the giant to win the title.
Bret was the biggest loser among all these as he had his title taken away from him in a very awkward fashion.
#2 Not closing the Invasion storyline at WrestleMania
There hadn’t been any bigger battle between two promotions than the Monday night wars. And once WWE finally defeated WCW and acquired the company, Vince McMahon decided to reap the benefits and incorporate it into a storyline.
He started the invasion storyline which had the former wrestlers of WCW and ECW making an alliance to invade WWE. It was supposed to be a sure hit, but the lack of big stars from WCW like Sting and Goldberg took the sting off the whole angle.
However, if the WWE would’ve given it more importance and closed the storyline at WrestleMania, it would’ve been left a much better impact in the history, but the company decided to end the whole thing with a traditional Survivor Series match.
This along with the Rock vs. Hulk Hogan match would’ve made WrestleMania X8 simply one of the best from the lot.
#1 John Cena vs. Undertaker at WrestleMania 30
Taker is going to put his two decade long streak on the line this year against Brock Lesnar and even the newly born babies would know that Taker is walking out with his streak intact.
However, having Cena as his opponent would’ve made things much better. There isn’t a bigger threat to the streak than Cena in the current roster and a physically wearing Undertaker deserved a better challenge than Lesnar at the thirtieth anniversary edition at least.
One can only imagine how big it would make the current WrestleMania and not many would’ve complained as well saying that the WWE didn’t know how to book matches.
A Cena vs. Undertaker match and Bryan’s title match would’ve been enough for everyone but instead now we have Bray Wyatt in a dangerous situation of being cheered by the fans and Taker getting his limbs broken by Lesnar.
