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The main event is widely defined as the last and most important match of the card. It is supposed to be the match that is the major selling point. Hence people expect it to be outstanding. The quality of the last match affects the people's perception.
There have been instances where a mediocre PPV was made memorable by its main event - Summerslam 2004 for example. Kane and Matt Hardy had a weird match. John Cena defeated Booker T in an underwhelming bout. Even the triple threat involving three excellent workers in Edge, Chris Jericho, and Batista for the Intercontinental title was below par. But the main event delivered. The world heavyweight championship match between Randy Orton and Chris Benoit was excellent and that elevated that particular Summerslam.
However, there also have been numerous situations where a bad main event almost smeared a solid PPV. In this article, we are taking a look at some those PPVs.
Hell in a Cell 2018
Hell in a Cell 2018 was a great PPV. The match card was solid, and the first few matches delivered. Randy Orton kicked off the show in a hell in a cell match against Jeff Hardy. The bout was intense and brutal - quite fitting for a Hell in a Cell match.
The next match was for the Smackdown Live women's championship between Becky Lynch and champion Charlotte Flair. Although this match had its flaws, the booking and storytelling were perfect here. The RAW tag team match was an absolute barn burner - with Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Drew McIntyre, and Dolph Ziggler giving their absolute best. Even with a controversial finish, Samoa Joe - AJ Styles for the WWE championship was outstanding.
However, after that, we started drifting towards the low points of the PPV. The mixed tag team match and RAW women's championship matches were not that good. But the main event for the universal championship was baffling and outrageous.
Brock Lesnar came and interfered causing the match to end in a no result as both of the competitors were rendered unable to continue due to an F5. It was ironical since the guy who officiated the match - Mick Foley was known for his grittiness and determination. The crowd was furious and booed everyone involved in that match.
Over the Limit 2012
Over the Limit 2012 had a brilliant WWE championship match between CM Punk and Daniel Bryan. Even the world heavyweight championship match between Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio, Chris Jericho, and Randy Orton was great. However, the main event was between John Cena and John Laurinaitis. This decision made no sense whatsoever as the match was boring and the involvement of the Big Show made it all more confusing.
Wrestlemania 32
WWE was hit by a flight of injuries when Wrestlemania 32 was around the corner. Top stars like Seth Rollins, John Cena, Randy Orton, Cesaro were not cleared to wrestle, yet the matches delivered. The ladder match for the Intercontinental championship was memorable, AJ Styles and Chris Jericho had a brilliant outing. The women's championship match was outstanding. But the "main event" was outright dull.
WWE Universe continuously rejected the idea of Roman Reigns being the WWE champion. They would rather have Triple H win the "main event". This fact was complemented by lack of anything memorable in the match and the length of the event to give a bad "main event".
Royal Rumble 2015
"Even The Rock couldn't save Roman Reigns from getting booed" - This is the best way to summarize Royal Rumble 2015. The crowd wanted Daniel Bryan to win the Royal Rumble. But WWE had other ideas and had Bray Wyatt eliminate Bryan early in the match. It agitated the crowd. When it came down to Roman Reigns and Rusev, people chanted for Rusev. But the inevitable happened - Reigns speared and eliminated Rusev and hence won the Royal Rumble 2015.
The backlash was so hard that the hashtag #cancelWWEnetwork was trending on twitter for a few months.
The brilliant WWE championship match between Brock Lesnar, John Cena, and Seth Rollins was entirely forgotten due to this incident.
