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The road to WrestleMania is one of the most important times of the year. WWE's world title matches are usually some of the most important bouts on the card at the prestigious show.
While there have been several great World Champions and challengers at WrestleMania, not all have been good. There have been plenty of times when WWE picking the wrong superstar to hold the World Championship before WrestleMania. Here's a look at five such occasions.
#5. Goldberg - won the Universal Championship before WrestleMania 33
Goldberg made his return to WWE in 2016 after 12 and a half years, and his run lasted from November until WrestleMania 33.
His original stint in WWE ended at WrestleMania 20 in the most disastrous retirement match possible against Brock Lesnar. Fans at WrestleMania 20 booed Goldberg and Brock Lesnar out of the building because they knew both men were wrestling their last match in WWE and had opted not to renew their contracts.
12 years later, Goldberg wanted to make things right. It only made sense that his return would be to challenge Lesnar. Their Survivor Series bout was promoted as "Fantasy Warfare Just Got Real". Goldberg shockingly defeated Lesnar clean in just 86 seconds. Then Goldberg returned again at the 2017 Royal Rumble.
As the road to WrestleMania 33 began, Goldberg easily eliminated Lesnar from the Rumble match. It was only a matter of time before the two stars clashed one last time at WrestleMania.
In the meantime, Goldberg challenged Kevin Owens to a Universal Championship match at Fastlane 2017. Thanks to a distraction from Chris Jericho, Goldberg beat Owens in just 22 seconds to end his Universal title reign.
Since Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar was already official for WrestleMania 33, it became a match for the Universal Championship. But was Goldberg the right man to hold the title heading into the event?
Some would argue that this title reign was meant to kickstart Brock Lesnar's 500+ day Universal Championship reign. But the original plan, according to Chris Jericho, was for him to beat Kevin Owens for the Universal title at WrestleMania, and then lose it to Brock Lesnar in the next pay-per-view.
This path was a much better option. Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania never needed a title. Both men are iconic names, so the story sold itself. They had a great, redemptive match at WrestleMania 33, but having Goldberg walk in as the Universal Champion was the wrong decision.
#4. The Rock - won the WWE Championship before WrestleMania 29
There are two sides to the argument that The Rock shouldn't have been the WWE Champion heading into WrestleMania 29. One side argues that it allowed WWE to have another blockbuster WrestleMania main event. The company comfortably secured more than a million pay-per-view buys. From a financial standpoint, it was the right decision.
But from a creative standpoint , which fans truly care about, CM Punk's 434-day WWE Championship reign shouldn't have ended at Royal Rumble 2013. Punk later revealed that he pitched the idea of having a Triple Threat Match as the WrestleMania 29 main event. This bout would have featured Punk defendng the title against The Rock and John Cena.
He even said that he wouldn't have minded if it was an Elimination match and he was the first to go. His true desire was to have a spot in the main event of WrestleMania.
Ultimately, The Rock's WWE title win after 10+ years was always going to happen. CM Punk's historic reign was just the unfortunate casualty of this homecoming story.
#3. Sycho Sid - won the WWE Championship before WrestleMania 13
Sycho Sid has two WrestleMania main events under his name. He's also a two-time WWE Champion. While his body of work hasn't aged as well as other stars of his same era, he was an important main event-level superstar.
In early 1997, Shawn Michaels vacated the WWE Championship after he "lost his smile." It was reported that he was scheduled to face Bret Hart in the WrestleMania 13 main event, with the latter getting the victory the second time around.
It was also speculated that Michaels vacated the title because he didn't want to lose this planned match to his real-life rival. The situation launched a complicated series of events. Hart briefly regained the WWE Championship before he lost to Sycho Sid on RAW thanks to assistance from Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Sid successfully defended the title against Hart in a Steel Cage match and walked into WrestleMania 13 as the WWE Champion. His opponent was The Undertaker, who defeated him in an underwhelming main event.
Sid never seemed like the right choice as the World Champion before WrestleMania 13. Ultimately, the most-talked-about match from WrestleMania that year was Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin. With Sid's forgettable main event, it's fair to question his title run in the first place.
#2. The Miz - won the WWE Championship before WrestleMania 37
This win is the only one on the list which is a present-day scenario. There's no guarantee that The Miz walk into WrestleMania 37 as the WWE Champion.
But because the article is about superstars who won the gold "before WrestleMania", this still counts. The Miz was Mr. Money in the Bank, and he won the briefcase for the second time against Otis.
WWE realized that it made the mistake of putting the briefcase on Otis, so the company gave it to The Miz instead.
On the road to WrestleMania 37, The Miz cashed in the briefcase to become a two-time WWE Champion. He did so after Drew McIntyre won his Elimination Chamber match in a hard-fought battle. A vicious assault from Bobby Lashley ensured that McIntyre was in no shape to fend off The Miz.
As of this writing, The Miz's status as a World Champion is uncertain. Lashley is a heavy favorite to win the WWE Champion on the road to WrestleMania. But by giving The Miz the title, WWE has risked derailing Drew McIntyre's run atop the red brand. The Miz's WWE title win, while not undeserved, seems to be a result of pure circumstance.
Fans will have to wait and see how the next few monts unfold before this title reign can be completely judged.
#1. Goldberg - won the Universal Championship before WrestleMania 36
In recent years, WWE has often looked Goldberg's way during WrestleMania season. In 2020, Goldberg emerged as a Universal Championship contender on the road to WrestleMania when he challenged Bray Wyatt.
The Fiend was the most unstoppable WWE superstar for 10 months at that point. It seemed like the company was wholly invested in Wyatt's main event push, as he had been a dominant star for several months.
But historicaly speaking, Wyatt has struggled on the road to WrestleMania. That pattern continued when he lost to Goldberg at Super ShowDown 2020. The decision to have Goldberg win the Universal Championship before WrestleMania 36 was met with a lot of criticism. Ultimately, Braun Strowman defeated the legend at The Showcase of the Immortals.
Still, many fans have argued that Strowman's victory and subequent title run came at Wyatt's expense He had been gaining momentum for nearly a year, and it seemed like this push was sacrificed to Goldberg. To be fair, Wyatt didn't have a bad WrestleMania 36. He vanquished John Cena in the memorable Firefly Fun House match.
Still, the WWE Universe will always wonder how The Showcase of the Immortals could have gone if the Fiend entered the show as an unstoppable champion. WrestleMania is meant for characters who are larger than life, and Wyatt fits that description perfectly. Fans of the Fiend might hope that he'll get his chance to defend a world title at the show someday soon.
