5 WWE WrestleMania main events that fans had already seen on TV

WrestleMania's 35-year storied history has seen a string of memorable encounters that will go down in pro-wrestling history as timeless classics. From Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat for the Intercontinental title at WrestleMania 3, to the 30-minute showdown between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels, WrestleMania has given the WWE Universe tons of memories to last a lifetime.

WrestleMania is an event that gives us never-before-seen matches, bouts that the fans had been clamoring to see for a long time. Brock Lesnar vs Goldberg at WrestleMania 20 is a great example of such a contest, despite it turning into one of the worst matches in the show's history. On the other hand, we have seen a bunch of matches headlining a WrestleMania, that have already been given to fans on free TV.

In some cases, these 'Mania showdowns were presented on TV on multiple occasions before they made it to The Grandest Stage Of Them All. In this slideshow, let's take a look at 5 biggest WrestleMania main events that fans had already seen on weekly WWE television previously.

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#5 The Miz vs John Cena - WrestleMania 27

The Miz and Cena

At the 2011 Royal Rumble, John Cena came out and laid waste to CM Punk's Nexus, and it seemed that he would succeed in bagging his second Royal Rumble win. The Miz and Alex Riley had other plans though.

The duo's collective efforts led to Cena being eliminated from the free-for-all, and the seeds were planted for WrestleMania 27's main event. At WrestleMania, The Miz ended up defeating Cena and retaining his WWE title, with help from WrestleMania 27's host, The Rock.

Both Cena and The Miz had been mainstays in WWE for a long time at this point, and had wrestled each other dozens of times on SmackDown and Monday Night RAW, including a full-fledged rivalry in mid-2009.

#4 Triple H vs Chris Jericho - WrestleMania 18

Jericho and Triple H

Triple H made his long-anticipated return to WWE on the road to Royal Rumble 2002, after being on the sideline for months on end and missing the better part of the Invasion storyline.

Triple H went on to eliminate Kurt Angle to win the 2002 Royal Rumble match and punch his ticket to the main event of WrestleMania 18. On the following PPV, No Way Out, Chris Jericho retained his Undisputed WWE title by beating Stone Cold Steve Austin.

At WrestleMania, Triple H beat Chris Jericho to become the Undisputed WWE Champion. This WrestleMania headliner wasn't the first time these two Superstars had collided though.

Jericho and Triple H had a heated rivalry in the past, with the highlight of the feud being a WWE Championship match between the two on the April 17, 2000 edition of Monday Night RAW. Jericho picked up the win in a major upset, but the decision was soon reversed after Triple H forced official Earl Hebner to do so.

#3 Shawn Michaels vs Stone Cold Steve Austin - WrestleMania 14

Austin vs Michaels

By the time WrestleMania 14 rolled around, Stone Cold Steve Austin had turned into a legit star in WWE. Austin won the 1998 Royal Rumble match, in what was his second consecutive Rumble victory. At WrestleMania 14, Austin met Shawn Michaels in the main event, which ended with Mike Tyson making the three-count to give Austin the WWE title.

Tyson had been teasing an alliance with DX on the road to WrestleMania, but revealed his true colors and sided with Austin when all was said and done. This match is regarded by many as the moment the Austin Era began.

Little do fans know that these two in-ring legends had met inside the squared circle way before their huge 'Mania encounter. The clip embedded above shows a rare Austin vs Michaels contest that took place on the October 14, 1996 episode of WWE RAW.

Michaels won the match via DQ after interference by Vader, who proceeded to attack The Heartbreak Kid.

#2 Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle - WrestleMania 19

Lesnar and Angle

Brock Lesnar made his WWE debut in 2002. In a matter of months, Lesnar turned into a megastar and defeated The Rock at SummerSlam 2002 to win his first WWE title. He later lost the same to Big Show, and went on to win the Royal Rumble match to bag an opportunity for the WWE title at WrestleMania 19.

At the event, Lesnar defeated Kurt Angle to become two-time WWE Champion, and the show ended on a high note with both performers hugging it out to a chorus of cheers.

Interestingly, these two athletes had faced each other mere days before WrestleMania 19, on SmackDown. What's more, the match was contested for the WWE title.

This was the infamous bout that saw Angle tricking Lesnar by bringing in his brother and stealing a victory in the end. This was an incredibly rare occurrence that saw WWE giving us the main event of WrestleMania on free TV mere days before the actual event.

#1 The Rock vs Stone Cold Steve Austin - WrestleMania 15

Rock vs Steve Austin

It wouldn't be a stretch to call The Rock vs Stone Cold Steve Austin the greatest rivalry in the history of WrestleMania. The two legends have faced each other on three different occasions at WrestleMania, including two main events.

Their first 'Mania encounter was at WrestleMania 15, for the WWE title. Austin defeated The Rock to win the coveted belt, in his second consecutive WrestleMania main event victory.

These two megastars had taken on each other on several occasions before their WrestleMania 15 outing. In the above clip, The Rock and Austin met on WWE RAW with the WWE title on the line.

It's intriguing to think that these two stars had already feuded over the WWE title a few months before they headlined The Show of Shows. Interferences from Ken Shamrock and The Undertaker made sure that Austin wouldn't defeat The Great One and capture the WWE Championship.