20) Batista Vs Triple H – Wrestlemania 21
Wrestlemania 21 is my favourite Mania of all time. It has some of the greatest undercard matches in Mania history and was a passing of the torch that saw two of the next generation’s biggest stars have their crowning moments on the biggest stage.
The main event, though, is average at best. Triple H, fighting in a world title match for the fourth Mania in a row put over his former Evolution teammate Batista in fairly unspectacular fashion.
The match just can’t live up to the rest of the night, and alongside John Cena Vs JBL which had taken place just before brought a fantastic night to a pretty average end.
19) John Cena Vs The Rock – Wrestlemania 29
John Cena Vs The Rock at Wrestlemania 28 is an awesome Wrestlemania main event. John Cena Vs The Rock 2.0 at Wrestlemania 29 is not.
The initial match between the two was sold to us as ‘once in a lifetime’ and it added such a feeling of awe to the occasion. Naturally, of course, Vince and Co went back on this when they could smell the Benjamins and decided to let the two have a rematch a year later, this time for the title.
The match was pretty poor and the crowd was nowhere near as hot second time around. No-one really cared when Cena avenged his loss from the previous year, and the occasion just felt contrived.
The worst thing about this is that the WWE scrapped CM Punk’s historic title reign to give The Rock one more run for the event. Bad decision guys.
18) Triple H Vs The Rock Vs The Big Show Vs Mick Foley – Wrestlemania 2000
Talk about being a product of your times. The Wrestlemania 2000 main event was, in the end, just a little too much.
The only fatal 4 way to main event the big show, the match took it even further by having a McMahon in each competitor’s corner. The four stars in the match are all talented performers and the match has some nice moments, but it just has too much going on to be memorable in any way.
The ending of the match saw Vince turn heel and help Triple H retain the title. It’s a pretty average match, and it definitely shouldn’t have been a Mania main event. The sad thing about this is The Rock and Triple H put on one hell of a match at the following month’s Backlash PPV that really should have headlined Wrestlemania.
17) Chris Jericho Vs Triple H – Wrestlemania X8
Triple H’s return at the start of 2002 and his subsequent Royal Rumble victory had seen The Game more over than he had ever been. Unfortunately for The Game and Chris Jericho, their match had to follow what should have been the main event of Wrestlemania X8 – The Rock Vs Hulk Hogan.
The match itself, which saw Triple H defeat Chris Jericho for the Undisputed Title was a pretty reasonable encounter, but it has become one of the most forgotten Mania main events due to the aforementioned dream matchup between The Rock and Hogan.
It’s not a bad match by any stretch of the imagination, it just suffered because of bad judgment on the part of the booking staff and some lacklustre storytelling in the build up.
last.caress says
A terrific write-up, and a list with which I broadly agree. I adored wrestling as a kid (Savage) and through my twenties (HBK), then I fell away from it, then got back into it in my late thirties as my son started watching it and, over the last couple of years, I’ve fallen away from it again as my son’s lost interest; sadly, at a time when it appears the talent pool is as strong as it’s been in decades. Still, you’ve put me in a rasslin’ kind of mood and I may look into tomorrow night’s shenanigans after all. 🙂
Liam Hoofe says
Thank you very much 🙂 My love affair with the ring has somehow managed to stay strong through out the years and writing this was such a nostalgia fest. I’m glad you enjoyed it! And hopefully you enjoy Mania tomorrow 🙂
Najee says
Most of the old big man main events are poor by today’s standards
Because you losers enjoy talentless midgets jumping around the ring like tards. Kill yourself you retarded bias sack of shit.