Wrestlemania #13: What Should Have Closed The Show?
This is one of the few occasions where you could argue that the world title match shouldn’t have closed the show.I’d actually say close it with the I Quit match. It meant more long term, it had FAR more buildup, it was a better match (and who didn’t know that would be the case coming in?) and there’s really nothing about Sid vs. Taker that screams Wrestlemania main event other than the title being on the line.
Thoughts?
I actually think that the Austin/Bret match works better mid-show.
The match itself is brilliant (arguably both mens best work), but the best part of the feud is the introductions and the aftermath. The Aftermath of Shamrock throwing Bret out of the Sharpshooter and Austin refusing assistance to the back is really what solidified the double switch, and really the match as a whole.
I personally don’t like the idea of Austin walking to the backstage defeated as the closing moment of WrestleMania. WrestleMania should end with an in-ring celebration, preferably by the top face. Austin was a heel coming in, and ending Mania with a “face” turn (I’d argue Austin still wasn’t a babyface, but the fans started to support him) just doesn’t work for me.
All that being said, Sid vs. Taker was the wrong choice. Not as a Main Event, but as a match. The ME should have been Taker beating anyone else for the belt.
This is one I’ve thought about before, and to this day, I’m not sure if Austin vs. Bret would’ve been the best match to close the show or not. I know it’s a CLASSIC in every sense of the word, but it was something about seeing Taker win the title and the image of him holding the belt at the end, although we had to sit through a largely boring snoozefest of a match with him and Sid.