Thought of the Day: Wrestlemania Main Events Aren’t All That Great
So while wondering about why Rock vs. Austin II isn’t considered a masterpiece most of the time, this occurred to me.Wrestlemania main events are rarely anything above pretty good. Let’s look at this.
1. Hogan/Mr. T. vs. Orndorff/Piper. Good match but nothing all that great.
2. Hogan vs. Bundy. Nothing special.
3. Hogan vs. Andre. Historic match but the action itself isn’t much to see.
4. DiBiase vs. Savage. Both guys were tired and the focus was on Hogan. This is probably the best of the first four.
5. Hogan vs. Savage. You can stretch and call this a classic but it’s really just an extended Hogan formula match.
6. Hogan vs. Warrior. Yeah it’s a classic but it’s mainly for the atmosphere.
7. Hogan vs. Sgt. Slaughter. Again just a Hogan formula match.
8. Hogan vs. Sid Justice. Another Hogan formula match but a bad one.
9. Hart vs. Yokozuna. As good as it could have been but it’s nothing great either.
10. Hart vs. Yokozuna. Better than the previous year’s but it’s still not a great match.
11. Taylor vs. Bigelow. This match is better than people remember but it’s bad by the standards of regular wrestlers.
12. Michaels vs. Hart. This is chronically overrated but if you want to stretch it’s a classic.
13. Sid vs. Undertaker. Just no.
14. Michaels vs. Austin. This is a classic, especially given the injuries.
15. Austin vs. Rock. Their later matches are better but this is a Russo special which holds it back.
16. HHH vs. Rock vs. Foley vs. Big Show. Should have been Rock vs. HHH, making the first 20 minutes pretty pointless.
17. Austin vs. Rock II. Masterpiece, period.
18. Jericho vs. HHH. Good yes, but the ending was never in doubt. Also it was HHH vs. Stephanie in reality.
19. Lesnar vs. Angle. Certainly a classic but there are better matches on this show.
20. HHH vs. Michaels vs. Benoit. Masterpiece.
21. HHH vs. Batista. Book it better and the match is a classic but it wasn’t anything great.
22. Cena vs. HHH. Didn’t work for me at all.
23. Cena vs. Michaels. Classic bordering on masterpiece.
24. Undertaker vs. Edge. Forgotten masterpiece.
25. HHH vs. Orton. Huge mess.
26. Undertaker vs. Michaels. Masterpiece, though a step beneath the previous year’s.
27. Cena vs. Miz. This was a mess to put it nicely.
28. Rock vs. Cena. Classic for sure and the hype brings it up to masterpiece.
29. Rock vs. Cena II. Not as good but we’ll stretch and call it a classic.
So out of 29 matches, 11 at most are great matches and that’s a stretch. Less than half and closer to a third are great matches. If you’re realistic about it, only about seven Wrestlemania main events have been at the highest level. You would expect more out of the biggest show of the year.
KB you of all people should realize the maserpiece behind hogan/andre, hogan/warrior…they are masterpieces as well, same with hart/ michaels. i think youre a little too hard on the earlier WM main events
I’m talking about just the in ring parts. Hogan vs. Andre is all about drama, not action. Hogan vs. Warrior….yeah that probably could be considered a classic.
Hart vs. Shaw could have been a far better version either as a thirty minute time limit or a regular match that went an hour. WAY too much of it is spent in rest holds to conserve energy/kill time.
I think when it comes to those main events, what they always looked for was their build. Lots of those matches had builds that were very, very good and will always be remembered as well as the end result which is why these matches, while not really that good, have such history.