Matches that felt out of place on a Wrestlemania card

[Jindrak Mark]

There were a few in 2020. Doing a 2 night card on such short notice meant they obviously weren't prepared to have 14-16 Mania level matches so you got random Raw midcard matches taking place on Wrestlemania like Elias v Corbin or Street Profits v Garza & Theory. The latter would have been fine if it was Profits v Andrade/Garza as planned but I think Andrade got a wellness suspension and was replaced by Theory who main roster fans didn't even really know at the time.

Bobby Lashley v Aleister Black were fairly big names but that was also a bit of a weird Mania match to me, especially in hindsight with Black winning despite the fact he would be gone within a year and Lashley was about to get the push of his career.

Moving on from 2020, the 2000 Wrestlemania card had a couple of tag matches (D'Lo & Godfather v Bossman/Buchanan and Head Cheese v T&A) that seemed more like Jakked/Metal matches at the time than Mania.

[Jaws the Shark]

I think this needs to be from about Wrestlemania IX onwards, because the ones before that were ram packed with filler matches.

Wrestlemania X-Seven is always touted as the best one, but it had a couple of real nothing matches, like RTC vs. the APA and Tazz, or Eddy Guerrero vs. Test that just felt like nothing matches. Taka Michinoku vs. Aguila at XIV was a weird one too considering what an irrelevance the Light Heavyweight title was at the time.

[wildojinx]

As good of a match as it was, was there a story behind Eddie vs Rey at 21? Seemed like a "got to get them on the card" match to me (then again, I never really got to see SD due to my job at the time, so I didnt get to see any of the buildup to the Smackdown matches on that show).

[chronocross]

Kurt Angle vs. Kane at Mania 18.

[Jindrak Mark]

Mar 26, 2023 10:57:02 GMT -5 wildojinx said:

As good of a match as it was, was there a story behind Eddie vs Rey at 21? Seemed like a "got to get them on the card" match to me (then again, I never really got to see SD due to my job at the time, so I didnt get to see any of the buildup to the Smackdown matches on that show).

It started in late December when Rey pinned Eddie in a all-babyface tag match (I'm sure it was Rey & RVD v Eddie & Booker). It was basically a friendly rivalry with Eddie trying to get one up on Rey but he'd usually be thwarted then laugh it off afterwards with it obviously being when not if he would eventually snap on Rey and go full heel. They won the tag titles too.

Surprisingly they shook hands after their match at Wrestlemania (you could tell Eddie was pissed though). I think people were expecting the turn to happen there but they held off until just before Judgment Day.

[Can you afford to pay me, Gah]

Mar 26, 2023 9:25:07 GMT -5 Jindrak Mark said:

There were a few in 2020. Doing a 2 night card on such short notice meant they obviously weren't prepared to have 14-16 Mania level matches so you got random Raw midcard matches taking place on Wrestlemania like Elias v Corbin or Street Profits v Garza & Theory. The latter would have been fine if it was Profits v Andrade/Garza as planned but I think Andrade got a wellness suspension and was replaced by Theory who main roster fans didn't even really know at the time.

Bobby Lashley v Aleister Black were fairly big names but that was also a bit of a weird Mania match to me, especially in hindsight with Black winning despite the fact he would be gone within a year and Lashley was about to get the push of his career.

Moving on from 2020, the 2000 Wrestlemania card had a couple of tag matches (D'Lo & Godfather v Bossman/Buchanan and Head Cheese v T&A) that seemed more like Jakked/Metal matches at the time than Mania.

Wrestlemania 16 had a lot of of is this WM levels? I mean I get Kane and X-Pac where feuding but Kane random teamed with Rikishi. Too Cool and Chyna teaming. With the only real story was Eddie and Chyna. The card just felt how can we get the popular acts on the show and not care how.

[Jindrak Mark]

Mar 26, 2023 12:01:22 GMT -5 Can you afford to pay me, Gah said:

Mar 26, 2023 9:25:07 GMT -5 Jindrak Mark said:

There were a few in 2020. Doing a 2 night card on such short notice meant they obviously weren't prepared to have 14-16 Mania level matches so you got random Raw midcard matches taking place on Wrestlemania like Elias v Corbin or Street Profits v Garza & Theory. The latter would have been fine if it was Profits v Andrade/Garza as planned but I think Andrade got a wellness suspension and was replaced by Theory who main roster fans didn't even really know at the time.

Bobby Lashley v Aleister Black were fairly big names but that was also a bit of a weird Mania match to me, especially in hindsight with Black winning despite the fact he would be gone within a year and Lashley was about to get the push of his career.

Moving on from 2020, the 2000 Wrestlemania card had a couple of tag matches (D'Lo & Godfather v Bossman/Buchanan and Head Cheese v T&A) that seemed more like Jakked/Metal matches at the time than Mania.

Wrestlemania 16 had a lot of of is this WM levels? I mean I get Kane and X-Pac where feuding but Kane random teamed with Rikishi. Too Cool and Chyna teaming. With the only real story was Eddie and Chyna. The card just felt how can we get the popular acts on the show and not care how.

Even the main event didn't feel like a big time match. Foley was thrown in at the last minute after a perfect retirement weeks earlier and Big Show wasn't over enough at all to be in the Wrestlemania main event (I know there were rumors he was guaranteed a world title and/or Mania main event in his first contract).

HHH v Rock one-on-one made the most sense but they obviously saved that for Backlash. I think maybe due to the Austin factor. They wanted to do that Backlash finish but I don't think Austin was ready to do it at Wrestlemania and may even have still been in a neck brace at that point. Even Backlash a month later he barely looked ready, at one point after he's done taunting Vince on the mat he like struggles and has to use the chair to help himself back up.

[lucas_lee]

Tenryus tag match squash against Demolition seems like a fever dream in hindsight. WWF put him over big time.

[wildojinx]

Mar 26, 2023 12:29:55 GMT -5 Jindrak Mark said:

Mar 26, 2023 12:01:22 GMT -5 Can you afford to pay me, Gah said:

Wrestlemania 16 had a lot of of is this WM levels? I mean I get Kane and X-Pac where feuding but Kane random teamed with Rikishi. Too Cool and Chyna teaming. With the only real story was Eddie and Chyna. The card just felt how can we get the popular acts on the show and not care how.

Even the main event didn't feel like a big time match. Foley was thrown in at the last minute after a perfect retirement weeks earlier and Big Show wasn't over enough at all to be in the Wrestlemania main event (I know there were rumors he was guaranteed a world title and/or Mania main event in his first contract).

HHH v Rock one-on-one made the most sense but they obviously saved that for Backlash. I think maybe due to the Austin factor. They wanted to do that Backlash finish but I don't think Austin was ready to do it at Wrestlemania and may even have still been in a neck brace at that point. Even Backlash a month later he barely looked ready, at one point after he's done taunting Vince on the mat he like struggles and has to use the chair to help himself back up.

Backlash 2000 seems more like a Wrestlemania show than WM was that year. I guess they figured since they were at the peak of their mainstream popularity, they may as well throw on the whole roster and make Wrestlemania more of a spectacle for curious/new fans, and have Backlash be the real "main" show that year (of course, the problem with that was that Backlash had almost all heel wins save for Big Show/Kurt Angle and Rock/HHH).

[Instant Classic]

Bobby Lashley vs Aleistar Black

[fw91]

Randy Orton vs Kane Mania 28

[tirtefaa]

Mar 26, 2023 11:03:07 GMT -5 chronocross said:

Kurt Angle vs. Kane at Mania 18.

I know this would have thrown the card into chaos, but if Undertaker had remained face through WrestleMania, have him team with Kane against Nash and Hall.

But even that just opens up a ton of other stuff happening. I guess Austin could have faced Angle...or better yet, Austin vs. Flair. And Angle vs. a properly built Mr. Perfect.

[AKIMan64]

Booker T & Sharmell vs. The Boogeyman - This would be something I'd see on Raw or an episode of Smackdown (though all three were on the blue brand). I get it's supposed to be a fun harmless match but would it have affected Mania so much if it didn't happen?

Mark Henry vs. Undertaker at Wrestlemania 22 - While I don't think the Casket Match was a dumpster fire, it does feel like a downgrade from his previous Mania encounter against Orton. Makes me wish we had gotten the Angle/Taker match just not have the World Title involved.

[MolotovMocktail]

Mar 26, 2023 12:38:35 GMT -5 lucas_lee said:

Tenryus tag match squash against Demolition seems like a fever dream in hindsight. WWF put him over big time.

Tenryu was probably the biggest name in Japan at the time aside from possibly Fujinami. But in the days before the Internet, with Japanese wrestling being very niche here, there was no real effort to hype his popularity. I don’t know how big Kitao was at the time, but they were used once, never seen or mentioned again (aside from a couple Rumble appearances for Tenryu a few years later), and randomly used to put the nail in the coffin of Demolition.

[wildojinx]

Mar 26, 2023 14:33:52 GMT -5 MolotovMocktail said:

Mar 26, 2023 12:38:35 GMT -5 lucas_lee said:

Tenryus tag match squash against Demolition seems like a fever dream in hindsight. WWF put him over big time.

Tenryu was probably the biggest name in Japan at the time aside from possibly Fujinami. But in the days before the Internet, with Japanese wrestling being very niche here, there was no real effort to hype his popularity. I don’t know how big Kitao was at the time, but they were used once, never seen or mentioned again (aside from a couple Rumble appearances for Tenryu a few years later), and randomly used to put the nail in the coffin of Demolition.

They should have given them a couple of squash matches at best, maybe even have the Orient Express put them over, at least something so that they wouldnt be going in as nobodies (to the majority of US fans that is).

[4real]

Del Rio v Swagger at 29 looks way out of place now even more than it did at the time. And it was a World Title match on a card with Rock v Cena, Taker v Punk & Brock v HHH.

I guess Jericho v Fandango on the same card as well considering Fandango didn’t become a massive star or anything.

[XIII]

Mar 26, 2023 12:38:35 GMT -5 lucas_lee said:

Tenryus tag match squash against Demolition seems like a fever dream in hindsight. WWF put him over big time.

I’m thinking that that was part of the deal to do the SWS shows where they sent WWF guys over. 

[sungod2020]

I keep forgetting Bray Wyatt was WWE champion, let alone defending it(against Randy Orton) at Wrestlemania 33.

The Allied Powers(British Bulldog and Lex Luger) vs. The Blu Brothers at XI seems more like a match you'd see on RAW.

[Nosnorb]

The non title match between the League of Nations and The New Day at WM32. It was a match.

[fg]

Mar 26, 2023 15:31:13 GMT -5 sungod2020 said:

I keep forgetting Bray Wyatt was WWE champion, let alone defending it(against Randy Orton) at Wrestlemania 33.

The Allied Powers(British Bulldog and Lex Luger) vs. The Blu Brothers at XI seems more like a match you'd see on RAW.

The fact that you said the Allied Powers vs Blu Bros. Isn’t true…it’s more of a match that you would see on Superstars when it was on your local UHF station in the middle of Saturday afternoons.

Obviously not even worthy of being in Raw.