Which was the worst Wrestlemania of the 1990s?

[agent817]

After doing threads on the 2000s' Wrestlemanias, as well as the 2010s' Wrestlemanias (on the WWE board), I decided to do this. I added a poll deciding on what's considered "bad" Wrestlemania shows, but I put "other" because some might believe that others are bad despite what the general consensus thinks.

With that being said, I could tell that you that my picks are what the general consensus believes. However, I suppose 13 and 15 can get somewhat of a pass because of some decent-to-good matches on the card. Wrestlemania 13 will always be remembered for Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin, despite the show, for the most part, feeling like an In Your House card. There wasn't a lot of build to the matches. Some gave a bit of a pass to the Chicago Street Fight, but mostly thought it was just a fun match, but that was it. Some even liked Sid vs. Undertaker, despite people being mixed on it.

As for 15, I remember watching that show when it happened. A lot of people criticize that show because of Russo's booking (enough that some people dub that show, "Russomania"). Now I liked Steve Austin vs. The Rock, though I liked their match at Backlash the following month better (This isn't even getting into their match at WM17 two years later). Shane vs. X-Pac was fine, but like I noted, Vince Russo's booking came into play for shocking swerves (including Triple H's betrayal). Don't even get me started on the New Age Outlaws switching spots in their respective matches as they were in their respective storylines because of "reasons." And of course, one of the worst Hell in a Cell matches ever, as it did not need to be a Hell in a Cell match at all (not to mention that incredibly dark ending).

I have heard a lot of people talk about 9 and 11 for their issues. I could give 9 some credit for its atmosphere and theme, especially since it was outdoors and had the whole Roman/Greek theme. But of course a lot of people consider it to be one of the worst of the 1990s. However, 11 seems to be more maligned, whether it's the overabundance of celebs at the event, or the fact that the show just wasn't good. Plus, the venue was probably the lamest ever. Now I don't mind if arenas host Wrestlemania as some work, but the Hartford Civic Center doesn't feel like it should host a big event like that.

So what is your pick for the worst Wrestlemania of the 1990s?

["Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik]

It's between 9 and 11 for me and I lean towards 11. 9 had a terrible ending but at least the fans there were into it and the whole event had a certain charm to it. 11 just felt like another show with nothing really good on the show. Most things there were poorly built or didn't deliver. It's the one Mania that doesn't feel at all like a Mania to me.

[SmashTV]

I’ve always been critical of WMIX as I didn’t like the end and it seemed to be cramming too much stuff into the event - JR and Luna debuting, the IC match going on second (too soon, in my opinion), the Doink mime routine, Hogan’s win etc.

It at least felt like a Wrestlemania, though. WMXI felt like a random PPV and seemingly with an emphasis on celebrities over the matches.

[David-Arquette was in WCW 2000]

I picked 15. I've not seen 9 or 11 outside the context of clips or the OSW podcast so I can't judge them fairly. However, 11 does come across as flat out bad and boring. 15, however just seems like a jacked up Raw episode. Full of swerves and average matches.

[Mozenrath]

11 felt like an above-average In Your House, maybe, but definitely not like one of the big four, especially Wrestlemania. 9 is maybe still a somewhat lamer show in some respects, but it at least felt grander. 11 really just didn't have atmosphere on its side.

[CeilingFan]

I voted for 9, because it was such a strong drop in quality compared to WM8.

[Triangle Lancer]

As bad as I thought XI was, it did have that "big fight feel" with the Bigelow/LT match, so I let it pass. Yokozuna being Owen's mystery partner was fun.

IX gets a lot of dislike, but the atmosphere was fitting for a WM, and the show really wasn't that bad. Tatanka vs. Shawn was good. ("Do da TING, Tatanker!" by Savage about 80 times got irritating.) Steiners vs. Headshrinkers was a good hoss match. Was cool to see Bob Backlund there in his old jacket...even though he lost to Razor. Fun, underappreciated show.

WM13 may have been a "one match show", but there were a few good matches aside from the obvious. I liked Helmsley/Goldust and the last three matches. (Yeah, Sid/Undertaker wasn't great, but the pre-match promo by Bret and Shawn being on commentary was a red flag that gave you the impression "something big is gonna happen".)

XV was a one match show as well, but the match wasn't even that good, IMO. And Shane was involved in it. (Michael Cole with his genius line "Be sure to tune in to QVC tonight, where we will talk with the NEW WWF Champion!" before the match even aired! just made this clown show even worse.)

I picked 15. When I rematch WMs every year, this is the one I end up passing on. Nothing salvageable here.

[bob]

I went with 9 but can see why others voted for 11

[salz4life]

Apr 6, 2021 0:04:24 GMT -5 "Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik said:

It's between 9 and 11 for me and I lean towards 11. 9 had a terrible ending but at least the fans there were into it and the whole event had a certain charm to it. 11 just felt like another show with nothing really good on the show. Most things there were poorly built or didn't deliver. It's the one Mania that doesn't feel at all like a Mania to me.

Yeah, I used to despise 9 but I've come around to being ok with it. The presentation made it unique. 11 is just awful. Even 15 isn't as bad as 11. I don't think there is a worse Wrestlemania than 11..... even if you include the original which was a glorified house show (might be a stretch, but) with celebrities. LOL

[fw91]

13 felt like an in your house even with Austin/Bret. 11 was horrible but they “tried” to make it mania like with the celebrities. 9 is stupid but it looked like a Wrestlemania

[msc]

11 is a terrible PPV held up entirely by great performances by Bam Bam Bigelow and Owen Hart. Bigelow drags a good match out of Lawrence Taylor with all of his effort, and it should have been a stepping stone to far bigger things in the WWF. I know why it wasn't but still - these days you'd be due a title run for achieving that sort of miracle. As for Owen, his character work in the tag title match is brilliant, and I always get a kick out of him celebrating the win like a kid at Christmas.

In fact I've been marathoning Manias (an error, likely) and I saw 11 last night and Owen's leaping up and down with the title still made me grin.

13 is a two match show - tag titles and the I Quit, but people are trying. Even Sid tries. He also cracks me up. "Here comes the most dangerous man in the Federation" says the commentary as Sid yells "who's the man?" and fist bumps fans in the audience.

[Jaws the Shark]

To begin with, I'd say it's a bit harsh putting 13 on here, it's dominated by one all-time classic match but the rest of the card was decent even if it wasn't spectacular.

XV is mostly forgettable at best and has probably the least good Austin vs. Rock match of their Wrestlemania trilogy, but being headlined by the two wrestlers who defined the era in which it took place in their first really big PPV main event together stops it being totally irredeemable. IX is horrible but at least felt like a spectacle, and it's totally memorable even if a lot of it was pretty bad.

XI just had nothing about it. Being main evented by a retired NFL player smacked of desperation to cling to relevance, and the undercard was what you'd seen on an IYH show, but didn't have the benefit of actually being good, it was just there. There's nothing at all memorable about any of it except for the main event, which is memorable by virtue of having a celebrity involved rather than the actual content.

[jason1980s]

The 11 main event shows just what Vince thinks/thought of wrestling. He has multiple long term employees and they get owned by the NFL guys who will never be seen in WWF again. I'm sure if paid well enough LT would have taken a loss. His career won't be hurt at all by it but Bam Bam's was. And if you want to send the fans home happy put the Diesel win in the main event.

[Ryushinku]

Agreed that 11 just feels like an In Your House show. Even 9 has an atmosphere, actually one of the better ones.

13 is a one match show, but when it's one of the greatest matches ever, that's a hell of a saving grace.

[Milkman Norm]

I think XI would have been slightly better remembered if LT vs Bigelow was given a featured match spot & the title match had ended the show.

[auph10imitated]

Each had its good points, but obviously more bad points.

9 - Had the Ceasars Palace vibe, the outdoor look, felt special, felt like Wrestlemania despite the massaive change in cast from previous years.
11 - Had the celerity Wrestlemania vibe too it, but looked plain
13 - Had one of the best Mania matches of all time, but looked very plain
15 - Was massively built during a hot period, felt like a Mania, but the Russoific booking hurt it big time

I chose 11 as personally the worst as I simply prefer the other 3.

[chronocross]

At the time, I liked the ending to Wrestlemania 9 and the outdoor arena, so it's one of my favorites.

I voted for 11, they did the best they could but it didn't feel like a Wrestlemania to me.

[jason1980s]

11 pretty much screamed for WCW to take over as the biggest wrestling company and after the early days of the Dungeon of Doom they soon would.
Even if you put every wrestler on the card like other Wrestlemanias it would have been even worse and showed just how bad WWF had gotten.

[Jedi-El of Tomorrow]

11, no contest.

IX was bad but had a damn good Steiners vs Headshrinkers match, a good HBK vs Tatanka match, Taker's entrance which was awesome (the chariot with the vulture), a good big man vs little man bout in Bret vs Yoko, and the whole Roman setup was really nice.

11 had 2 decent matches in HBK vs Diesel and LT vs Bam Bama, but that's it. The setup was just freaking drab and depressing as well. IX and X had fantastic setups and stages, and 11 was just terrible. It's the worst Mania ever.

[johnnyk9]

11 just didn’t have the “it” factor despite Lawrence Taylor