WrestleMania 27 - legit the worst?

[RI Richmark]

Mar 7, 2023 14:12:36 GMT -5 CMWaters said:

Mar 7, 2023 14:09:54 GMT -5 crowley1986 said:

Doing a Mania binge and so far i think 2, 9, 11 and 12 so far are worse..

2 I give a pass on a bit because 1)different time, 2)trying something different than the first 3)Bulldogs/Dream Team and 4)I mark for the way Lord Alfred Hayes says "Avalanche"

I think Wrestlemania 2 has a couple of underrated matches with Savage vs Steele and Funks vs JYD/Tito.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

Listen, if it isn't the WORST, it's one of the worst, I don't think that's even a debate

I feel like there's a case for a few others... but I think most everyone agrees 27 was awful lol

[jivesoulbrah]

Yo, WM 2000 was AWFUL. Maybe it doesn’t get as much flack since it was during prime attitude era but my goodness what a terrible show.

[CMWaters]

Mar 9, 2023 0:05:48 GMT -5 jivesoulbrah said:

Yo, WM 2000 was AWFUL. Maybe it doesn’t get as much flack since it was during prime attitude era but my goodness what a terrible show.

Biggest problems with WM2K was having almost all multi-man matches and their main event finalized just a week prior, IMO.

Hardcore Battle Royal was fun, plus even if they'd up the ante later there's the three-way Ladder Match for the Tag Titles. And though one of the competitors is problematic to say the least these days, the 2 falls Triple Threat match was great from what I remember.

And of course, the last Mania destruction of Pete Rose.

[Bishblast]

I mean, Bryan/Sheamus getting screwed and Cole/Lawler as a whole were absolutely inexcusable, but I loved Taker/HHH and Orton/Punk. Rey/Cody and Edge/Del Rio were alright, but yeah that main event had no hope from the beginning.

Pretty damn bad, but I would say there are five or so worse Manias in my mind.

[Feargus McReddit]

I can see what people mean when they bring up older WrestleManias as worse but I feel modern stuff like 27, 32 and even 34 are examples of shows where the WWE as a company had learned from stuff like 2, 9, 11 etc so it sort of makes it more inexcusable for them to be how they were especially with the history behind them.

Hell, I'd argue WrestleMania 2000 was pretty damn bad because it was during what some people consider their peak year in terms of marketability, storylines and roster. The lack of real care and attention to all of that just to stick as many people in as many matches as possible, especially considering every other show that year before and after, is mindboggling. It almost might as well be a Saudi show for as much canon that show is to the rest of the year, besides the McMahon screwjob.

[Mozenrath]

WM 2000 is bad, but I guess that show limped so Backlash 2000 could soar. Which is actually not me excusing it, they really blatantly half-assed Wrestlemania so that Backlash would be a big seller. I am unsure as to why, like was Austin just not going to be back in time for it? I know Foley has been open about having very, very little notice to do the match, and I think even said he initially thought Vince was joking, and then that he didn't have the heart to tell him he did not actually care that much about main eventing, with finally him agreeing to it so as to not risk being considered as violating his contract (Something Vince did not threaten him with, but Mick knew he potentially could have if he'd wanted to.). It was that down to the wire and slapdash.

[EoE: Well There's Your Problem]

Mar 9, 2023 5:30:45 GMT -5 Feargus McReddit said:

I can see what people mean when they bring up older WrestleManias as worse but I feel modern stuff like 27, 32 and even 34 are examples of shows where the WWE as a company had learned from stuff like 2, 9, 11 etc so it sort of makes it more inexcusable for them to be how they were especially with the history behind them.

Hell, I'd argue WrestleMania 2000 was pretty damn bad because it was during what some people consider their peak year in terms of marketability, storylines and roster. The lack of real care and attention to all of that just to stick as many people in as many matches as possible, especially considering every other show that year before and after, is mindboggling. It almost might as well be a Saudi show for as much canon that show is to the rest of the year, besides the McMahon screwjob.

It's really one of the oddities of the Attitude Era (other than the actual stable of the same name) that they really didn't nail a WrestleMania in that time period until WM17, which is often cited as the actual end of it. WM14 is historically significant with Austin's title win, but is generally nothing more than OK otherwise. WM15 is all over the shop with Russo-pilled craziness. And WM16 was generally treated as an afterthought.

[Feargus McReddit]

Mar 9, 2023 5:55:24 GMT -5 Mozenrath said:

WM 2000 is bad, but I guess that show limped so Backlash 2000 could soar. Which is actually not me excusing it, they really blatantly half-assed Wrestlemania so that Backlash would be a big seller. I am unsure as to why, like was Austin just not going to be back in time for it? I know Foley has been open about having very, very little notice to do the match, and I think even said he initially thought Vince was joking, and then that he didn't have the heart to tell him he did not actually care that much about main eventing, with finally him agreeing to it so as to not risk being considered as violating his contract (Something Vince did not threaten him with, but Mick knew he potentially could have if he'd wanted to.). It was that down to the wire and slapdash.

I think all of that makes it worse, though. Especially during a time when WCW was handing them their ass on a consistent basis, you'd want each show to have significance and meaning and if you're going to have your biggest show of the year to be a stepping stone to a show that, let's be honest, was a one match show for the most part feels really narrow minded.

It's basically how WrestleMania 27 was entirely used to build up WrestleMania 28 except they did that without a multi-million dollar competitor breathing down their neck.

[Feargus McReddit]

Mar 9, 2023 6:05:22 GMT -5 EoE: Well There's Your Problem said:

It's really one of the oddities of the Attitude Era (other than the actual stable of the same name) that they really didn't nail a WrestleMania in that time period until WM17, which is often cited as the actual end of it. WM14 is historically significant with Austin's title win, but is generally nothing more than OK otherwise. WM15 is all over the shop with Russo-pilled craziness. And WM16 was generally treated as an afterthought.

It's especially weirder in a time when Bischoff was figuring out on a yearly basis if Starrcade was WCW's WrestleMania or not, basically the difference between Hogan/Disciple and Hogan/Piper or Hogan/Sting. Like, you know this is WrestleMania because you have a backlog of history saying as much.

[Mozenrath]

Mar 9, 2023 6:09:03 GMT -5 Feargus McReddit said:

Mar 9, 2023 5:55:24 GMT -5 Mozenrath said:

WM 2000 is bad, but I guess that show limped so Backlash 2000 could soar. Which is actually not me excusing it, they really blatantly half-assed Wrestlemania so that Backlash would be a big seller. I am unsure as to why, like was Austin just not going to be back in time for it? I know Foley has been open about having very, very little notice to do the match, and I think even said he initially thought Vince was joking, and then that he didn't have the heart to tell him he did not actually care that much about main eventing, with finally him agreeing to it so as to not risk being considered as violating his contract (Something Vince did not threaten him with, but Mick knew he potentially could have if he'd wanted to.). It was that down to the wire and slapdash.

I think all of that makes it worse, though. Especially during a time when WCW was handing them their ass on a consistent basis, you'd want each show to have significance and meaning and if you're going to have your biggest show of the year to be a stepping stone to a show that, let's be honest, was a one match show for the most part feels really narrow minded.

It's basically how WrestleMania 27 was entirely used to build up WrestleMania 28 except they did that without a multi-million dollar competitor breathing down their neck.

Oh yeah, they really should not have done it, but I guess by 2000, they were pretty confident they had secured the lead, and they probably had. Maybe that was part of it, thinking that Wrestlemania would largely sell itself, but that a 1-2 punch of big PPVs would handily give them a big payoff, which, admittedly, it did.

[Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!!]

Nah. It's an all-time bowser of an ending and it also has that god awful Cole/Lawler match. That said, I still think of WrestleMania 11 as the worst. It feels like an overlong episode of Raw with a celebrity match main event with no stakes. I'll take hilariously bad over forgettable any day.

[Desi]

Time & nostalgia has softened 9 & 11 for me.

27 & 32 were so mind-numbingly boring that I refuse to acknowledge them.

[Clutchhausen]

It was ass. Wrestlemania 32 was bad but I went to it and had fun at the time.

27 is just awful.

[Gus Richlen: Ruffian]

I actually love 32. 27 on the other hand can burn a long time in the deepest regions of the darkest precincts of hell.

[chazraps]

Mar 9, 2023 6:05:22 GMT -5 EoE: Well There's Your Problem said:

Mar 9, 2023 5:30:45 GMT -5 Feargus McReddit said:

I can see what people mean when they bring up older WrestleManias as worse but I feel modern stuff like 27, 32 and even 34 are examples of shows where the WWE as a company had learned from stuff like 2, 9, 11 etc so it sort of makes it more inexcusable for them to be how they were especially with the history behind them.

Hell, I'd argue WrestleMania 2000 was pretty damn bad because it was during what some people consider their peak year in terms of marketability, storylines and roster. The lack of real care and attention to all of that just to stick as many people in as many matches as possible, especially considering every other show that year before and after, is mindboggling. It almost might as well be a Saudi show for as much canon that show is to the rest of the year, besides the McMahon screwjob.

It's really one of the oddities of the Attitude Era (other than the actual stable of the same name) that they really didn't nail a WrestleMania in that time period until WM17, which is often cited as the actual end of it. WM14 is historically significant with Austin's title win, but is generally nothing more than OK otherwise. WM15 is all over the shop with Russo-pilled craziness. And WM16 was generally treated as an afterthought.

I wholly disagree with your assessment that WM14 is just OK.

It's a fantastic show. While there isn't one particular stand-out all-time classic match, taken as an event as a whole it holds up as an incredibly fun watch and satisfying crescendo to the previous year's storylines.

Great build and a diverse wonderful watch.

Outside the awful rendition of "America the Beautiful" (which is cut on most releases anyway) there's really nothing about that show I can think of changing to improve it.

[Jindrak Mark]

Mar 9, 2023 12:22:23 GMT -5 chazraps said:

Mar 9, 2023 6:05:22 GMT -5 EoE: Well There's Your Problem said:

It's really one of the oddities of the Attitude Era (other than the actual stable of the same name) that they really didn't nail a WrestleMania in that time period until WM17, which is often cited as the actual end of it. WM14 is historically significant with Austin's title win, but is generally nothing more than OK otherwise. WM15 is all over the shop with Russo-pilled craziness. And WM16 was generally treated as an afterthought.

I wholly disagree with your assessment that WM14 is just OK.

It's a fantastic show. While there isn't one particular stand-out all-time classic match, taken as an event as a whole it holds up as an incredibly fun watch and satisfying crescendo to the previous year's storylines.

Great build and a diverse wonderful watch.

Outside the awful rendition of "America the Beautiful" (which is cut on most releases anyway) there's really nothing about that show I can think of changing to improve it.

I agree that WM 14 was a great show. Austin/HBK/Tyson and Taker/Kane were so well built and didn't have to be 5 star matches to satisfy.

I would make a change though. Doing another DQ in a Rock/Shamrock IC title match followed by Shamrock beating up the refs again afterwards was really lazy. They did the exact same thing at the Rumble. If they didn't want to have Shamrock win the title then just have Rock actually win in some screwy fashion. I really hating them doing a DQ finish again.

[Ben Wyatt]

My vote goes to Mania 15.

Hardcore Holly vs Billy Gunn Vs Al Snow for the hardcore title (Bill was going for the IC title before randomly going after, and winning the hardcore title. Meanwhile , Road Dogg randomly won the IC title weeks before)


Owen Hart & Jeff Jarrett vs Test & D-Lo Brown (randomly thrown together) for the tag titles

Brawl 4 All
Butterbean vs Bart Gunn (LOL)

Mankind vs Big Show (waste of both guys, particularly the newly debuted Big Show)

Road Dogg va Ken Shamrock vs Val Venis vs Goldust for the IC title (see: comments on first match)

Kane vs Triple H (strictly to set up the later heel turn by HHH)

Sable vs Tori (*TERRBLE MATCH*)


Shane McMahon VS def. X-Pac for the Euro title (Surprisingly decent, but schmozz finish)

Hell in a Cell Match
Undertaker vs Big Boss Man (Worst HIAC match ever)

WWE Championship Main Event
Stone Cold Vs The Rock ( Good, but not great match.)

This was Russo at his Russo-est. Maybe acceptable for a B PPV, but for a Mania? Nah, this was asscheeks

[Ozman]

Mar 7, 2023 8:46:28 GMT -5 Killah Ray said:

Only Mania I’ve been to live so I’m jaded in my opinion of it. I’ve heard from everyone how bad it is so weirdly I’ve never gone back to watch the replay as not to taint my memories of it.

I was at this WrestleMania too (the last WrestleMania I went to in person). I have mixed feelings about the show. I enjoyed my time in Atlanta, I haven’t watched this show back yet either. I’m up to summer of 2003 of my chronological rewatching of all WWE shows (started this rewatching back in 2014 when I first got the WWE Network, beginning with the first WrestleMania from 1985). I guess I’ll find out if this show was any good when I eventually get up to 2011.

[Rudy Gobert Weather Machine]

I don't think Wrestlemania 25 is the worst one but it's the one that I wanna fight the most for making people sit through Kid Rock doing that one horrible IM GONNA GET U STONED 😈 song he did on like every award show ever for a few years that just refused to become a thing no matter how much All Summer Long was harassing ppl.