10 of the Worst Wrestlemania Moments Ever

Wrestlemania is supposed to be the pinnacle of a wrestler’s career. It’s the Showcase of the Immortals, the granddaddy of them all, and everyone is meant to go into it with their minds set on only one goal.

To put on the best performance they can.

Every performer wants a WrestleMania moment and as long as they’re all singing from the same song sheet then there’s no reason they can’t have one, but that isn’t always the case.

Whether it’s due to egos running wild or just straight-up bad booking, not every Wrestlemania moment will go down in history for the right reasons.

So, with all that in mind, join me as I take a look at 10 of the Worst Wrestlemania Moments Ever.

Wrestlemania VII: Jake Roberts vs Rick Martel

I love Jake “the Snake” Roberts.

He’s always been one of my favorite wrestlers and, as far as I’m concerned, there’s never been anyone past or present that can hold a candle to him when it comes to the mic, so having to include him on any worst of lists is always a little heartbreaking.

But the facts speak for themselves, this was awful.

Whoever thought it’d be a good idea to have Roberts and Martel fumble around with masks over their heads for 8 minutes, really should’ve been fired.

It seemed as if it would never end and when Jake finally managed to nail his opponent with his infamous DDT, you could hear the collective sigh of relief from wrestling fans around the globe.

I’ve even read lately that certain sites think this match should be reevaluated as some sort of modern-day classic, but those sites are wrong, this was so bad that even today it makes my eyes vomit at the thought of having to view it again.

Wrestlemania IX: Hulk Hogan Screws Bret Hart

That’s why right now, Bret Hart, I’m issuing the challenge to either you or the Jap!”

Hulk Hogan is a garbage person.

His entire career has been made off the backs of wrestlers that he’s trampled underfoot in his continuing quest for power and to stay at the top of the tree – not to mention the fact that he’s a horrible racist that everyone seems to be willing to forget now he’s back in WWE‘s good graces – and nowhere was this more evident than Wrestlemania IX.

This should’ve been Bret Hart’s time. He should’ve entered the ring against Yokozuna as the challenger and walked out as the champion, overcoming insurmountable odds and becoming the face of the company in the process, and, by all accounts, that was the original plan.

That is until Terry got involved.

Convincing Vince McMahon that the only logical course of action was to have Hart lose and him avenge this defeat, Hogan got his way, yet again.

If this had happened to any other wrestler then it could’ve spelled the end of their career, but as we know Bret Hart wasn’t any other wrestler and he would bounce back to take his rightful spot as the number 1 guy.

No thanks to Hogan who would’ve been more than happy to see another pro crushed under his yellow boots.

What a dick.

Wrestlemania XXI: Akebono vs. the Big Show

I could’ve gone with Show vs. Mayweather from Wrestlemania XXIV here, but that at least went 20 minutes.

20 long and boring minutes, but 20 minutes nonetheless.

This lasted 1:30 and was only thought up so Vinny Mac could have a good laugh at The Big Show in a mawashi.

There is no reason for anyone to watch this, but if you do all you’re going to see is two very big men slap each other about before Akebono gets the win by dumping Big Show out of the ring, onto his ass.

Not one that Show will be looking back on fondly when he finally decides to hang it up.

Wrestlemania XXVIII: Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan

18 seconds.

That’s how long it took for Sheamus to become World Heavyweight Champion at the expense of Daniel Bryan.

18 seconds.

It’s hard to believe now that only two years later we’d be watching D-Bry stand tall at the top of the mountain in, probably, the greatest ever Wrestlemania moment, because after this match even the most ardent fan of the GOAT thought his WWE career was over.

It was as if the company was trying to punish him for the fact he’d managed to get over all by himself and for committing this most heinous of crimes, he was chosen to job out to The Celtic Warrior.

But howdy, did it backfire.

It didn’t take long for the crowd to turn on the WWE and the next night on RAW saw the birth of The Yes Movement, but on this night it was all but written that Daniel Bryan was no longer wanted by Vince McMahon.

Wrestlemania XXVI: Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon

This… was just painful.

I understand that having Bret Hart back in the fold was a really good idea and it was cool to see him “bury the hatchet” with Shawn Michaels, no matter how kayfabe that might’ve been, but the match at Wrestlemania XXVI between The Hitman and Mr. McMahon was an utter car-wreck.

Bret was far past his sell-by date due to a catalog of illnesses and injuries and Vince’s only role was to stand there and get wailed on.

Maybe it was part of the deal to bring him back that Hart got one last Wrestlemania moment, but this can’t have been how he’d imagined it to play out.

It went far too long, was hard to watch, and won’t find itself on any top Wrestlemania match guide anytime soon.

Wrestlemania XV: The Undertaker Hangs Big Boss Man

Do you know what’s a good idea at Wrestlemania?

Having The Undertaker put on some of the best matches you’ll ever see, alongside the likes of Shawn Michaels and Triple H.

Do you know what’s a bad idea at Wrestlemania?

Having him hang someone.

Back at Wrestlemania XV, we were subjected to this exact scenario after a terrible match between the two, inside Hell in a Cell.

Seriously, the actual performance between the two before the hanging was bad enough that one, if not both of them, deserved to be strung up, but to watch Taker loop a noose around Boss Man’s neck before having the Cell raised, thereby straight-up murdering him, wasn’t just one of the worst moments in Wrestlemania history, but also one of the most uncomfortable.

Wrestlemania XIX: Triple H Buries Booker T

Nowadays, everyone loves Triple H.

He’s that cool uncle who only has the next generation’s best interests at heart, but never forget, there was a time when he held the WWE in his grip with zero intention of letting it go.

In a prime example of his ego being completely out of control, at Wrestlemania XIX he was set to face-off with Booker T, who was over like rover and was nailed on to dethrone the King of Kings and end his reign of terror.

Well, at least, that’s what the sensible money said.

Everything that Trips had done up to that point had made him out as the ultimate heel, including that awful “You people” remark that still gets debated to this day, so when the night arrived for King Booker’s coronation, it was a dead cert, surely?

Well, no, and don’t call me Shirley, Trips got his way and nearly ended Booker’s WWE career.

It wasn’t just the fact that he won when he should’ve lost.

It wasn’t that he no-sold every move that Booker hit him with.

It was that it took him 20 f*cking seconds to cover his downed opponent, making The T Man look as weak as he possibly could in the process, just so he could keep his hands on the gold.

Wrestlemania XXXI: Triple H Buries Sting

He just can’t help himself, can he?

At the height of The Authority’s power, we needed a hero to save us from Stephanie McMahon and her lady balls each week.

Step forward Sting.

The last holdout from the old WCW days, The Stinger had trodden a less familiar path with TNA, but finally, he had signed on the dotted line and was going to free us all from boring, rambling 20-minute promos at the beginning of every show.

That’s what all the signs pointed to, the Avenger Stinger, with a baseball bat in hand, would bring justice at Wrestlemania XXXI and what he wouldn’t do is get jobbed out because Vince McMahon and Triple H still had hard-ons for the Monday Night Wars.

Oh, wait, sorry, my mistake.

Instead of doing the right thing and letting Sting win, which is what everyone and their auntie wanted, Trips would go over here, yet again, but it was alright as they wheeled out the NWO and DX to soften the blow of us all getting screwed without vaseline.

Wrestlemania XXX: Brock Lesnar Ends The Streak

This just made zero sense.

I’m under no illusion that “The Streak” would have had to come to an end sooner or later but to have Brock Lesnar be the one to do it was just idiotic.

He didn’t need the rub for accomplishing the seemingly impossible, he’s Brock Freaking Lesnar for god sake, whereas someone like Rollins would’ve been fired into the stratosphere if they’d been the person responsible for proving The Deadman was mortal after all.

Stupid, stupid booking.

Wrestlemania XVII: The Chair Shot Heard Around The World

This broke my heart and has made me suspicious of every face vs. face match ever since.

At the height of their powers, The Rock and Stone Cold faced off to decide the WWE Championship and up until the end, it was a brilliant match.

No quarter was asked and none was given as they beat the blue hell out of each other. Both men refused to stay down and they could’ve ended it as a draw and there wouldn’t have been a single complaint.

But Vincent Kennedy McMahon had other ideas and making his way out to the ring, offered Autin a chair with which to beam The Rock, but he wouldn’t do it, would he?

Surely, he’d just turn around and smash his long-term adversary upside the head with it, thus sending us all home, happy as Larry, time limit draw or not.

No. He wouldn’t.

After he’d used the offending weapon to dispatch The Rock and shake hands with The Devil in the middle of the ring, it wasn’t only a part of me that died, but the Attitude Era as a whole and even though Austin’s heel run would be full of top quality humor, they should never have done it in the first place.