For 30 years, WWE WrestleMania has been the cornerstone event which has led to some of the greatest moments of all-time in the WWE, but not every show in the history of the pay-per-view has gone on without a hitch.
It's time for WWE to do right by their fans and put the title on Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania XXX
While WrestleMania is the marquee event within the WWE every year and has created some of the greatest moments in the squared circle by offering classic matches, memorable title changes and mixing the celebrity world with the superstars of the WWE, there have been some duds through the years as well.
Over the next three Tuesdays, we here at Sports World News will rank the WrestleManias, starting with the Top 9 worst WrestleManias, then 10 more better events and finally finishing up with the Top 10 best WrestleMania pay-per-views of all-time.
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Here are the Top 9 worst WrestleManias, starting with the worst of all-time and working our way to the best of the worst, we will rank them in descending order with No.29 being the worst.
29) WrestleMania 2 from New York, Chicago and Los Angeles (4/27/86): "What the World Has Come To:"
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WrestleMania 2 is by far the worst event in the history of the WrestleMania franchise. The WWE got bold and tried to top the original event in 1985 by having the show emanate from three separate locations including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, which admittedly was impressive for the time. The event offered up 12 mostly boring matches with a lot of filler. A boxing match between Mr. T and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper displayed the worst parts of the event while a stellar tag match between The British Bulldogs and The Dream Team and a battle royal featuring WWE superstars against NFL players were highlights. The main event between Hulk Hogan and King Kong Bundy in a Steel Cage Match only lasted 11 minutes long. This is a forgettable WrestleMania and arguably the worst of all-time.
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28) WrestleMania IX from Las Vegas, Nevada (4/4/93): "The World's Largest Toga Party":
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Many people refer to this as the worst 'Mania, but it isn't as boring as WrestleMania 2. Still, it is a really, really bad event. The match took place outdoors at Caesar's Palace and featured all of the WWE crew in togas. Three of the nine matches ended with DQ or countout finishes, The Undertaker fought Giant Gonzalez in a horribly boring match that is the only contest that's part of The Streak not to feature 'Taker winning by pinfall or submission, and worst of all Hulk Hogan's ego was at its highest point here, as he politicked his way to the WWE Championship by pinning Yokozuna in a squash match just seconds after Yokozuna had beaten Bret "The Hitman" Hart. This is probably the worst WrestleMania from a booking standpoint, but slightly more watchable than WrestleMania 2.
27) WrestleMania XI from Hartford, Connecticut (4/2/95): The NFL takes over the main event:
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The WWE was floundering in 1995 and "The New Generation" that had boomed the year before wasn't enough to save the biggest show of the year. The WWE had an NFL player (Lawrence Taylor) main event the biggest show of the year against Bam Bam Bigelow. LT held his own in the ring but still shouldn't have been headlining the biggest show of the year. While a Shawn Michaels vs. Diesel match for the WWE Championship was a great match, a boring undercard and a snooze fest "I Quit' match between Bret Hart and Bob Backland made this a terrible event as the WWE's talent pool slowly began to drain.
26) WrestleMania XXV from Houston, Texas (4/5/09): "The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania":
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Even though it was technically the 24th anniversary of the show, the WWE billed it as the 25th and for an anniversary show, this one was a stinker. The night started off well enough with CM Punk winning the Money in the Bank ladder match, but it quickly went downhill. The WWE had a 25-diva battle royal booked for the show which was anticipated due to the return of many WWE Divas from the past, however the camera never showed any of them in an effort to hide "Santina" Marella, who eventually won the match. The WWE finally had an Intercontinental Championship match on a WrestleMania for the first time since 2002, and it lasted 21 seconds as Rey Mysterio defeated JBL in a short match that angered many fans. John Cena ended Edge's reign as champion in a questionable move, and the main event between Randy Orton and Triple H for the WWE Championship went down as one of the most boring matches in WrestleMania history. Outside of Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker I, this event was awful.
25) WrestleMania XXVII from Atlanta, Georgia (4/3/11): "The Biggest WrestleMania Ever":
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For the "biggest WrestleMania ever" this one sure seemed like an episode of Monday Night RAW. The Rock hosted the show and kicked it off with a long-winded promo that reminded most viewers of the Monday night flagship program than the biggest event of the year. While high points included a solid match between Edge and Alberto Del Rio, The Undertaker vs. Triple H in a No Holds Barred match and CM Punk taking on Randy Orton, there were a lot of bad moments on the card. A squash eight-man tag match that lasted just over a minute and killed The Corre's legitimacy, Michael Cole inexplicably defeating Jerry "The King" Lawler in a match of announcers and a terribly booked main event between The Miz and John Cena which included an interruption from the anonymous RAW general manager make this a mediocre WrestleMania.
24) WrestleMania 13 from Chicago, Illinois (4/23/97): "HEAT!"
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It seemed like the WWE was gearing up for an anticipated rematch between Bret "Hitman" Hart and Shawn Michaels, but an injury to Michaels caused the WWE to juggle its plans and led to a very mediocre WrestleMania. While it has been disputed whether or not Michaels was actually hurt or didn't want to lose the title to Hart, who at that time he legitimately hated, the events that unfolded did lead to one of the best moments ever between Hart and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. The two fought in a fantastic submission match and ended up doing a face-heel switch, with Austin walking out of Chicago a face and Hart a heel. While that was great, the rest of the card was boring, including the main event that saw The Undertaker gain the title by pinning Sid in a slow, plodding match.
23) WrestleMania 2000 from Anaheim, California (4/2/00) "All Day Long":
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The WWE was coming back into its own at the turn of the century, but questionable booking led to WrestleMania 2000 being pretty horrid. Aside from a great triangle ladder match with The Hardyz, The Dudleyz and Edge & Christian that served as a prelude to later great matches and an awesome two-fall match between Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho for the WWE European and Intercontinental Championships, this card stunk. After the rest of the card aside from the triangle ladder match and triple threat match sucked the life out of the crowd, the WWE opted to have Vince McMahon once again factor into its storylines by turning on The Rock and helping Triple H retain his WWE Championship in a fatal fourway match that also included Mick Foley and The Big Show. A heel stood tall at WrestleMania in a horrible moment that was the start of the McMahon Family overstaying its welcome in WWE storylines.
22) WrestleMania I from New York, NY (3/31/85): "The Greatest Wrestling Event of All-Time":
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While at the time it was a successful event that launched a boom for wrestling, this show hasn't aged very well. Some of it was poorly organized and a lot of the matches haven't held up 29 years later. Still, it's hard to knock an event that spawned an entire franchise and while matches like Tito Santana vs. The Executioner aren't exactly five-star classics and some of the matches are head-scratchers as some feuding wrestlers didn't fight each other, this was a successful show. The card had no WWE Championship match and a mostly forgettable lineup aside from the main event featuring Hulk Hogan and Mr. T against Paul Orndorff and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. While what this event has become since the airing of this show would have never happened without the original WrestleMania, this show still belongs on the list of the worst.
21) WrestleMania XII from Anaheim, California (3/31/96): The Iron Man Match:
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While Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart put on a clinic in the main event for the WWE Championship in the first ever 60-man Iron Man match, the fact that the contest went over an hour provided for most of this show to seem rushed. The main event is disputed as a lot of wrestling enthusiasts believe it is a five-star classic while others feel it took too long and was slow at some points. No matter where people stand, Michaels and Hart definitely put on a solid showing. Still, the undercard featuring "Rowdy" Roddy Piper against Goldust in a strange street fight that included a poor O.J. Simpson parody, a squash match that saw The Ultimate Warrior return to beat Triple H in just over a minute and a boring match between Steve Austin as "The Ringmaster" and Savio Vega put this on the list of one of the worst WrestleManias.
These nine installments of the event have not lived up to the hype and splendor that is WrestleMania. Next time, we'll look at 10 better installments of the WWE's marquee event as we work our way towards the greatest WrestleMania of all-time.
What do YOU think is the worst WrestleMania of all-time? Tell us on Twitter: @SportsWN, @MikeSmollins
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