WrestleMania is the show of shows. The Superbowl for the wrestling world and the marquee event of the year for the WWE. That means the matches mean more, the botches are easier to see, and the social media reaction is off the charts.
While we have seen numerous great matches at WrestleMania over the years, we have also witnessed some of the worst. And while bad matches are one thing, underwhelming matches can be even worse, especially when you’re being made to expect greatness.
We’re going to check out a handful of WrestleMania’s most underwhelming matches.
10
Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns, WrestleMania 34
Roman Wasn’t Ready
Roman and Brock are going to be a part of a few entries on this list, and the reason is because, while both are capable of putting on incredible matches, they are also just as capable of going the exact opposite way.
That volatility culminated in one of the worst WrestleMania main events ever at WrestleMania 34. The only reason this match isn’t higher on the list is that nobody was excited about it.
We had seen this matchup already, and you know it wasn’t going to top The Heist of the Century when Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank Contract.
What took place was a low-energy and largely boring back-and-forth that featured exactly zero memorable spots, and it was just a recycling of matches we’d seen between the two multiple times at that point.
There had already been multiple main events in PLEs between the two, and it was just stale at that point. We’d seen everything these two could do together, and their characters sure as hell didn’t help the matter.
Roman was dull as dirt on the mic at that point, and Paul Heyman could only prop up so many boring feuds.
This match ended with Brock winning and then, he promptly tossed the WWE Championship belt at Vince McMahon backstage in disgust, which resulted in an awkward moment and a clear acknowledgment by Brock that the match did in fact suck.
9
Roman Reigns vs. The Undertaker, WrestleMania 33
The Big Dog vs The Dead Man and the Dead Crowd
This match should’ve been the making of Roman Reigns as a megastar. He had been pushed so ferociously at this point and been a champion, and still, there was nothing here.
The match was a train wreck, with countless botches by both wrestlers, a past his prime Undertaker looking slow, and the crowd was booing constantly throughout.
The match ended with an awkward spear from Roman and him pinning Undertaker for the three count. It was followed by a chorus of boos and that’s far from the way you want your biggest event of the night to end.
It was two wrestlers who had zero chemistry with each other, and feeding Undertaker to Roman to get another unnecessary loss on his WrestleMania record made no sense.
As if the lukewarm reaction of the crowd wasn’t bad enough, Roman went on RAW the next night and proclaimed, “This is my yard now,” and the crowd exploded with hatred.
It could’ve been an amazing moment to turn him heel, but instead, it created further hate on the WWE’s top babyface.
8
Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg, WrestleMania 20
Two Titans Leave The Company to Silence
It was almost unthinkable that two stars of Goldberg and Brock Lesnar’s level could produce an awful WrestleMania match.
Except, that’s exactly what happened at WrestleMania 20, and it was due to online rumors leaking that both Brock Lesnar and Goldberg would be leaving the company after the match.
This made the crowd sour on the match from the start, and you can tell that both Brock and Goldberg knew that it was going to be a terrible time from then on out.
What followed was an incredibly boring match that showed both men were just going through the motions, and while Goldberg won, the biggest pop of the match came when Stone Cold Steve Austin, who was refereeing, gave a stunner to Goldberg and Brock.
Thankfully, this wasn’t the main event; otherwise, there might have been riots.
7
Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole, WrestleMania 27
What Did We Do To Deserve This Match?
Some matches were just born to be terrible. This was certainly one of them, and while the presence of Stone Cold Steve Austin as the special guest referee helped get fans interested in the match, once the bell sounded, it was a disaster.
Lawler was about 2 decades past his prime, and Cole never had a prime to begin with, and both men delivered some of the most uninspiring and terrible wrestling you’ve ever seen.
Nobody thought this match would be great, but something could’ve been done to spice it up.
Sure, there was interference by Jack Swagger in some spots, but nothing that really elevated the match, and it went on far, far longer than it should’ve, and had a terrible ending where the anonymous GM of RAW reversed the decision to give Cole the win.
When Lawler and Cole got backstage, Vince McMahon told them, “That was the worst thing I’ve ever seen,” and we could only nod our heads in approval.
6
Triple H vs. Randy Orton, WrestleMania 25
They Couldn’t Follow Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels
Sometimes, it’s not about the match itself, but the act you’re following. For Randy Orton and Triple H at WrestleMania 25, they had to follow Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker, which, if you’ve seen it, is by many accounts the greatest match in the history of the WWE, let alone WrestleMania.
The build-up to this match between The Game and Orton, though, was pretty epic. Home invasions, and Randy kissing an unconscious Stephanie McMahon. It was intense and uncomfortable.
The way it was built is obviously not something you’re going to see much in feuds anymore, and we were expecting an absolute bloodbath when it came to their WrestleMania 25 match. The problem is that the payoff of the match was so basic.
It was a decent match, but it was so boring. This was a blood feud, with tons of history between the two wrestlers. This should have been Hell in a Cell, or no disqualification.
Instead, we got what was a fine match, but nothing special, with no moments to look back on, and, for the main event of WrestleMania 25, it was a match that was very underwhelming.
5
Sid Justice vs Hulk Hogan, WrestleMania 8
A Botched Ending
Going into this match, everyone pretty much knew it was going to be Hulk Hogan’s last match in the company for a while, and it was shaping up to be an epic going-out party.
The match was originally supposed to be Hogan vs Ric Flair, but due to poor reception at house shows, they made the switch to Sid.
The match was a typical big-man affair with both going through the motions and nothing too memorable happening, but the spot that made the match so underwhelming was its now-infamous ending.
Papa Shango was supposed to come in and break up the finish for the DQ, and instead, he was about 2 minutes late, and Sid’s manager had to cause the DQ.
It becomes such a clumsy disaster that Papa Shango eventually comes out and attacks Hogan, and then The Ultimate Warrior appears and helps him out.
While the crowd was into it at the time, watching it now, it’s hard to believe this was the main event, as there was pretty much no ending, and nothing of note happening story-wise other than The Ultimate Warrior returning.
4
Roman Reigns vs. Triple H, WrestleMania 32
Why Did They Do This To Us?
Roman Reigns vs Triple H should be a huge moment in WWE history, but that was not to be on this night.
Despite it clearly being a passing of the torch moment from Triple H to Roman Reigns, the crowd booed the hell out of Roman to start this match, and throughout it, they were clearly cheering for Triple H even though he was the clear heel.
Instead of buying into this double turn that probably should’ve happened, the match went as expected with plenty of interference from Stephanie, with her even taking a spear at one point, but it wasn’t enough.
The crowd hated it. Roman and Triple H had very little chemistry in the ring, and none of the spots were hitting.
You can say that Triple H was over the hill here, and that’s fair, but in the same year, Triple H and Dean Ambrose put on an absolute banger at Roadblock, so clearly he still had plenty left to give.
It ends with Triple H going for his famous sledgehammer attack, missing it, and then getting speared to give Roman the win.
The crowd did not celebrate this at all, and the reaction was so bad live, they had Triple H play to the crowd after the show went off the air.
3
Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt, WrestleMania 33
Well, This Was Weird
Bray Wyatt is pretty much the only supernatural character other than The Undertaker that has worked throughout WWE history, and going into this match, he was finally at the top.
He was the champion, which was long-awaited and much-deserved. Randy Orton had been there already, many times, in fact, and was a highly questionable Royal Rumble winner that year, so the initial setup of this match had fans feeling uneasy.
The build-up to the match was insane. Randy burnt down the Wyatt compound, Bray baptized himself in Sister Abigail’s ashes, and overall, it was just unhinged.
But that was a good thing. This match should’ve been anything but normal. Unfortunately, that idea didn’t come to fruition.
The match itself was fine, as both are amazing in-ring performers, but there wasn’t a lot of chemistry there, as both wrestlers are very slow and methodical with their styles.
The match went into full-time joke territory when, out of nowhere, graphics of bugs and worms hit the middle of the ring.
This was a first for the WWE and one of the most bizarre and ridiculous things to ever happen in a wrestling ring. Shockingly, they went to the bit twice, and each time the crowd had no clue what to do.
It was just plain stupid, and hilariously, it didn’t even work, as Randy hit the RKO and won the title yet again.
I’m all for innovation, but not when it looks like that.
2
Brett Hart vs Vince McMahon, WrestleMania 26
Revenge is Best Served Cold, and Boring
The Montreal Screwjob ended Bret Hart’s career in the WWE after being the top guy there for half a decade and, with that in mind, him getting revenge on the man who orchestrated it in Vince McMahon, makes a ton of sense.
Unfortunately, while Bret Hart was once the Excellence of Execution, his skills had diminished greatly by this point, and he was physically not near the level required to put on a 20+ minute WrestleMania match.
Vince was already too old to really put on a compelling match at this point, and Bret was too old to carry the match like he normally could.
While there was a fun spot with the new members of the Hart family acting as lumberjacks for the match outside the ring, their participation didn’t do much to elevate the rather dull moments playing out in the ring.
The referee was Bruce Hart, which was, again, a fun twist to the match, and Bret putting Vince in the Sharpshooter to get the win was pretty cathartic, but there was no reason this match had to go on for as long as it did.
The best moment we got out of this was getting to see Bret Hart smash Vince McMahon in the back with a chair, and also for Bret to get the win and finally bury the demons that haunted him since that fateful moment in 1998.
1
Kurt Angle vs Baron Corbin, WrestleMania 35
A Terrible Ending To A Legendary Career
There were so many options for Kurt Angle’s last match. You could’ve gone with Brock Lesnar, you could’ve had things come full circle, and gone with John Cena. You also could have built a new star, like, say, Chad Gable.
Instead, they went with Baron Corbin. It was just the wrong route to go. While Baron was fine and a decent heel, he lacked that must-watch factor that someone retiring Kurt Angle needs to have.
The match itself was so underwhelming. It had Kurt cycling through his greatest hits while Baron did his best to be as heelish as possible, but aside from some early crowd energy, the match was flat.
Corbin just wasn’t good enough to pull a great, last effort out of Angle, and the result was a loss for Angle that felt less like the end of an incredible career and more like a hastily put-together fight that had no real implications and felt underwhelming because of it.
