8 Least Over WWE Wrestlers To Headline WrestleMania

Up against it.

Roman Reigns WrestleMania 31
WWE

Traditionally, WrestleMania's headline matches are reserved only for the most popular - or "over", if you prefer - wrestlers in the whole of WWE.

But it hasn't always worked that way in practice. While fan reaction usually determines how far up the card a given performer is allowed to climb, there are other factors that sometimes come into play too. Factors like Vince McMahon just really liking someone whom you regard with complete indifference.

As such, there have been several wrestlers cast in the role of leading man on the Grandest Stage of Them All who perhaps didn't really get there entirely on merit. That's not to imply that they weren't talented - or even unable to garner some form of reaction - but simply that their credentials as crowd-pleasers don't really hold up next to the very best.

To be fair, though, in many of these instances WWE management has simply plumped for what was - or at least what they believed to be - the most lucrative possible match-up in a given year. From a business standpoint, you can't really argue with that, although we're still going to try.

8. Sgt. Slaughter

Roman Reigns WrestleMania 31
WWE.com

The waters inevitably become muddied when we begin to talk about how "over" heels are. Since it's their job - at least, on paper - to get on fans' nerves, you can't really make the claim that they are doing something wrong by being booed. It's in the script.

But, as X-Pac knows, there are different kinds of heat - which we can differentiate by looking at the wider context of their push. Jinder Mahal, for example, garnered boos last year not necessarily on the strength of his own heel work, but because of a sense that he wasn't good enough.

And some would argue that the same could be said of Sgt. Slaughter, who headlined WrestleMania VII alongside Hulk Hogan in 1991. He definitely, indisputably commanded a crowd reaction, but honestly - in this role, who wouldn't have? The guy was going against America. They boo'd the sentiment, not the wrestler.

After watching Hogan face Ultimate Warrior in 1990, and Randy Savage the year before that, there was perhaps also a feeling, somewhere beneath the surface, that this just wasn't a particularly exciting match-up. It was like watching a disappointing sequel - and the takings reflected that.

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