10 Bizarre WWE Coincidences That Really Happened
7. As Someone Wins Their First WrestleMania Ladder Match, Someone Retires
There’ve been four different instances of a WrestleMania occurring where a wrestler won their first ever 'Mania matchup - always in some form of a ladder match - whilst elsewhere on the card another superstar retires. It’s kind of like how every tree that dies yields seeds that plant anew, but wrestling.
The first instance came at WrestleMania XXIV, when CM Punk won his first ever bout on the Grandest Stage of Them All in the Money in the Bank ladder match. The same card saw Shawn Michaels 'retire' Ric Flair. Next, there's WrestleMania XXVI, a show that gave us Jack Swagger’s first 'Mania win - also in a MITB ladder match - but also featured The Undertaker putting down Shawn Michaels for good.
WrestleMania 32 saw Zack Ryder finally win at WrestleMania in the Intercontinental Championship ladder match, and also heralded the end of Brie Bella’s career. Finally, the following year, Jeff Hardy picked up a win in the Raw Tag Team Titles ladder match finally become 1-5 at WrestleMania, before Roman Reigns (supposedly) retired The Undertaker.