10 Times Predictable WrestleMania Outcomes Never Actually Happened

9. Triple H Retains The WWF Championship €“ WrestleMania XVI

WrestleMania 2000 saw Triple H somehow retaining his WWF Championship courtesy of a Vince McMahon double-cross. Initially, it looked as if the plan was for The Rock to challenge Triple H for the WWF Title at €˜Mania, with many predicting The Great One to be the all-conquering babyface who finally took The Game€™s belt. Then Big Show and Mick Foley were added to the mix, with many believing that those additions were purely to give an alternative way of getting the gold on The Rock without Hunter doing the J.O.B., only the match was made into an elimination affair. Still, Rocky was a shoe-in to walk out with the strap, right? Even though a Vinny Mac heel turn was always a possibility in the mind of some fans, most believed that it was a cert that The Brahma Bull would overcome any such shenanigans and walk out of €˜Mania XVI as WWF Champion. It just had to be, and everything up to that point had suggested as such. On that night, though, Triple H got the duke and The Rock had to wait until a month later at Backlash before he got his big moment.
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.