10 Worst WrestleMania Moments Ever
4. Big Show Vs. Akebono
Did you ever want to see Big Show in a diaper? Well, you had to wait until 2013 to see that, but if you wanted to see him in a mawashi, you need look no further than WrestleMania XXI, where he inexplicably took on legendary Japanese Sumo wrestler Akebono.
It’s not exactly sure why this happened. WWE ran the occasional show in Japan, but they weren't really trying to really break into the market at the time in an effective way. If they had, they would have actually used Ultimo Dragon, and not tried to name Kenzo Suzuki after the Japanese Emperor during World War 2. It was likely due to the fact that Show is big, and so is Akebono, and Vince McMahon likes putting Show in spectacle matches at Mania.
However, this wasn’t even an actual traditional wrestling match, like the Show/Floyd Mayweather spectacle. This was contested under traditional sumo rules. Of course, Show was going to look foolish here, much like Bart Gunn trying to take down actual professional boxer in Butterbean at WrestleMania XV. When Show failed to move his opponent, he actually called for a Chokeslam. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to hit it, because that would have been amazingly ridiculous, and probably broke at least a few sumo rules.
Show lost, as he was tossed out of the ring with relative ease. He got back in and showed a sign of respect for his opponent instead of going for that massive chokeslam. The two gigantic, nearly naked men gave us a WrestleMania moment that most fans wish they could forget.