10 Worst WWE Moments Of 2009
5. WWE Gets WrestleMania’s Main Event Wrong
Traditionalists would say that a top title match needs to close WrestleMania every year. Naturally, the rules have changed on that a little in more recent years since WWE started running weekenders rather than a one off Sunday night show, but most would agree that the second night should end with a blowoff championship showdown people have been waiting months to see.
In that sense, there was nothing wrong (in theory) with Triple H vs. Randy Orton going on last at 'Mania XXV. The build, which saw a wickedly evil Orton torture Hunter's family and Trips invade Randy's home for some payback, was solid and flashy. Unfortunately, they had 2 things working against them in Houston: The bout's stipulation and another match that stole the show before them.
In execution, Hunter vs. Orton bored everyone to tears and had no business going on after Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker. Granted, nobody knew that HBK vs. 'Taker would be as epic as it was, but Triple H vs. Randy turned out to be an unfortunate repeat of 'The Game's' humdrum effort with Chris Jericho back in 2002.
Again, tacking on a stip that meant Triple H would lose his title if he got disqualified was silly too, because it meant the vengeful babyface couldn't smash Randy's skull in for attacking his wife/other family members. Without that violence, the main event was neutered and had to go with a slower pace.
In retrospect, it was obviously 'Taker vs. Shawn that needed to go on last. They had the best match on the show, and their outstanding chemistry was all anyone could talk about once the night was done.