10 WrestleMania Matches History Deprived Us Of (That Weren't Actually Impossible)

7. Kevin Owens Vs. Sami Zayn - WrestleMania 32

Bret Hart Randy Savage
WWE.com

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn's late spring rivalry delivered big between the ropes, but their years-long tension, carried over from WWE development territories both unofficial (PWG, ROH) and official (NXT), deserved a far grander stage than Battleground - and the grandest one might have excused that (still awesome) bout's more indulgent, content-heavy approach.

Instead, Zayn and Owens had to settle for a subplot in an ultimately meaningless multi-man ladder match, won by Zack Ryder to spike social media traffic. Ryder had taken a photograph with new Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon at WrestleMania X, the dynamic of which was subverted twenty two years later for the sake of a brief Twitter trend.

WWE was acting in a short-sighted vein, even by their standards.

Carelessly tossing midcard acts into multi-man ladder matches and battle royals come springtime just reinforces to casual fans that the new crop of wrestlers are unimportant, interchangeable.

Showcasing the new guard in a state-of-the-art match, one the knowledgeable fans in attendance would have received with both emotion and awe, might have convinced some of the casuals that wrestling isn't just an annual one night stand.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!