10 Wrestlers Who Didn't Peak In The WrestleMania Main Event

7. Bret Hart

Jericho Jericho
WWE.com

WrestleMania main event:

WrestleMania IX*, X, XII.

Hart considers his last 'Mania main event his greatest-ever achievement, possibly because he spent an hour in the company of Shawn Michaels without punching his face in. And he was tempted: the potato shots thrown in this yawn of a match were the only interesting thing about it, beyond the dynamite last 12 minutes, the fuse for which was barely lit on such a damp f*cking squib. This was a "classic" wrestling match, but only because its obscure hold-driven slog was redolent of wrestling before they figured out they should probably work it to make it less punishingly dull.

REALLY peaked as a performer at:

Hart enjoyed two major career highs as a draw and an in-ring master at SummerSlam 1992 and WrestleMania 13, respectively. He carried a "fooked" British Bulldog to a classic at the packed-out Wembley Stadium, which convinced Vince McMahon to have Bret carry another knackered entity as WWF Champion for the next few years - that being the company itself.

And, at 'Mania 13, Hart's genius conspired to turn heel insidiously, within wrestling's broad panto context, in one of the most intelligent, well-worked, painful-looking, outstanding, transformative pro wrestling matches ever.

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!