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

5. Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle
WWE

WrestleMania main event:

Lesnar's first WrestleMania main event was marred, obviously, by the disastrous finish, in which he under-rotated for his big 'Mania Moment. If he'd executed the move correctly, it may still have missed. Angle wasn't positioned correctly. It's a specific shame, this, because the endeavour required to make the match work - and it did elsewhere as a gripping, more legitimate style of match than the in-house blockbuster - was so admirable. Angle was a wreck, and a performer in that condition will never again work a match like that with today's revised medical protocols.

His 'Mania 31 match with Roman Reigns was something genuinely special - a brutal annihilation so well-plotted and convincing that fans began to feel sympathy for a man they loathed 15 minutes prior - but it wasn't his peak.

REALLY peaked as a performer at:

Survivor Series 2018.

This was the over-powered Suplex City iteration of the Beast losing none of his ungodly power in a match that put over Daniel Bryan, known primarily as a technical genius, as a storytelling master on par with Bret Hart. Every move informed the next, it was the only logical story they could have told, it was sequenced in such a way that you still never saw it unfolding as it did, and Lesnar allowed his face to be effectively scraped off in pursuit of a rare, super-ambitious all-heel war.

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!