10 Wrestlers Who Narrowly Missed A WWE WrestleMania Main Event

Few can say they came as close as the British Bulldog did to getting a WWF title shot at WrestleMania—for him, it was literally a matter of inches.

Having survived the entirety of the 1995 Royal Rumble match, Bulldog had seemingly rubber-stamped his ticket to the ‘Mania main event when he tossed Shawn Michaels to the outside. Of course, in what would later become one of the more famous Rumble spots in history, Michaels hadn’t been eliminated. Only one foot had touched the floor, with the other dangling perilously close.

With Bulldog busy celebrating what he assumed was a victory, Michaels hoisted himself back into the ring and knocked his opponent over the top rope to snatch a last-gasp victory for himself.

Though it was all within the rules, the uncertainty surrounding the finish meant that the Bulldog character would have had every right to feel aggrieved about being robbed of the chance to be the first Englishman to headline WrestleMania.

Instead, he opened WrestleMania XI in tag team action, facing the Blu Brothers alongside Lex Luger, while Michaels went on to challenge Diesel for the WWF Championship.

One of these things is much better than the other.