10 WWE WrestleMania Matches That Were Just Too Long

5. Jake Roberts Vs. Rick Rude (WrestleMania 4)

WrestleMania 4 was a recipe for disaster as it was, attempting to squeeze 16 matches (11 of them as part of the WWE Championship tournament) into a four-hour broadcast. Four of the first five tournament matches clocked in at about five minutes or less, which was important for pacing. Then Roberts and Rude batted in the six-spot, scheduled to go to a 15-minute draw. A six-minute double-countout would have been more palatable.

Unable to follow the examples of previous matches that packed freneticism into abbreviated spaces, Roberts and Rude dragged out a slow match, more in line with trying to merely kill 15 minutes instead of 'filling' it with action. The Atlantic City crowd was already tepid, but this match, combined with the Hulk/Andre double-DQ two matches later, squeezed the remaining air out.