9 Times WWE's WrestleMania Main Event Was The Worst Match On The Card

3. WrestleMania 33: Whose Yard Is It?

The next instalment of “Will WWE learn that force-feeding Roman Reigns on the fans doesn’t work?” came a year later, and it didn’t go any better for anyone involved.

During the Royal Rumble, Reigns eliminated the Undertaker (Roman would go on to be eliminated last by winner Randy Orton). This was enough to kick off the feud, with Roman insisted that the ring was “my yard” now. You see, Reigns was called “The Big Dog,” and Taker often referred to the ring as his yard, so… yeah.

The problem was that WWE still viewed Reigns as the face of the company, the next John Cena, and he was being set up to fail by pitting him against a beloved character who had achieved mythic status, at WrestleMania, which was synonymous with Undertaker at the time.

WrestleMania 33 was looking like a really good show overall, with the Hardy Boyz return being a legit mark-out moment, and most matches hitting their intended spots. The Orton/Bray Wyatt WWE Championship match was a disaster, but it was more spectacle with the projections on the ring than it was a typical match. It also had the benefit of being half the length of the main event.

Reigns/Taker was supposed to be this epic passing-of-the-torch moment, with the Deadman going out like an old gunslinger to the younger rising star. Instead, they plodded around the ring and floor while a burned-out crowd could barely get up for the “action,” which included a botched Tombstone reversal sequence. Roman’s offense could be summed up as such: four spears, four Superman punches, a bunch of chair shots, a drive-by dropkick, and a Samoan Drop. Not exactly a dynamic performance.

Fans hated the outcome, but the match itself was a disaster. The match was so bad that Taker’s planned retirement – he left his gear in the ring afterward – ended up being shelved and he returned the following year, trying to redeem himself. During the WWE documentary “Undertaker: The Last Ride,” Taker is seen wincing while rewatching that main event, clearly embarrassed.