Ranking EVERY WWE WrestleMania Main Event From Worst To Best

16. John Cena Vs Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 23)

WrestleMania Main Events
WWE.com

There's a suggestion from some that Shawn Michaels' post-match infuriation with John Cena is rooted in a reality beyond their warring tag partners arc at the time.

'HBK' later went on record as saying he thought Cena 'wasn't very good' during his early Monday Night Raw stewardship, and may have 'The Champ's complete negligence towards selling an injured leg in this clash's final third as he key piece of evidence.

There was at least an iota of tension around who might actually win the match. Shawn's unexpected place in the slot (originally saved for a Triple H rematch) resulted in a groundswell of support for him getting one more run with the WWE Title. He ultimately became just another victim to 'The Champ'. 'Mr WrestleMania' couldn't even steal the show that night, robbed blind as it already was by an epic Batista/Undertaker battle.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett