The Disturbing Truth Behind The WWE WrestleMania Main Event
While Hogan and Savage somehow conspired to work better matches against the Ultimate Warrior than with one another, the main event of WrestleMania V, in drawing 767,000 buys, was a staggering financial success. WWE would not approach it until 1998, and only in 1999 did the company best it.
While WrestleMania VI fared more poorly at the box office, the main event between Hogan and the Warrior - a super-dramatic babyface mirror match so influential that its DNA is coded into the structure of so much that followed - was an improbable artistic success. Match-for-match, WrestleMania VII was the best show held under the banner at that point - 1991 - but the controversial show was a major commercial disaster, and the crowd-pleasing Hogan Vs. Sgt. Slaughter main event was too long to salvage itself as a success. The WWF's fortunes declined further into 1992, and Hogan Vs. Sid from WrestleMania VIII was a botched mess of a match that served as a backdrop for the return of the Warrior - which itself was botched within the year. Bret Hart Vs. Yokozuna was actually a shockingly good match - Hart used believable strategy at 1.75 speed to create a dynamic and logical underdog story - but WrestleMania IX was another poor day at the box office, and the real main event - the impromptu Hogan Vs. Yokozuna match - was a short-term disgrace that set the Fed back a full year. WrestleMania X was a bigger hit, and easily dethroned VII as the best 'Mania ever with its pair of undisputed undercard classics, but Bret couldn't repeat the magic against Yoko. The sequel was a formality with a necessary ending. Bam Bam Bigelow did the honours for NFL star Lawrence Taylor at WrestleMania XI, and while it was received as an over-delivery at the time, it ranks in the low end of celebrity matches through a 2024 lens. The show was another financial flop, too.
Here's the most controversial part of the exercise: WrestleMania XII. Another box office flop, Hart Vs. Shawn Michaels is either an all-timer of a masterclass or a tedious, misjudged dud. Because everything is subjective and the Iron man especially, to attempt an objective measure, the match generated minimal heat until the last 15 minutes, and a not inconsiderable number of fans left early. If Sid did not literally sh*t his pants at WrestleMania 13, he figuratively did. He ruled the world in a way that wasn't ironic, but even his apologists didn't want him out there for 21 minutes. Steve Austin himself didn't rate his WrestleMania XIV WWF Title win over Shawn Michaels, but the match was good enough and the magic was all the way back at the box office.
At WrestleMania XV, Austin won the title back from the Rock. The match was very good, probably the weakest of their 'Mania trilogy, and the WWF set the all-time buy amount record in 1999. The WWF opted to delay The Rock Vs. Triple H until Backlash - a sensible decision, since bar Invasion it was the most successful non-Big Four PPV ever - and booked a Fatal 4-Way at WrestleMania 2000. The show moderately out-performed 'Mania XV, but the main event was sh*te. Mick Foley reneged on his retirement vow for no reason, and the McMahon In Every Corner gimmick brought into focus the worst of TV on the grandest stage. WrestleMania X-Seven was a monster, breaking a million for the first time ever, and Austin Vs. Rock II - before the finish literally killed the business - was a masterclass of creating drama. The finisher theft trope was perfected on that night. It was an ingenious device to create the idea that neither man could not be determined the best in a fair fight.
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