The Disturbing Truth Behind The WWE WrestleMania Main Event

Edge Undertaker
WWE.com

WrestleMania X8, a commercial disappointment, was headlined by the lacklustre gentlemen's three between Chris Jericho and Triple H. WrestleMania XIX, a commercial disaster, was headlined by an very good Kurt Angle Vs. Brock Lesnar match - but the success:failure dynamic is probably weighted towards the latter, given that match-defining Shooting Star Press botch. Not that it matters anymore, but WrestleMania XX broke a million again and the main event was one of the best WWE matches ever. At the time. Best to simply erase it from contention.

WrestleMania 21 broke the buy amount record again, at 1,090,000, and Triple H Vs. Batista did just enough to blow off an all-timer of a storyline. The main event wasn't great, but it was good (or at least good enough, in that it effectively launched the Animal's main event run). Everything about the John Cena Vs. Triple H main event of WrestleMania 22 - buy amount and match quality - was a 7/10. Other than the build; that was a 2.

While the Battle of the Billionaires drove the insane number of 1,250,000, John Cena Vs. Shawn Michaels did a more than adequate job of closing WrestleMania 23, iffy selling on the part of the WWE champion aside. Edge was at his counter-wrestling best against the Undertaker at WrestleMania XXIV - he knew exactly how to work his larger, mythical opponent to create high drama - and the one million mark was broken again. Another Triple H main event (Vs. Randy Orton) fell short of seven figures, and the WrestleMania 25 show-closer was as one-dimensional and overlong and as quiet a main event this side of the 1980s.

While Shawn Michaels proved he wasn't a megastar draw all over again at WrestleMania XXVI, his main event against the Undertaker was one of the best WWE matches ever: a super-emotive, excellently-worked shoot-out. John Cena Vs. The Miz drew a shockingly great 1,124,000 buys for WrestleMania XXVII, thanks to the Rock mostly, but worked a glorified Raw match marred by a concussion. The Rock Vs. John Cena from WrestleMania XXVIII was almost excruciatingly long at times, but it did the business. Literally: in the post-PPV era, its buy number of 1,300,000 will forever remain undefeated. People despise WrestleMania 29 on the whole, and rightly so, but Rock Vs. Cena: Twice In A Lifetime was a leaner and louder sequel that broke the million bracket in the last entirely pay-per-view 'Mania show. It's hard to claim that "people didn't care".

WWE was forced to make WrestleMania XXX a success by finally acquiescing to an enraged fandom.

CONT'D...(3 of 5)

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Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!