The WORST Moment From Every WWE WrestleMania
39. King Kong Bundy’s Fall From Grace (WrestleMania III)
Imagine Cody Rhodes went from headlining 'Mania one year to working on the undercard in a comedy spot the next. It isn't inconceivable that somebody could have a seismic fall from grace, but it's less likely in the modern era. Triple H and WWE as a whole tend to protect the main event stars they're painstakingly pushing as featured workers fans should care about.
Vince was usually the same, but he forgot about protecting his roster back in 1987. Andre The Giant had turned heel for a showdown with top boy Hulk Hogan, and that caused 'Mania 2's main villain King Kong Bundy to slip and slide down the pecking order like he was Titus O'Neil entering a so-called Greatest Royal Rumble.
In 12 months, Bundy went from headlining opposite Hulk inside the old blue barred steel cage to mixing it with Hillbilly Jim, Haiti Kid and Little Beaver the following year. Bundy also warred with his partners Little Tokyo and Lord Littlebrook during the match/segment, and the whole thing was blatantly played for laughs.
'Mania III was starting to up the ante for the event by delivering more production bang for your pay-per-view bucks, but the concept was still in its infancy. Even so, this was the biggest wrestling card ever, and 1986's main heel was reduced to a going-nowhere undercard scrap by 1987.
No wonder Bundy decided to go and sell computing equipment instead. The WWF even had the cheek to try and heat him back up for Hogan after this. Yeah, the bloom was off the rose there.