411’s Countdown to WrestleMania XXVII: Top 10 Worst Moments in WrestleMania History

The moment: As he perched on the turnbuckle, ready to turn Bret Hart into a life-size Flat Stanley, Yokozuna momentarily took the time to raise one fist into the air. It was to be his declaration of victory, to confirm that the belt’s golden presence would mount on his enormous shoulders for another day. But as he called his shot, gesturing to the world of his own “Babe Ruth” moment, a problem arose: he wasn’t Babe Ruth. He lost his balance and hit the mat with a thunderous thud, knocking Yokozuna temporarily unconscious. It was enough time for Bret to cover him for the three, the win, and the championship belt.

Why it’s on the list: Quick, name me another ending where the champion cost himself the title due to self harm with no help from his opponent whatsoever? You can’t do it! The match, as usual in any match he was involved in, was built around Yokozuna’s 500+ pound flab, as was the ending, although not in the many cases fans saw before. Whereas Yokozuna’s massive girth (and Vince McMahon’s love for bloated behemoths) led him to much success in the WWF, it was that same gratification that led him to lose the WWF title to Hart in the flukiest of finishes at WrestleMania X.

Seriously, the fat man lost his title by losing his balance off the middle rope and kerplunking his head off the mat. This is where the addition of Stewie’s fat guy tuba solo would complete the hilarity. By the time he became fully conscience to the situation, it was too late. To have to lose a championship belt and fall in a pool of humiliation on the biggest stage due to one’s own self-undoing has to rank somewhere on the list of “Worst Moments in WrestleMania History”, even if the script called for such a climax (and also the reason why it’s not ranked any lower).

EXTRA: The fall not only symbolized the downfall of a champion but the loss of Yokozuna’s effectiveness as a spectacle monster. Now he was simply regarded as a spectacle. Months after the match, his weight ballooned even far more than even McMahon could want. His girth, once considered an advantage in the ring, became a liability. He had to adjust to a new role in the company at this point, which consisted of standing on the ring apron and looking as threatening as possible without the burden of movement. It worked for a while (i.e. his tag team championship run with Owen Hart) but it was clear that his dominant days were over. No verification was more damaging than his déjà-vu experience at SummerSlam 96. Unlike the cocky-ish attitude he displayed in his match with the Hitman, this time it was his ever-increasing weight that betrayed him as he broke the upper turnbuckle and fell (literally and figuratively) into the hands of Stone Cold Steve Austin.

With his once-great-advantage no longer billed as such and his health declining at rapid speeds, he was done. We didn’t see it at the time, but his “called shot” back at WrestleMania X led to the beginning of the end for the great man known as Yokozuna.

The moment: 34 seconds. It was all Butterbean needed to score the decisive blow to Bart Gunn’s face and eventually to his American wrestling career. “The Thrilla in Manila” this was not. Even “Tatum vs. Simpson” lasted longer.

Why it’s on the list: Vince McMahon loves using WrestleMania as a platform for the experimental gateway known as mainstream recognition. That particular year, he had his eyes set on Eric “Butterbean” Esch, a boxer with a round body, bald head, and vicious mean steak that ranked him as one of the baddest (and sanest and surprisingly friendliest) individuals ever to lace a pair of gloves near the end of the late 1990s. As for his popularity, just imagine Kimbo Slice in a time before the creation of YouTube.

During the previous year, Bart Gunn was busy winning the Brawl for All, a shoot tournament (as in a tournament with no pre-determined winner) designed to make wrestlers look like legitimate tough guys as oppose to… you know, make them legitimate tough wrestlers. Anything to over-emphasize on everything not related to wrestling, I suppose. After winning the tournament, he proceeded to do nothing in particular until the day of WrestleMania XV, when he was scheduled to fight a legitimate tough guy.

Unfortunately, no heart defect and no method of his opponent becoming exhausted from over-punching could save Bart “Southern Dandy” Gunn from reality in the form of tank shots known as Butterbean’s punches. No one expected Gunn to win, much less survive past one round, which makes one wonder why throw in a wrestler with no actual boxing ability against a guy with a reputation of putting dents in people’s faces. The whole “boxing” match ended up being an embarrassment to the company and pretty much destroyed Bart Gunn’s career in the States. Mac Baby… say goodnight!

EXTRA: In defense to Bart, Johnny Knoxville fared worse than he did when he fought Butterbean in a department store for Jackass: The Movie. So there’s that. Years after downing Bart Gunn in “Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out” fashion, Butterbean continued with his professional boxing, kickboxing, and mixed martial arts career. As for Bart Gunn, don’t cry for him. He managed to turn a colossal disaster as a springboard to success in the form of his newfound career in New Japan and All Japan Wrestling. Over there, he became as Mike Barton, “Dr. Death” Steve Williams knocker outer. That’s much better.

The moment: Big Show. Giant Thong. No, really. Someone thought this was a good idea. You have the stones to disagree?

Why it’s on the list: Speaking of over-emphasizing on everything not related to wrestling, it’s another one of Vince’s brilliant ideas: sumo wrestling! Do you want to know where sumo wrestling ranks on the interest level in America? Below soccer. Below soccer. The American public would rather go to an Ultimate Frisbee pick-up game (because Ultimate Frisbee is pretty rad) than watch sumo. That’s strike one. Even importing Sumo Champ Akebono from Japan for the biggest wrestling night of the year to work a worked sumo match didn’t bring the public excitement that McMahon was looking for. That’s strike two. Also, did I mention Big Show in giant thong? Three strike. No one was willing to gear up for a boring match in a sport that the wrestling public had no interest in unless Akebono’s opponent turned out to be Trish Stratus.

EXTRA: Akebono is currently enjoying retirement life. The Big Show would go on to lose another and more successful mainstream attraction match against Floyd Mayweather. He’s not afraid to get in the ring with the Big Show but continues to duck Manny Pacquiao. Tisk tisk.

The moment: Usual Hogan theatrics ends with a surprising twist. No, he didn’t lose willingly but close! As Hulk Hogan dropped his patented leg drop, thus guaranteeing the safely of the universe from yet other mischievous tyrant, he covered Sid for the 1… 2… kick out? Disqualification? Zuh? Only after Hogan and Sid stood there and sort of… kind of… did stuff did Papa Shango waddle down toward the ring to trash the Hulkster. Too late, hombre.

Why it’s on the list: The flub was on Papa Shango’s watch, as he was supposed to run in, break up the cover, and only made to have Sid look like a soft-treated Twinkie rather than a complete failure. And what a flub. Imagine: this was to be the single biggest moment in Charles Wright’s career… nay, lifetime. No matter how insignificant the role, he was still going to have a hand in the main event scene at WrestleMania. Not many people can say that except those named “Lawrence Taylor”. Chances were that Wright was never going to hear his name attached to Howard Finkle’s legendary “Coming down the aisle” dialogue at a WrestleMania main event, so this was his one chance to make an impression. Taking advantage of this opportunity, he proceeded to…

… show up late for the finish. His once shot, blown. Sid had to improvise by kicking out of Hogan’s leg. At that point, no one could manage to lift a shoulder after being bombarded by Hogan’s iron leg. But Sid did it quite casually. Too casually. The announcers didn’t even make a big fuss about it. They were busy trying to distract viewers at home by ignoring the previous three seconds and quickly shifting their attention to Harvey Wippleman’s shenanigans, if you could even call it that. It’s too bad they couldn’t do the same for the 60,000+ at the stadium as Hulk and Sid stood there with a troubled look of concern. Papa Shango, with seeming little urgency based on his casual stroll down the aisle, finally caught up to the proceedings and joined in on the Wack-A-Hogan fun. Thankfully, the miscue was lessened from a dramatic scale, thanks to the return of the Ultimate Warrior. While marked as a flub, it’s not ranked any higher on the list mostly due to the forgotten nature surrounding it. After all, Hogan and Warrior were back together, brah! Of course, that led to Papa Shango placing a voodoo curse on the Warrior, but that’s another story.

EXTRA: As predicted, Charles Wright never got another chance at the main event spotlight. Not all is lost: he was granted a run with the Intercontinental and Tag Team titles years later. That and hoes. Lots and lots of hoes. Remember kids: clean on the outside, dirty and diseased on the inside.

The moment: No amount of words could equal to the sheer power of video evidence for this blurb.

Why it’s on the list: Special matches call for special entrances, especially on the grandest stage in sports entertainment. With the right touch, a grand entrance could stand out as a huge mark in the history of the industry. Did you forget about Shawn Michaels’ zip line entrance at WrestleMania XII? Course not. It was too cool not remember. Even as simple as Stone Cold’s entrance at WrestleMania 13 – which he stepped through glass moments after it scattered – can leave a lasting impression.

Oh, Triple H and Cena did leave a lasting impression alright but instead of a warm reception, they received a verbal mocking from fans at home and from the virtual highway. I would go further into Triple’s H ridiculous wardrobe malfunction (lookie there he looks like Conan the Barbarian after a musical audition HARF HARF!) but better jokes have already been made at his expense. I would have loved to been a fly on the wall and listen to what possessed him to dress up like that. Granted, I will give him this: the throne and his emergence from the floor were pretty riveting.

Cena didn’t have much luck. His entrance – complete with a Depression/prohibition era theme and Tommy Guy-wielding 1920s gangsters – was met with extreme detestation. The video was supposed to illustrate the rise of gangsters during that particular era based on “Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect”. Then to complete the “cool” effect, John Cena came out and proceeded to shoot his Tommy Gun into the air.

I’m no historian, but wasn’t the 1920s prohibition era considered to be one of the worst moments in Chicago history? An era where illegal commodities (sale of alcohol, shootings, bribes, etc.) filled the streets of the Windy City is not something to make light of. Unfortunately, no one told the WWE that maybe comparing John Cena to one of the worst moments in Chicago history while in Chicago would lead to a less-than-positive response from the Chicagoan crowd; a crowd that already hated him to the very brink of hatred. To say that this stunt did Cena no favors is an understatement. Of course, there are fans too young to understand the obscure reference and solely based their reaction from the bedazzling presentation of the entrance. For them, that was enough… only to turn around and boo Cena anyway.

EXTRA: This would not be Cena’s first cakewalk of majestic entrances. Since WrestleMania 22, Cena has been involved in some truly spectacular (albeit gimmicky) entrances: the rushing car entrance (WM 23), the marching band entrance (WM 24), the cloned John Cenas entrance (WM 25), and last year’s Marine themed entrance (WM 26). Who knows what he will have up this sleeve this year.

The moment: Bad enough that every member of the McMahon family had to be involved; worst when Vince McMahon turned on The Rock and became the sole reason why Triple H retained his championship belt. A heel ending WrestleMania with complete and total victory? Paradise was just around the bend for the McMahon family that day!

Why it’s on the list: In most cases, good guys are victor over bad guys. Good guy delivers justice to bad guy, bad guy gets his comeuppances, and good guy rides his white horses into the sunset. It’s what we’re used to. That’s what WrestleMania has taught us since its very inauguration. Considering that WrestleMania 2000 was looking to be one of the greatest events of all time, it should have been an easy decision to have Rocky Maivia defeat Triple H, with the big prize in tow. Even with the unnecessary addition of Big Show and Mike Foley, the show should have ended with the Rock coming out on top.

Maybe it was after multiple viewings of Arlington Road. Maybe they wanted to drift away from the same formula that occupied the ending to every WrestleMania ever. That, plus politics. You know, it’s all politics (Lousy democrats). But whatever the case, people within the organization (coughHHHcough) felt that the time was right for bad to triumph over good on the biggest event of the year.

So he did. It was soul crushing.

EXTRA: The idea itself wasn’t too bad, but the execution was blah. Many expected the impossible-to-screw-up Rock v. HHH to headline the main event. Had Triple H still gone over in that scenario… well, he’d still be on the list but with much more support on his side. But that wasn’t enough. The addition of Mick Foley and Big Show was only done to maneuver the McMahon family into the center of the spotlight. After all, there were four of them and only two wrestlers. Their answer: add more wrestlers! All done to put the McMahon family over the legacy behind WrestleMania. Damn the fans and want they wanted. It was either “Vince McMahon Presents: The Vince McMahon Show” or nothing. Worse, Mick Foley was pinned by Triple H for a third straight time. Even worse, Vince’s excuse for turning on the Rock – because he didn’t receive a thank you – was weak. Even worsest, The Rock won the title a month later. But hey, at least they all had their Saturday Night Live moment together. That was nice.

The moment: The entire Brock Lesnar vs. Bill Goldberg match.

Why it’s on the list: I feel like I’m cheating with this induction since the “moment” also happens to be in the form of an official wrestling match. If Lesnar-Goldberg qualifies as one of the worst moments of WrestleMania history, then what’s to stop other horrible matches (the Blindfold match, Giant Gonzalez vs. Undertaker, etc.) from entering the fray? Simple: this one is a very special case.

Bill Goldberg was an unstoppable monster. Brock Lesnar was an unstoppable monster. To put the two “monsters” together in a match for WrestleMania XX was suppose to be win-win. Then it was leaked out that both wanted to pursue other interests, and that this was going to be their last match ever. Oops.

Let’s be clear: while this is a bad match, we’ve definitely seen worst before. But this one was different. Weeks before WrestleMania, Brock Lesnar announced that he wanted to pursue a career in the NFL. Goldberg also wanted out; feeling that the wrestling business had become a very jaded experience. Fine and dandy, but was it correct to announce these plans before your big match? Once it was apparent that both would be leaving, the crowed turned on them just as both Goldberg and Lesnar, in their eyes, turned on them. Both men haves suddenly become unwelcomed guests in the world of pro wrestling.

The reaction upon the prelude of the match was deafening. Vicious boos, jeers, and chants of “you sold out” rained on the two warriors. It was a reaction that both were not expecting, although hard to believe that it wasn’t on the back of their minds. As for the match, it might as well been stuck on “autopilot” or “John Travolta on Look Who’s Talking Now” since Lesnar and Goldberg couldn’t have cared less about what they did. After what appeared to be an infinite amount of stalling and basic maneuvers (the Larry Zbyszko special!), Goldberg won the match to the sarcastic cheer of the crowd. But it wasn’t about the actual “match” more than it was about the public execution of both men’s wrestling careers.

So that’s my reasoning: that Lesnar v. Goldberg was less of a match than it was one giant awkward yet fascinating moment. From beginning to end, these two men, who still could have put on a great show, ended up in a paint-by-the-numbers match, with the deafening sounds of disloyalty accompanying them for the entire duration.

EXTRA: Of course, time heals all wounds. After a failed stint with the Minnesota Vikings (he was in Madden 06!), Lesnar perused a career in MMA. I wonder how that went for him. Bill Goldberg also took his interest to the world of MMA and served as color commentator for several MMA organizations. Both seem to be happy with their new professions, and really, isn’t that what matters the most?

The moment: In what can only be described as masturbative jungle fever, Roddy Piper came out for a match against Bad News Brown with half of his body painted black. Either he wanted to make a statement of unity between the two races or he was a really big Star Trek fan.

Why it’s on the list: Unfortunately, Roddy Piper’s attempted statement on racial unison was instead viewed as a man painted in “blackface”, one of the most insulting stunts you could do to a entire race of people. As a wise young ward of our generation would say, “That’s raycess!”

You have a white guy prancing around with half his body painted black. You think that wouldn’t be offensive to black people? We all know Piper is not one to be politically correct (his edition of Piper’s Pit with Superfly Jimmy Snuka is further proof of that) but this flew well past the point of tolerance. The “white-and-black” feud did more to bewilder and offend people than it did anything else.

EXTRA: At least we were able to get an amusing story out of this:

“They had a special concoction made for me that when you sweat, it won’t rub off,” Piper explained to SLAM! Wrestling.

“They had a solvent to take it off. Then Andre The Giant, that dog — I can say that now because he’s dead, God bless him — and Arnold Skaaland took the clear solution out and put water in it. So I finish the fight, I go back to the makeup lady. I spend 10 minutes [scrubbing]. ‘Excuse me, I’m starting to bleed!'”

That night, Piper tips “a few Molsons” with his friends and goes to bed still half black.

Resolved to the fact that the black paint wasn’t going to come off, Piper set off towards his Oregon home. One of the presents that he was dragging back to his son was a four-foot high Mickey Mouse stuffed toy.

“Now I’m pretty P-O’d. I’m half-black, I’m in Toronto going to Portland, Oregon via Chicago. So, I’m not in the best of moods anyway,” he said.

“Next morning, I’m getting up to catch my plane. You have to imagine this scene, I’m half-black, I have Mickey [under my arm] and I’m coming to Customs. I put down my passport, and the guy just looks at me, and stamps my passport. I get on the plane.

‘Sir, you’ll have to check Mickey.’

‘I ain’t checking Mickey.’

‘You’ve got to check Mickey.’

‘How much is a seat?’

I buy Mickey a first-class seat.

“I get to Chicago, whole thing over again.”

In all, it took Piper three weeks going to the sauna and rubbing the concoction off to be clean. – Greg Oliver, SLAM! Wrestling

The moment: Moments after Yokozuna defeated the salty-eyed Bret Hart for the WWF heavyweight belt, Hogan (complete with a black eye) came out to aid his fallen friend (?) and protest the decision. In what is dubbed the most randomest and dumbest managerial move in history, Mr. Fuji challenged Hulk Hogan to face Yokozuna (who just came off a match, mind you) right there and then in exchange for a title shot on the very same belt his client won just seconds earlier. Less than a minute later, Mr. Fuji proved to be, indeed, a detriment in Yokozuna’s first and very short title reign as Hogan became WWF Champion for the fifth time. Bret Hart was nowhere to be seen.

Why it’s on the list: WrestleMania IX is regarded as the worst WrestleMania of all time and nothing represents the belief better than Hogan’s unprompted title victory. It was as about as big of a black eye for the WWF as was the one Hogan was sporting on the left side of his face. As a masterful politician, he convinced WWF officials that he was still #1 in the heart of wrestling fans everywhere. They believed him and thus had Hogan win the WWF title from Yokozuna after he himself won it from Bret Hart at the conclusion of WrestleMania IX. The whole event was bad; Hogan’s political tricks made it the worst.

EXTRA: Damaging as this moment was, Yokozuna won the belt back a few months later anyway and in the process destroyed Hulkamania once and for all… temporarily. Man, the state of wrestling sure was better when Hulk Hogan wasn’t around. You also have to consider that even if Hogan didn’t win the title, you would have had Yokozuna end the show as champion. Would that really have been much better?

The moment: After The Undertaker and Big Boss Man had a Hell in a Cell match so bad that it wasn’t even included on the Hell in a Cell Anthology DVD (or mentioned ever again), The Brood (Gangrel, Edge, and Christian) descended from the ceiling, bestowed Undertake a noose from on top of the cell, and scampered away. Undertaker, steps from becoming an attempted mur-diddly-urdler, decided that the best show of sportsmanship would be to hang Boss Man and leave him for dead.

Why it’s on the list: Now stay tuned for professional wrestling live from Philadelphia’s First Union Center. Tonight a Hell in a Cell deathmatch. Undertaker versus The Big Boss Man. One man will actually be unmasked and killed in the ring!

Unfortunately, Vince Russo thought he could take the above mentioned reference from the greatest Simpsons episode of all time and turn it into an actual script. The results were less than pleasant.

Ah, the Vince Russo era; where Crash TV was common place over logical reasoning and sensible ratification. This was one of his more brilliant ideas: to have The Undertaken trading fisticuffs with the Big Boss Man in a Hell in a Cell match. So a match with no heat and no story/history behind the two were suddenly given a major stipulation. But that’s beside the point.

The moment happened after the match, when the Boss Man was hung by a noose in the center of the ring and played dead.

People like to use wrestling as a suspension of belief; to get away from the humbug of everyday life and give in to the larger-than-life personalities, the excitement of the crowd, and to get lost in some great in-ring action. In short, they tune in for the entertainment. It doesn’t matter if the entertainment is “fake” or “pre-determined” just as long as the product is doing what it’s supposed to do: entertain. Death is not a part of that equation. Death illustrates a sad and unavoidable moment in one’s life. So when Boss Man was “killed”, the illusion of “sports entertainment” became far too close to realism and it made people uneasy. Even now, it’s difficult watching Boss Man squirm as he grasps for air before suddenly… motionless. By all accounts, he died in that ring.

To their credit, the announcers did their best to say anything other than the implied reality that Boss Man was dead. “Could this be symbolic?!” screamed Michael Cole over and over, hoping that his loud voice would divert people from the notion that there was a dead corpse hanging in the middle of the ring. But they couldn’t stop from making people feel extremely uncomfortable. People die every day. No need to emphasize it in the world of sports entertainment for the world to see. Even then, Vince Russo only used the stunt as shock value (duh) and by next week, Boss Man was walking around feeling fine. No mention of his demise. Not even an attempt to seek revenge against The Undertaker. Nothing.

It was a horrible display that had nothing to do with wrestling. On top of that, it didn’t even have a pay off. That’s why it’s #1 on the list of “Worst Moments in WrestleMania History”.

EXTRA: On a lighter note, for a person with the persona of a Deadman, The Undertaker sure does suck when it comes to ending people’s lives. Boss Man, Paul Bearer, Edge… all have come back at some point or another after receiving the death slip from the Deadman. Well, unless you include his parents, if that’s still canon. But we can’t bring that up, not when there’s a STREAK to track!

There you have it. Agree? Disagree? Sound off with your own Top 10 list below!