I'm planning on doing a rant of the past main events of Wrestlemania as my part in WM month.
Obviously the main events were easy to decipher and I'll even do the 1st and 2nd part of the "double" main events for the years that they had doubled up.
But I have a few questions that will help me clarify how much I'm doing:
-- Wrestlemania X: Is that considered a "double" main event with Lex vs. Yoko the first half and Bret vs. Yoko the second half? Or is Bret vs. Yoko the official main event?
-- Wrestlemania XI: Was that considered a double main event card or was HBK-Diesel the undercard match to LT-Bigelow?
As for the Wrestlemania cards after the brand split, I'm going with the final match on the show.
And yes, I will make a special exemption and do the Wrestlemania XX Main Event despite saying I would never do another match featuring Chris Benoit.
Final List and explanations after the Jump!
I decided to stay true to the Main Events for the most part. Wrestlemania is the biggest show of the year so there are bound to be a couple of premium matches that will steal the show and are even the reason people will show up.
But they aren't the Main Event.
So I say no to Rock-Hogan, Hogan-McMahon, HBK-Taker, Savage-Warrior, HBK-Jericho, MitB I, Lashley-Umaga, etc. etc.
HBK-Diesel didn't make the cut either. It was clearly not the Main Event nor was it ever billed to be the Main Event.
The brand split was a little different. I had to use my discretion with the matches and decided to lean towards the matches that I personally remember having an interesting build to them. Like the Cena-HHH-Orton match didn't get included because the build was mostly Cena-HHH and with Orton thrown in there, it wasn't match that it was being built too. Neither was the Wrestlemania 2000 Main Event (it should have just been Rock vs. HHH)...but that was THE Main Event.
So here's the list.
WM: Hogan/T vs. Piper/Orndorff
2: Hogan vs. Bundy
III: Hogan vs. Andre
IV: Savage vs. DiBiase (World Title Tournament Final)*
V: Hogan vs. Savage
VI: Hogan vs. Warrior
VII: Hogan vs. Slaughter
VIII: Hogan vs. Justice; Savage vs. Flair
IX: Hart vs. Yokozuna; Money Inc. vs. The Mega Maniacs
X: Yokozuna vs. Luger; Yokozuna vs. Hart
XI: Bigelow vs. LT
XII: Hart vs. HBK
XIII: UT vs. Sycho Sid
XIV: HBK vs. Austin
XV: Austin vs. Rock
2000: HHH vs. Foley vs. Rock vs. Big Show
X-Seven: Rock vs. Austin
X-8: HHH vs. Jericho
XIX: Angle vs. Lesnar
XX: HHH vs. HBK vs. Benoit; Angle vs. Guerrero
21: HHH vs. Batista
22: HHH vs. Cena; Mysterio vs. Orton vs. Angle
23: Cena vs. HBK; Undertaker vs. Batista
XXIV: Edge vs. Undertaker
XXV: HHH vs. Orton
WrestleMania X– double main event
WrestleMania XI– double main event
I look forward to your submission.
I say both for WrestleMania X. I don’t really consider LT vs BBB as the main event of that show, but it did go on last…
What about WrestleMania VIII — Hogan/Sid or Flair/Savage?
WM VIII was a double ME card so I will do both.
I will do both for WM VIII and WM IX. God help me on the latter.
Hi Princess
Wrestlemania X is considered a double main event as all 3 were in the title picture.
Wrestlemania XI is NOT considered a double main event, they actually headlined it with LT vs Bam Bam, with the tagline being on the posters as “First Time, Last Time, Only Time”
People don’t consider it the main event because Diesel and Shawn blew it out of the water, but Vince actually had those two on the poster to promote it as the main event!
People don’t consider it the main event because Diesel and Shawn blew it out of the water, but Vince actually had those two on the poster to promote it as the main event!
What about WM XIX? Brock/Angle was last, but all the advertising was for Hogan/Vince.
Wrestlemania XIX had IMO 5 main events: HBK vs Jericho, Triple H vs Booker T, Austin vs Rock, Hogan vs Vince, Angle vs Lesnar.
Eh, this is where it gets tricky. If you’re going based on marketing, they’ve essentially been pushing 5 or so main events every year since XIX. I remember XX having separate tv ads pushing Benoit/HBK/HHH, Angle/Guerrero, Taker/Kane, Goldberg/Lesnar and Rock & Sock/Evolution, all essentially as main events.
Princess’ standard might be the best; starting with XIX after the brand split, just figure its whatever went on last. This at least seems to work for everything but maybe the last two years.
I don’t mean marketing, but more match status. Each of these matches were great long matches, worth a WM Main Event (besides Booker vs HHH but it was about the world title *lol* ).
I actually liked that match, Booker busting out the Harlem Hangover was pretty sweet. Thumbs down for the Indian Deathlock portion and the whole “racist guy backs up his racist boasts” finish, though.
I didn’t get into it, slow and boring for me, actually prefered the Hogan/Vince street fight god help me.
I always considered X a double main event since it was simply a matter of who got the shot first and who got the shot second. Also, XI is a double main event to me because I consider the title match as something entirely separate and above the undercard, while the LT-Bigelow match was something of a special attraction, and that too was completely separate from anything else on the card. But this is simply how I’ve always seen it.
Strangely enough, there were a lot of non-title matches that SHOULD have been the main event of their show, but the only time they actually did put non-title matches on last (WMVIII and WMXI), the matches were less-than-classics. Meanwhile, matches like Rock-Hogan, Taker-HBK, and Flair-HBK, all matches that probably could have gone on last and probably should have, wound up killing the crowd for the actual main events that followed them. Although in the case of WM24, the crowd did come alive by the time Edge and Undertaker got into it.
But yeah, I’d say 10 and 11 are double main events. I’d even make an argument that 18 is, too, but I’ll just leave my opinion at 10 and 11 being the double headers.
I’d say a case could be made that Bret/Austin should’ve been the main event of XIII as well.
Really nice of ya to undertake this, but for the sake of your own sanity I might suggest revising the rules just a bit:
- WMX was a double main event, but why not just call it a triple main event and give yourself an excuse to watch Bret/Owen again?
- You might be able to make a case for WMVII being a double main event with the Warrior/Savage career match, which might be my favorite match of all time. It would be a very shaky case, but I love that match.
- Are you counting Taker/Sid as the main event for WMXIII? Because that was a pile of crap.
- I’d suggest giving yourself a little bit more leeway on the more modern PPVs. Hogan-Rock was THE main event of WMX8, whether HHH-Jericho went on last or not. A lot of people consider HBK-Taker the main event of last year’s Mania for the same reason
- Going back to the WMXI question with LT-Bigelow being promoted as the main event, what about XIX and XXXIV? I’d say the main events were Lesnar/Angle and Taker/Edge respectively, which fits your standard, but the WWE put Hogan & McMahon alone on the DVD cover for XIX.
XXXIV is even trickier I think; the match people most identify with it is Michaels-Flair, and if I remember correctly (and this was bizarre), nearly all of the advertising was geared towards Big Show vs. Mayweather.
“- WMX was a double main event, but why not just call it a triple main event and give yourself an excuse to watch Bret/Owen again?”
While a commendable suggestion on your part, I find it incredibly difficult to believe that any match that goes on first, no matter how legendary, could ever be considered a main event.
Then again, HHH/Randy Orton for the WWE championship opened No Mercy in 2007.
Oh for the days when their “For real, no foolin’ this time” singles feud was still somewhat fresh.
I could make it my favorite WM matches but I wanted to stick to a plan because I have a lot of favorites.
And because it’s Wrestlemania so there are going to be more than one marquee match. I’m just ranting on the main events and yes there are some duds in there because not even WM Main Event was a good match. Still it was the Main Event.
Fair enough, best of luck getting through the Yoko period.
Oh and for WM2 – it’s Hogan-Bundy, right? I know they did some sort of “broadcast from three locations!” gimmick, with each spot having its own big match of the night (battle royal and Piper-Mr. T at the other two I think), but I don’t think that would make it a triple main event, would it?
Hogan Bundy was definitely the Main Event. And I believe Bulldogs vs. Dream Team went on last in Chicago.
BTW, a friend sent me the original MPEG of the first Wrestlemania main event and just watching the entrances with Hogan/T using “Eye of the Tiger” over anything dubbed made a huge difference in the match. Odd as that sounds.
I downloaded the same file, and it really does make a difference. Same thing with seeing all the pre-match interviews, really makes it stand out. C’mon how many times can you say you see a Wrestlemania interview with Matt Borne, Buddy Rose or SD Jones?? Just saying is all. That’s the way the PPV’s should be released, untouched as they originally aired.
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The Bulldogs match did go on last, but the NFL/WWF Battle Royale got the most hype leading into the event.
I bet Wrestlemania XXXIV WILL be headlined by Michaels and Flair
haha good catch
how long do you think theyll keep the roman numerals going? I like the gimmick, and I’m sure they can get around Wrestlemania L by just incorrectly calling it the 50th Anniversary of Wrestlemania
God save us all, by WM50 there will be at least 6 world titles if my calculations are correct lol
By the way, what about WresleMania XXX? Surely they won’t use roman numerals for that unless they hire Vince Russo for some of his trademark angles haha, oh dear lord
C’mon that would be classic, they could do another catfight like they did with Kat and Terri. We could have a mudpit match, bra and panties returns. Bring back Val Venis, Godfather, Meat. This would just write itself.
I pray Mae Young won’t still be around should that come to pass…
how long do you think theyll keep the roman numerals going?
I remember reading that WM XX was supposed to be the last one, which is why WM 21 had the numbers. That obviously lasted only a few years, with the Roman numerals coming back with XXIV.
Sad to say i’ve actually thought this through many many times.
In regards to WM10 I really think the main event was Bret v Yoko. I feel like the Yoko v. Luger match was just to see who got to main event with the title. It felt it was set up as a mini three person tournament, and the finals of that tournament ended up as Bret v. Yoko.
For WM11 it does seem like LT Bammer was the main event but I personally consider it a double main event and I think history has gone that way too. One was a “special attraction” and other was the WWF title match. I really think thats the way to go.
Also for whatever its worth I feel like WM 18 is a double main even too. I know Jericho v. HHH closed the show, but Rock v. Hogan got a lot of people to make ppv buys, and they even covered the match on sportscenter the next day.
Otherwise I totally agree that in the post draft era the show closer is absolutely the main event. However WM25 might be the one exception. Even though it wasn’t for a championship and even though it was in the middle of the show I just really feel Shawn UT was the main event. I compare it to old school wrestling shows you can watch on WWE on demand where the main even is like 2/3 of the way through the show (Like the old MSG or Philly supershows). Yeah HHH Orton ended the show and was for a title and was certainly presented as the main event, but come on, we all know HBK sold the tickets for that show. I hadn’t bought a PPV since the Cena v. RVD ECW show, and I bought WM25 just for that match. Not saying you need to review both matches, I just think for historical purposes that show should be considered a double main event.
I’d go a bit further, I don’t think WMX8 was a double main event at all. I don’t care that it was for the title, HHH-Jericho was nowhere close to the same level as Hogan-Rock.
Very hard to argue that. The crowd was hyped as hell and that was really on par with Hogan Warrior for a big match feel. My only response would be (and yeah this is incredibly markish) but (one of) the world titles has to be fought for in the main event and if there is another match that over shadows it the show becomes one with a double main event.
But no question Rock Hogan was the “more important” match at the time and historically.
Just wanted to make a couple more comments after reading some of the newest posts.
I forgot about the WM24 Flair v. Shawn match and Big Show v Mayweather. I would almost consider that show a triple main event but I just think you can’t have that for historical purposes. (ITS STILL REAL TO ME DAMMNIT)
I really think the Mayweather thing falls around the lines of when Butterbean fought Bart Gunn or Big Show fought the Sumo guy. But after thinking it through I think you have to call Flair v. Shawn and UT v. Edge a double main event.
Flair Shawn was a huge match and the crowd was absolutely hyped up for it and seemed to be the “biggest match” on the card, but UT Edge was also a great matchup for the title, and I think they had an awesome match to the end show but I might be wrong. So I would call WM24 a double main event too.
I know I’ve said this before, but I don’t understand the love for Taker/Shawn last year. I don’t know maybe just because the Kid Rock shit and the diva battle royal killed the show dead already, I’m just seeing it clear, but I don’t see the hype. I’m going to have just watch that one match, alone, nothing else from that ‘Mania just that match, maybe it would stand up better. At the time though, honestly, it just felt like a good match on a shitty show.
For post-brand split shows, you should automatically call each World Title match a main event, only because World Title matches should always be considered main events. Then, if there were other matches that were marketed more heavily, I’d add them, too.
Tricky one, but I think you should do the title matches, they are what I always considered to be the “main” main event generally, you could probably add in other headline matches such as Hogan/Rock, Austin/Bret, LT/Bam Bam, Hogan/Sid, HBK/UT if you wanted, but I’d do the title matches as main events, and in the recent years since there have been 2 belts either do both or do the match that was in the main event slot.
I think you have to consider the actual onscreen buildup by WWE when considering what constitutes a main event. While Shawn/Taker ended up stealing the show, RAW was buit around the Orton/HHH issue and clearly WWE saw that match as the main event. What’s interesting is that the HHH/Orton feud started out red-hot and ended as cold as a mackerel, and Taker/HBK went in the opposite direction.
Obviously in a case like WM-X8, it’s not as cut-and-dried: the buildups for Rock/Hogan and HHH/Jericho were both godawful (aside from that first face-to-face promo between Hogan and Rock) and given fairly equal time on television. But then you have to look at starpower, and HHH + 2002 Jericho < 2002 Hogan + Rock.
WM: Hogan/T vs. Piper/Orndorff
2: Hogan vs. Bundy
III: Hogan vs. Andre
IV: Savage vs. DiBiase (World Title Tournament Final)*
V: Hogan vs. Savage
VI: Hogan vs. Warrior
VII: Hogan vs. Slaughter
VIII: Hogan vs. Justice; Savage vs. Flair**
IX: Hart vs. Yokozuna; Money Inc. vs. The Mega Maniacs***
X: Yokozuna vs. Hart vs. Luger ****
XI: Diesel vs. HBK; Bigelow vs. LT‡
XII: Hart vs. HBK
XIII: UT vs. Sycho Sid
XIV: HBK vs. Austin
XV: Austin vs. Rock
2000: HHH vs. Foley vs. Rock vs. Austin
X-7: Rock vs. Austin
X-8: Rock vs. Hogan (see above)
XIX: Angle vs. Lesnar; Hogan vs. McMahon‡‡
XX: HHH vs. HBK vs. Benoit
XXI: HHH vs. Batista; Cena vs. JBL‡‡‡
XXII: HHH vs. Cena; Mysterio vs. Orton vs. Angle
XXIII: Hair vs. Hair: Battle Of The Billionaires (Trump (m)/Lashley vs. McMahon (m)/Umaga) with Special Guest Referee Steve Austin
XXIV: Show vs. Mayweather‡‡‡‡
XXV: HHH vs. Orton (see above)
YMMV, obviously. But I think this a a fairly good guide.
* The final was the main event, but the marketing was geared towards Hogan vs. Andre II.
** The first true ‘double main event’.
*** Hogan’s big return qualifies this match as a ‘main event’.
**** That’s how the main event was marketed, so both title matches count.
‡ Another tricky one, but in those days the World title was still special enough that any defense on PPV would have to be considered a ‘main event’ match. That would change, obviously.
‡‡ The marketing and TV were geared towards heavily pushing both of these matches. The less said about HHH/Booker, the better.
‡‡‡ The first time both ‘World’ titles were given equal treatment, even if HHH/Batista went on last.
‡‡‡‡ With this show, you’ve got four matches to choose from and good arguments could be made for the other three choices. But given the hype and money involved, this clearly was the match WWE hoped would generate the biggest buzz. But if you wanted to pick HBK/Flair as the sentimental favorite, I don’t think people would object too strongly.
“2000: HHH vs. Foley vs. Rock vs. Austin”
Oops. Make that “2000: HHH vs. Foley vs. Rock vs. Big Show
“But I think this a a fairly good guide”
Damn.
At first I just gave this a quick glance and thought for 2 seconds that you’d given four stars to Luger-Yoko
Right on with all of these though, I totally forgot how much they pushed the tag match going into WMIX. I did think that the World title got some respect at WMXX, I remember Eddie in particular being on fire at that point.
To me, the ONLY main event was the last match, with the one exception being WMVIII, where they went out of their way to emphasize the specialness of the Flair/Savage and Hogan/Sid double main event, and they put pictures of both matches on all their posters, video box covers, etc. (Well, technically another “exception” would be WMIX, where obviously Hogan/Yokozuna wasn’t the main event, but rather a bonus match..)
But yeah, I think if you start allowing for any other criteria (i.e. “WM13 last match sucked so therefore it wasn’t the REAL main event,” “everyone knows Rock/Hogan was the REAL main event at WMX8,” “WMXI had to be a double main event, because the last match had freaking Lawrence Taylor”), it’ll start to get pretty arbitrary depending on the person.
But what about XXIII? Yeah, the Trump/Vince match didn’t go on last, but is there any question that this was the match the show was built around? All those factors (build, star power, position) should be taken into account.
Or she can just do whatever she wants. Either way, I guess.
I would call Wrestlemania X a double main event. I don’t know if I’d call XI a double though as all the buildup was for LT vs. Bam Bam.
I don’t know if it was billed that way, but I’d call XIII a double main event as well. And XVIII definitely was a double main event with Rock/Hogan being the main part of that even though it went on first.
Rock/Hogan as the main event of WrestleMania 18. It was the focus of all the ads, all of the TV shows, the cover of the DVD and the last Raw before WM 18 ended with a Rock/Hogan thing. Just because the WWF f’d up and didn’t put it last doesn’t change what the main event was.