Top 5 Worst Booking Mistakes in WrestleMania History
There are at least 50 terrible WrestleMania booking decisions that could fill a dartboard. But today, I will not focus on the ones that are always talked about.
I want to take a look back at the last twelve years of WrestleManias to cherry-pick the most god-awful booking decisions that should have not happened. It is fitting since it is WrestleMania season and that is a good time to reflect on these bad blunders. Buckle up, because this will be a quick ride on memory lane.
5. Rhea Ripley losing to Charlotte
Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte was a good match for what we got at WrestleMania 36. This should have been a star-making match, but what everyone remembers most is that Charlotte defeated Rhea Ripley. I personally did not like this decision as it took a very long time for Rhea Ripley to rebound from this drastic loss.
There was no reason for Charlotte to win that match and it did nothing to help Rhea Ripley other than these two having a great match. I have no idea why it was decided for Charlotte to win, but I still want answers to this day.
4. Randy Orton vs. Triple H Closing WrestleMania 25
The last match at WrestleMania 25 had several problems. First, the buildup was great. But this match took place right after the highly praised Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker match. I bet you Randy Orton and Triple H were wondering how would they follow that. Here is how they followed that all-time classic. By having a match that did not match the feud that was presented.
I could not believe how boring this match was as it dragged and dragged until the finish. This was not the first time that Triple H was affected by following a previous awesome match as it happened back at WrestleMania 18 when he faced Chris Jericho for the Undisputed WWE Championship. At least that match was better than what we got at WrestleMania 25.
3. Triple H Defeating Sting in his first WWE Match
This one still boggles my mind on why did this happen the way it did. It took 13 years after
WCW closed down for Sting to come to WWE. A match against Triple H is not a bad idea. But what everyone wanted was Sting vs. The Undertaker. They were both on the same show and the match did not even happen!
The match at WrestleMania 31 was billed as a match to finally end The Monday Night Wars for good. Nobody was clamoring for this, nobody wanted to see DX and NWO square off 20 years later, and nobody wanted to see Sting lose on his first match in WWE to Triple H.
2. Baron Corbin Being Kurt Angle’s Final Match
When Kurt Angle returned to WWE in 2017, the possibilities of dream matches went through everyone’s mind. His retirement was coming near and a number of people were wondering who Kurt Angle’s final match would be. Would it be Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Finn Balor, or Daniel Bryan? A big no. It was Baron Corbin. What a disappointing way to go out. It may have elevated Baron Corbin’s career since then. But the last memory of Kurt Angle’s last match is his standing ovation before he walked back to the curtain.
1. Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar
Af all the matches that happened on the lackluster WrestleMania 32 event, this one ranks on the top of the worst matches of the night. The way Jon Moxley described this match in interviews speaks out loud about the laziness of the booking going into it. One might argue that it was booked that way because Brock Lesnar knew that he was returning to UFC that year.
But with that out of the way, it was basically a one-sided beat down that made nobody but Brock Lesnar look good. This could have been a great brawl, but it was disappointing. At least Moxley had a great run as the WWE Champion a few months after this.