Ranking the 5 most disappointing WrestleMania main events

#1 Triple H vs Randy Orton — WrestleMania 25

The King of disappointing main events

I’m almost at a loss for words about the WrestleMania 25th Anniversary main event, largely because the WWE does not understand what the word ‘anniversary’ means and it annoys me to this day. Triple H vs Randy Orton, though, might very well be the dictionary definition of ‘disappointment’, so I will do my best to explain why.

Firstly, The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels was out of this world. While those kinds of matches have been very difficult to follow in the past, it is not impossible to get the crowd invested in another great match. Particularly when the rest of the card was mediocre to awful, this was not an excuse.

These two even had a great backstory with all the elements of an all-time rivalry. The build to this match was great. It felt like it could deliver a transformational moment in the business, and they had put the world title in exactly the right position for the match.

While Triple H is not a good babyface, highlighted best by his absurd celebrations at the end of this match, a white-hot heel Orton at this time was the perfect foil and Stephanie McMahon's husband was merely needed to take it over the top.

While Triple H himself blames the stipulation of losing the belt if he was disqualified as the reason for this being awful, it sums up why he is the epitome of a B+ performer (the irony has always been lost on the Game).

There are so many ways WWE could've made this main event worthy of being on the same card as Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels and headlining the biggest show in company history. Here is what actually happened.

They gave it about four and a half minutes of psychology and storytelling, threw in matching finishers to open the bout and just did what they do every other night.

Orton is as much to blame for this as Triple H; he should have known that his demeanour and style out of the ring which was being received so well needed to carry over into a ruthless and cold in-ring style (a few cold stares and squeezing a headlock a little harder does not a style make).

Triple H, I can’t say I’m surprised at anymore because his style is the norm in today’s product.

Everyone needs to get their signature moves in irrespective of situation or story. Every ‘big’ match needs to go 20-30 minutes regardless of what makes sense or how the crowd reacts. The intense brawl needs to happen for momentum to shift because there is no other way for a face to gain the upper hand.

It's all nonsense and formulaic booking that makes this match the same as all the other Triple H and Randy Orton matches. Very much the same, in fact, because whenever it really counts, you know the Game is coming out on top.

Never mind the momentum or potential of an Orton win, never mind the story arc of Orton finally getting one over on an old mentor, never mind the tailor-made conditions to make this an all-time main event for your own legacies.

The only thing that matters apart from the crowd outright rioting, thank you, Daniel Bryan, is that Triple H goes over or gets a prominent spot on the card.

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