The WWE have always made a habit of handing the wrong Superstars crucial spots. In recent years, Roman Reigns has headlined two back to back WrestleManias, much to the anguish of the WWE Universe.
But believe it or not, the last two Manias weren't the first time that the WWE have handed an average performer the main event slot of WrestleMania. Several mid-card worthy talents have not only performed at the grandest stage of them all, but they've shockingly even gone on to headline it.
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Decades later, we as fans can now see how bad a mistake these were and what Superstars are now truly worthy of such an acclaim. If CM Punk was never deemed good enough to main event the show of shows, it's a mystery as to how some of these names were able to.
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Here are 5 mid-card talents who headlined WrestleMania.
#5 Sid Justice
It's bad enough that Sid Justice got to main event WrestleMania 8, but it's diabolical that he main evented a second one.
The common denominator in most of the upcoming scenarios will be the presence of Hulk Hogan, the man literally carried this event on his back during the first decade of it. It's almost as if he was the main event and the WWE just decided to rotate the heels that he'd face.
Also read: 10 most shocking WrestleMania main eventers
At WrestleMania 8, it was Sid's turn to get a cut of the pay cheque. What's funnier is that this match wasn't even for the WWE Championship. With the lack of prestige and importance apparent, the match went on to stink out the joint.
So what were the repercussions for Sid? Another WrestleMania main event five years down the line!
#4 Sgt. Slaughter
Yes, here we go again. Another Hogan main event, another unworthy opponent. It's almost as if besides the matchups against The Rock, Andre the Giant & Ultimate Warrior, the WWE could never find Hogan opponents of equal star power.
Sgt. Slaughter was no exception to this.
Back in the day, Slaughter was used as the WWE's political antagonist. Whilst portrayed as an ex-army veteran, he was also presented as an Iraqi sympathiser. This obviously didn't sit well with the American public and they were begging for a real American to put him to sleep. In stepped Hogan.
However, the match under delivered and the 7th edition of WrestleMania was deemed a failure because of it. Some wrestlers have the gimmick to draw but not the ability to deliver. It's a shame.
#3 The Miz
As well liked as the Miz is today, before 2016, he was nothing more than a mid-card player. As much as the Miz wants to boast about being able to main event WrestleMania 27, his performance at the event was abysmal.
At that time, John Cena was the only main event talent about. His star power and awe-inspiring presence left no room at the top for anyone else and when the Miz was given a chance to share the limelight, the gulf in class between him and Cena was glaringly apparent.
The Miz was stuck between a Rock (The Rock) and a hard place (John Cena), and it did nothing for him. At that time, the Miz was just an annoying unlikable heel, now he's a seasoned veteran that understands the art of receiving heat.
At WrestleMania 27, the Miz was a mid-card talent dropped in way over his head and he nearly never recovered.
#2 Yokozuna
Once again, Vince's fantasy with big men heels led him to make the wrong decision.
Yokozuna in size was a wonder but he was terrible at telling a good wrestling story. His aura alone only warranted a mid-card place, his wrestling ability didn't even deserve to be on the card. Both of his main event matches were forgettable in terms of wrestling, but at least significant for the moment.
His first appearance was a championship match against Bret Hart which was embarrassingly overshadowed by Hogan beating him a few minutes later.
His second pit-stop in the Mania main event was embarrassing for different reasons, it was embarrassing because, on the same night, Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon had an instant classic. An instant classic that put the 'alleged' main event to shame on all fronts.
#1 King Kong Bundy
As it was only the 2nd WrestleMania in history, it's almost forgivable that the WWE made this 458-pound mistake. Vince made the error of believing that any big man with limited ability was good enough to main event WrestleMania, he was wrong.
In his defence, I suppose Vince knew King Kong Bundy would be a hard sell as a Hogan opponent, so he placed the match in a steel cage. But even 10 tonnes of steel couldn't stop Bundy from looking completely out of place.
The fact of the matter is, Hogan was a star, Bundy was just about a mid-card act and the two had minimal chemistry. When history looks back at this, it will just label the King Kong Bundy as a man who had the most watched jobber's match ever.
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