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WWE WrestleMania 37 is on the horizon, which leads to many members of the WWE Universe reflecting on "what could have been" in certain WrestleMania matches.
There have been many matches throughout professional wrestling history where fans in the arenas and watching at home felt like the wrong person had won. This can be for a variety of reasons such as storyline purposes, developing a new star or simply to garner a positive reaction from the audience.
Nevertheless, the "obvious choice" doesn't always win in a professional match, despite how obvious it may be to the audience.
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Let's take a closer look at five WWE WrestleMania results that should have gone the other way.
#5 Stone Cold Steve Austin def. Scott Hall (WWE WrestleMania X8)
WWE Chairman Vince McMahon made the controversial decision to bring the legendary New World Order faction into WWE in 2002. The stable consisted of former WWE legends Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. All of whom had left the promotion in the mid-1990s to jump to WCW.
The nWo was responsible for the rise of WCW and the company's dominance over WWE for 83 straight weeks in the Monday Night television ratings war. However, after WWE eventually prevailed over its rivals, Vince McMahon made the offer for Hogan, Hall and Nash to re-join the WWE, despite protests from senior WWE talent.
Upon his return to the company, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were quickly placed into a feud with top star Stone Cold Steve Austin, while Hulk Hogan feuded with The Rock. These feuds culminated in matches pitting Hall against Austin and Hogan against Rock at WrestleMania X8.
According to reports, Scott Hall was scheduled to defeat The Texas Rattlesnake on the grandest stage of them all. However, plans were altered at the last minute and Steve Austin walked away victorious over Scott Hall. With The Rock also defeating Hulk Hogan at the event, the nWo had lost both their major matches at WrestleMania.
Due to such high-profile defeats, any momentum the villianous faction had prior to WrestleMania effectively ended on that night. Had WWE stuck to the original plan, the nWo would have still had some credibility and could have continued as a dominant force in WWE going forward.
#4 John Cena def. Bray Wyatt (WWE WrestleMania XXX)
Bray Wyatt made his WWE WrestleMania debut against John Cena in 2014 at WrestleMania XXX. Wyatt had made his main roster debut the prior summer and quickly established himself as one of the most unique and original characters that WWE had presented in several years.
Therefore, when it was announced that Bray Wyatt would be facing John Cena at WrestleMania XXX, many members of the WWE Universe were buzzing with excitement.
A victory over the face of the WWE over the past decade would be a huge boost to Bray Wyatt's WWE career. It would also elevate Bray Wyatt to the next level, placing The Eater of Worlds into the main event scene without a shadow of a doubt. Due to the increasing popularity of the character, many fans hoped that Bray Wyatt would continue his recent push and defeat John Cena at WrestleMania.
Unfortunately, as has been the case for many promising WWE Superstars in history, Bray Wyatt was unable to defeat John Cena on the grandest stage of them all. Despite being a fantastic match with several unique spots and sequences, John Cena defeated Wyatt after hitting the Attitude Adjustment.
#3 Triple H def. Sting (WWE WrestleMania 31)
The WWE Universe was thrilled when WCW icon Sting finally appeared on WWE television in 2014 at Survivor Series. The Stinger was widely considered to be the greatest professional wrestler to never sign with WWE.
However, when it was revealed that Sting had signed a contract to perform as an in-ring talent with the company, fans feverishly began to think of all the possible dream match scenarios that could take place. One such scenario was a WrestleMania match against WWE icon Triple H.
Sting began to feud with Triple H and The Authority on WWE television, being billed as "the vigilante" for his heroic attempts at preventing The Authority's corrupt ways. Once it was announced that Sting would be making his WWE in-ring debut at WrestleMania 31, many assumed that Sting would defeat The Game. It is very rare for a main event talent such as Sting to lose in a debut match at such a major event.
However, once the match between Sting and Triple H began, the story about "The Vigilante vs The Authority" quickly disappeared. Instead it came about WWE vs WCW and The Monday Night Wars once again. D-Generation X made a surprise appearance to assist The King of Kings, whereas WCW's nWo also made a surprise appearance to help Sting.
Eventually, after assistance from D-Generation X's Shawn Michaels, Triple H defeated Sting after hitting his opponent with his trademark sledgehammer. Despite the obvious fan service of seeing DX face off against the nWo for the first time, many fans were disappointed to see Sting lose in his WWE debut match.
#2 Brock Lesnar def. The Undertaker (WWE WrestleMania XXX)
WWE's decision to end The Undertaker's WrestleMania undefeated streak is unquestionably one of the most controversial moments in WWE history. The moment that Brock Lesnar pinned The Deadman for the first time in WrestleMania history is one of the most memorable WrestleMania moments ever.
Heading into WrestleMania XXX, The Undertaker was 21-0. The Undertaker defeated a lengthy list of WWE legends and Hall of Famers on the way to ammassing one of the greatest undefeated streaks in the history of professional wrestling. Names such as Shawn Michaels, Triple H, CM Punk, Randy Orton, Jake "The Snake" Roberts and Kane were all unable to defeat The Undertaker on the grandest stage of them all.
By 2014, most members of the WWE Universe considered The Undertaker's WrestleMania undefeated streak too precious to break. The Streak had become bigger than WrestleMania itself and The Undertaker's match at the event every year was truly the main event, irrespective of its position on the card.
Nevertheless, the decision was made by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon for Brock Lesnar to defeat The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXX. The Superdome in New Orleans was covered in an eery silence after The Beast hit the third F5 of the match and pinned The Phenom. Michael Cole's iconic line "The streak...is over" still plays in the heads of many WWE fans to this day.
But, The Undertaker's WrestleMania undefeated streak will never be replicated. The fact that the streak happened at all is a complete freak of nature. Something as special as The Undertaker's WrestleMania undefeated streak should have been preserved and allowed to follow The Phenom into retirement.
#1 Triple H def. Booker T (WWE WrestleMania XIX)
The WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania XIX is still a major point of contention for many members of the WWE Universe.
Heading into the match, the storyline on Monday Night RAW was that the World Heavyweight Champion didn't think that challenger, Booker T, was worthy of being the World Champion. Triple H cut an incredibly controversial promo in which he stated that "people like" Booker T didn't get to become World Heavyweight Champion.
The story also heavily focused on Booker T's background and tough upbringing in Houston, Texas. Booker lost both of his parents by the time he was 13 years old and also spent time in prison due to armed robberies in the late 1980s.
Therefore, many assumed that WWE was telling a story of redemption in the Booker T and Triple H storyline. Despite all of the obstacles and adversitys that Booker T had faced in his life, he would eventually prevail and achieve his dream by defeating the villiaious Triple H at WrestleMania XIX to win the World Heavyweight Championship.
But that didn't happen. Instead, after a back-and-forth match with a significant amount of interference from Evolution's Ric Flair, Triple H hit Booker T with the pedigree to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. Despite the redemption storyline being told, there was no redemption for Booker T. The controversial comments and insults that Triple H made about Booker T essentially went unpunished without consequence.
