As a wrestling fan it is hard not to get excited about WrestleMania. Over the years, we have been treated to many classic matches. Year long feuds tend to hit their crescendo at the event, heck Mega Powers even exploded there once. True story! That said, there are so many classic feuds that that for whatever reason didn’t get a WrestleMania finish. Let’s take a brief look at a few WrestleMania worthy feuds that should have ended at “The Showcase of the Immortals”.
Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan-
Talk about the ultimate dream match. Before you say anything, we know at this point these two have fought many, many times, but they somehow managed to never have a match at WrestleMania. When Flair originally joined the WWF it seemed Flair and Hogan were on a collision course. Flair strutted around the WWE with his “real” world title while Hulkamania was still running wild. It was supposed to be the perfect storm. In fact that is the main reason WWF signed Flair.
Rumor has it there were multiple dark matches between Flair and Hogan and for some reason it just wasn’t working. After all the hype and build up WWF ended up nixing the Flair and Hogan WWF title match at WrestleMania and ended up going with “Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair for the title at the event. To be fair, Flair vs. Savage was probably better than Flair and Hogan could ever be, but its hard not to wonder what would have happened if Flair and Hogan faced off at the granddaddy of them all, WrestleMania. Bet Flair is somewhere bleeding from the forehead just thinking about it.
Bret Hart vs. The British Bulldog-
In this writer’s opinion the Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog match at SummerSlam is terribly underrated. The fact that it isn’t talked about as one of the greatest matches in WWF/E history is shocking. Never mind the extremely believable family issues backstory, this match had something most matches don’t: two of the greatest wrestlers ever to lace a pair of boots in the same ring at the same time. Yes, Davey Boy Smith is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. It is probably hard for the younger fans to understand that due to the fact that WWE does a pretty good job of ignoring the fact that he ever existed.
Nevertheless, Hart and Smith’s SummerSlam encounter for the Intercontinental Championship was epic, but the fact that there wasn’t a rematch was a bit surprising. If a feud for a mid card title is hot enough to main event the second biggest event of the year one would think a rematch at WrestleMania would be a no-brainer. Come to think of it, did Smith ever even have a singles match at WrestleMania?
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Brian Pillman-
This match might have actually happened if Pillman didn’t spend the majority of his career with WWF on the sidelines due to injury. We all know the impact that Austin ended up having on the wrestling business. Imagine the impact that a talent like Pillman could have had if he didn’t pass away prematurely. The Austin vs. Pillman feud had an extremely strong build, which included the infamous “Pillman’s got a gun” segment on Raw.Austin and Pillman had many matches in WCW after their Hollywood Blonds tag team broke up, but they only managed a singles match on Raw or a lower ppv match to culminate their rivalry. With the amount of heat they managed to generate with this angle, there is no way thus feud shouldn’t have ended with an epic WrestleMania encounter.
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Jerry “The King” Lawler vs. Bret Hart-
One of the longest and most entertaining feuds during the 90’s was Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler. It had nothing to do with the matches they had. It had everything to do with the verbal sparring between the two. Listening to Lawler go on and on about Hart’s family never gets old. Lawler still manages to throw a few quips Hart’s way whenever he shows up on Raw or Smackdown as well. Hart isn’t known for his mic skills, but one of the funniest and most endearing things Hart has ever said was when he called Lawler the Burger King. To this day, that is still funny.
Now the issue here is that these two managed to have a few matches, none of which were mind blowing. The best of them was probably the Kiss My Foot Match for the 1995 King of the Ring. Given the amount of time spent on this feud it is a bit surprising that the pay off didn’t happen at WrestleMania. It’s also a shame to date the only WrestleMania match Lawler has had was the snooze fest that was Lawler vs. Michael Cole. The legendary Jerry “The King” Lawler deserves better than that. Tapping out to the Sharpshooter would be a better legacy than “loosing” a match to “Vintage” Michael Cole.
Trish Stratus vs. Lita for the Woman’s Championship-
We know what you are thinking: Lita and Trish fought a billion times! This is true, but fun fact: they never had a singles match at WrestleMania. The Lita vs. Trish feud is probably to most significant women’s division rivalry in the past 20 years. To date, they are the only two women to main event Raw.
That said unless memory doesn’t serve correctly, Never had a singles match at Mania. Let that sink in for a minute. Two hall of famers who had a career long feud never fought at Mania. Blasphemy!
Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns-
Unlike most matches on this list, this match still has a possibility of happening. Given the way the Shield split up and the decent amount of shade Dean Ambrose has thrown at his brother Roman Reigns (look it up) this match might be a look for next year’s event. The question is, will the world title be at stake? *Crosses fingers*
What do you guys think of the list? What matches would you like to have seen take place at WrestleMania? Tweet out the hastag #MissingManiaMatches to let us know what you think! Follow us @Wrestling_Vavel