WrestleMania 36 in chaos with stars pulling out, no fans, and storylines axed: 9 biggest disasters at WWE’s flagship PPV

THIS week fans are facing the weirdest WrestleMania of all time.

Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, WrestleMania 36 – which has been pre-taped already – will take place in an empty makeshift arena at the WWE Performance Center.

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Roman Reigns had to pull out of the event and rumours suggest there are other advertised superstars who also won’t appear.

WWE’s decision to proceed with the event has been controversial. While some fans agree WWE needed to go ahead with the show, others say it should have been cancelled.

Lacking the spectacle of its usual pyrotechnics and 70,000-plus crowd – plus concerns over health risks to its performers – fans are hoping that WrestleMania 36 isn’t a disaster for WWE.

And it wouldn’t be the first time things have gone wrong at the Show of Shows.

Here are nine of the biggest disasters in WrestleMania history.

Sgt Slaughter Controversy – WrestleMania VII – 1991

WWE had advertised WrestleMania VII in the 100,000-capacity Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for a full year. It should have been the biggest WrestleMania ever.

But WWE got negative press over a controversial storyline in which Sgt. Slaughter became an Iraqi sympathiser – cheap heat that capitalised on the real-life Gulf War.

While all-American hero Hulk Hogan was set to end Slaughter’s reign as WWE champ, real American soldiers were dying in Iraq. It was in terrible taste.

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As a result, WWE sold fewer that 15,000 tickets to the event and was forced to move to the significantly smaller Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. The attendance was just 16,158.

WWE blamed the move on potential security risks because of the Iraqi storyline.

It’s an excuse that longtime WWE producer Bruce Prichard maintained when he discussed the event on his Something to Wrestle podcast.

Prichard claimed that even if WWE had sold out, the security risk would have been too big for WWE to manage in a stadium that size.

Hulkamania Runs Wild (Again) – WrestleMania IX – 1993

While the toga-themed WrestleMania IX has a rep for being the worst Mania of all time, it’s not quite that bad. (That dubious honour goes to WrestleMania 2 – absolutely dreadful.) But the main event was a creative flop.

Vibrant young champion Bret Hart is defeated by Yokozuna – in a match that’s cut short no less, because Yoko forgets what he’s doing – before Hulk Hogan charges down to defeat Yoko in a matter of seconds.

As bad as it is creatively, the real disaster is what it represented – WWE’s New Generation movement being derailed by an old-timer.

Hogan’s spotlight-hogging antics made Bret look like a chump and killed WWE’s new monster heel Yokozuna with one big boot-legdrop combo.

It’s something that WWE continues to be guilty of three decades later – relying on stars from the past and part-timers, instead of committing to putting over fresh superstars.

Butterbean Destroys Bart Gunn – WrestleMania XV – 1999

The “Brawl for All” was a legitimate boxing tournament that WWE ran over the summer of 1998. It was a disaster from the start.

It either exposed the wrestlers involved – some were not quite as nails-hard as they boasted, so it turned out – or left them injured.

“Dr Death” Steve Williams – who was tipped to win the tournament and earn a high-profile feud with Stone Cold – was KO’d by perennial low-carder Bart Gunn. Williams’ career never recovered.

But that was nothing compared to the disaster that awaited tournament winner Bart Gunn at WrestleMania – a match against 400lb toughman boxer Butterbean.

Just seconds in, Butterbean knocked down Gunn with a powerful right hand.

A clearly dazed Bart climbed to his feet and walked straight into another right – one which almost took Bart’s head off. Bart was out cold in just 35 seconds.

The brief notoriety Bart Gunn had earned from winning the tournament was stopped dead. Another wrestling career destroyed by the Brawl for All.

Edge and Big Boss Man Are Left Hanging – WrestleMania XV – 1999

There was another disaster at this peak Attitude Era Mania – this time when Undertaker battled Big Boss Man in a dreadful Hell in a Cell match.

After Taker hit the Tombstone for the win, the Brood – Edge, Christian, and Gangrel – descended from the rafters to give The Deadman a noose and literally hanged Boss Man (using a harness hidden under Boss Man’s ring gear).

But the motor that was supposed to winch Edge back up blew out, leaving Edge dangling in the air.

Edge was eventually raised up but way too fast. He span around out of control and even walloped into the scoreboard that was suspended above the ring.

Even worse, Big Boss Man was still hanging from his neck – he pretended to be dead while disinterested fans flocked out of the stands for beer and hotdogs.

As poor taste as it already was, it feels especially uncomfortable when you remember that Owen Hart fell to his death in a similar stunt the following month.

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Brock’s Shooting Star Press – WrestleMania XIX – 2003

This is hailed as one of the best Manias of all time. But a major disaster was narrowly avoided when Steve Austin was rushed to hospital the day before the event.

Luckily for Austin and fans, he managed to perform at the event and wrestled his final ever match – against longtime rival The Rock.

But there was another disaster in the final minutes of the Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle main event.

In what was almost a spectacular WrestleMania moment, Brock attempted to hit a Shooting Star Press – a high-flying move the 300-pounder was known for executing in WWE’s developmental territory.

With Angle too far across the ring and Lesnar presumably exhausted, he misjudged the move and landed dangerously on his head.

Brock got off lightly with a concussion. It was miraculous that he didn’t break his neck. Unbelievably, he was still able to hit Kurt with one last F-5 to win the match

Brock Lesnar v Goldberg – WrestleMania XX – 2004

Back in 2004, Brock v Goldberg was a blockbuster matchup – two colossal powerhouses with the star power to match.

But between WWE kicking off the feud at Survivor Series, the one-time “Next Big Thing” Brock Lesnar decided he wanted to leave WWE to pursue a career in the NFL.

Not only that but Goldberg – whose first year in WWE was a failure – was also heading out the door after WrestleMania. Consequently, fans turned on both superstars.

What should have been a tussle for the ages began at a standstill as fans – reportedly led in chorus by Shane McMahon – pelted the men with chants of “You sold out!” and “Na-na-na-na, hey-hey-hey, goodbye!”

Fans also chanted for special guest referee Stone Cold Steve Austin, who could only stand there and laugh.

It ended when Goldberg hit Brock with the Jackhammer. The boos for Brock were so savage that he gave fans – and then Austin – the finger.

Fans were happy in the end as Austin nailed both Brock and Goldberg with Stunners.

Bret Hart v Vince McMahon – WrestleMania XXVI – 2010

When Bret Hart returned to WWE in January 2010, Bret was seeking revenge against Vince McMahon for the Montreal Screwjob 13 years earlier.

It could have been a redemption story for the ages. A No Holds Barred match was set between them at WrestleMania.

Due to limited physical health and a previous insurance payout, Bret was unable to take any proper bumps in their match. To distract from his shortcomings, he brought out the extended Hart family.

Instead of a quick and fun beat-down on McMahon, it turned into a protracted assault of a 64-year-old man – uncomfortable viewing as the entire Hart clan joined in.

It must have pained Bret – one of the true artists of pro wrestling – to end his WrestleMania career with such an ugly mess.

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The Streak Ends – WrestleMania XXX – 2014

You could argue that Brock Lesnar ending Undertaker’s 21-year undefeated streak at WrestleMania was a major creative mistake.

It was the end of a legacy which by 2014 meant even more than the WWE Championship. What makes it even worse is that the match is an absolute car wreck.

Early in the match, The Deadman sustains a concussion. From that point on he’s confused, lost, and weak at the knees.

In hindsight, it’s scary to watch Taker continue to take Brock’s suplexes and attempt his patented rope walk.

After the shocking conclusion – with Brock hitting an F-5 for the win – Taker reportedly collapsed backstage and was rushed to hospital with Vince McMahon.

The atmosphere was sucked out of the New Orleans Superdome – and didn’t return until Daniel Bryan won the WWE Championship in the main event.

It wasn’t just the end of Taker’s undefeated streak. But the end of him having the best match of the night every year at WrestleMania (see his performances at Manias 23-29).

Undertaker’s aura and in-ring skills were never the same again.

Fans Ruin the Main Event – WrestleMania 34 – 2018

The reaction to Brock Lesnar and Goldberg at Mania XX was a precursor of the internet-driven hatred that would later dog John Cena and Roman Reigns.

While Cena was booed in Mania main events, his opponents were always cheered, which created the big match atmosphere that made Cena such a star attraction, whether you loved or hated him.

With Roman Reigns, fans turned entirely and made for bizarre atmospheres.

At WrestleMania 32 he battled Triple H, bored fans chanted for NXT. And at WrestleMania 33 he defeated The Undertaker, which fans predictably rallied against.

By Mania 34 – when he challenged Brock Lesnar – the fan reaction had become toxic.

Fans hated Roman for his never-ending push – which they believed would see him predictably dethrone Brock – and resented Brock over rumours that he was leaving (again) for UFC.

After a near seven-hour event, fans filed out of the stadium. Others booed the match and entertained themselves with chants of “Bulls**t” and “This is awful”.

Fans shouldn’t have been so quick to wreck the atmosphere – as it turned out, Brock defeated Roman in a blood-soaked matchup and remained with WWE.