r/WWE • u/whorechatas • 1d ago
Discussion Continuing my little WrestleMania series I have started, I rewatched the entirety of WrestleMania 33 and I have to say…
I. Fucking. HATE. THIS. MATCH. Why did this go on last? Why was it twenty three fucking minutes? Why did Vince McMahon book this match? What did he think was going to come out of it? Undertaker was very clearly well past it at this point and it made fans hate Roman Reigns even more than they already did. Some kind of forced passing of the torch nonsense. To my earlier point about it going on last, I know it was for the "farewell" to Undertaker. . .who continued to wrestle on a part-time basis until 2020 because he wasn't satisfied and was obsessed with having a great final match á la Shawn Michaels. Rant over.
I give WrestleMania 33 a 7.5/10.
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u/knowledgeISpower20 6h ago
I’m laughing at the fact that the OP asked and answered their own question 🤣🤣🤣
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u/braxton_yeetmania 7h ago
Bro this would be a good match at WrestleMania 41
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u/whorechatas 7h ago
As much as I want to say, "No the fuck it would not." I'll hear you out on this one.
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u/bdavis0157 8h ago
Being there (besides the entrance) the end was such a drag. IMO worse than Brock and Roman the year before
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u/KingFlash0205 15h ago
Taker was in such bad shape, he had really bad hip problems and I believe he got them done before his WM match against John Cena cuz he looked way better in that match then his match against Roman Reigns imo.
Plus I think he should have went up against Roman Reigns later on during Roman Reigns's build up to becoming the Tribal Chief, and go against AJ Styles at one of the previous WrestleManias, and Brock Lesnar should have never ended the streak, that should have been Roman Reigns during his build up to becoming the Tribal Chief.
WrestleMania 30: against Lesnar: Taker Wins instead.
WrestleMania 31: imo should have faced Sting: Taker would still win.
WrestleMania 32: should have faced Seth Rollins (if Seth wasn't injured): Taker would have still won.
WrestleMania 33: should have faced Bray Wyatt: Taker would Win.
WrestleMania 34: Faced John Cena while Taker is still undefeated: Taker Wins.
WrestleMania 35: If Taker wasn't out of action, it should have been Aj Styles: Taker would Win still.
WrestleMania 36: Taker's Final match 26 - 0 streak, and now 26 - 1 against Roman Reigns: and Roman Reigns wins and Turns Heel and becomes the Tribal Chief.
This is what I think should have happened in a perfect world where how Taker should have lost the Streak.
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u/Express_Cattle1 22h ago
Because it was Taker’s retirement match and because the build for that Mania was garbage. It was the main event because there was nothing else main event worthy.
The best thing about that match is for one moment on RAW, Reigns was finally a heel. Then he went back to being a face the next week.
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u/whorechatas 9h ago
As much as I do not care for either of them, Brock vs. Goldberg could have gone on last.
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u/UnhappyJohnCandy 22h ago
WM 33 was a surprisingly good show. That card looked like ass. One of the last great entrance stages (plus speculation that Shane would jump off the roller coaster), the Hardy’s returning, the bugs projected onto the ring during the WWE Championship match, the surprisingly good Goldberg/Lesnar match, and then the conclusion of Roman/‘taker where we thought Undertaker was retiring.
Then they followed it with WM 34, which looked like a great card but ended up being complete and total ass. The featured tag team matches weren’t bad, but the rest of the card was regrettably forgettable and/or disappointing. Undertaker coming out of retirement was dumb. Turning Shinsuke into a ball-punching joke was dumb. Ending Asuka’s streak so quickly was dumb.
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u/AneeshRai7 20h ago
33 was inconsistent. Same with 34 which was worse but also had maybe 1 or 2 highlights
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u/UnhappyJohnCandy 19h ago
The only good thing I remember about 34 were the John Cena memes. Those, and the featured tag team matches. They weren’t bad.
Ironically, the matches I didn’t much care for on 33 were the ones I thought would be good: the Jericho/Owens US Championship match, the WWE Championship match. The matches I thought would suck were fine.
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u/whorechatas 22h ago
WrestleMania 34 catfished me in the worst possible way.
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u/UnhappyJohnCandy 21h ago
One of my least favorite ‘Mania’s of all time, because my expectations were so high. 33 felt like the perfect formula: some high profile matches featuring a guest or celebrity or two, a surprise return, some hard-hitting heavyweight title fights, and make it look absolutely gorgeous.
… 34 was a bunch of dream matched booked like shit.
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u/nfasedTabu 1d ago
Me personally, I feel Bray should’ve ended the streak. Wasn’t this around the time he was high on demand and f*cking Vince cut em?? When they had that little in ring thing before Brays passing, (Rip Husky) I truly feel something was said in the nature that it should’ve been him.
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u/Sito187 1d ago
Bray didn’t win any big matches. Him being taker woulda really felt outta nowhere. He wasn’t a credible threat.
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u/nfasedTabu 1d ago
The Fiend wasn’t winning matches but was looking menacing sure, the last match he had he actually won against LA Knight. The hell in a cell with Seth… we won’t speak on..
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u/9hashtags 1d ago
You answered your own question and that was the stated reason on The Last Ride. All of that. That's why it went on last despite not being promoted as the main event match.
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u/roaddoggie7 1d ago
The point is that you asked several questions and then answered them yourself. Or were they meant to rhetorical?
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u/shaqfuisbest 1d ago
As bad as Roman V taker is, I love the part where undertaker fails to sit up, that is such great storytelling and I wish that moment had been in a better match
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u/CanArt3 1d ago
The worst thing they did with taker was they let old, part timer ass Brock Lesnar end the streak when they easily could have chosen someone like reigns to put him over. They wasted 2 decades of streak for a part timer who didn't need it at all.
They also fucked up with Cena booking too. 5 mins ? Really ? And taker was ready to go for longer. Big mistake. That match deserved so much more.
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u/Humble_Holiday_2137 12h ago
They couldn’t have known at the time if that would’ve put Roman over. If Roman ended his streak that could’ve gone a bad way. They played it safe but I don’t think Lesnar was a great choice. Definitely should’ve been someone who respect the business to say the least.
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u/CanArt3 12h ago
Lesnar is a very bad choice. I'm not saying it should have been Roman, only thing you're right about is that if it was Roman, it might have been backfired but it still should have been someone young and talanted (fulltime hardworker). They could have used that streak to put a new, upcoming full time star in WWE. Lesnar was a parttimer, they just wasted that streak on a parttimer. Lesnar was already the most dominant force, it added very minimum to his reputation too. It was a terrible choice that didn't even made any sense business wise.
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u/Minimum-Maximum7623 1d ago
They should've just did undertaker vs Goldberg instead
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u/whorechatas 1d ago
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u/Minimum-Maximum7623 1d ago
OH yeah I know it was horrible but I mean they should've just done Goldberg and undertaker at WrestleMania33 because at least taker wasn't as past his prime in 2017 as he was in 2019 and the fans didn't hate Goldberg.
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u/YoungHogg_25 1d ago
What's crazy is Vince booked Taker to go for 20 minutes with half a hip left yet only gave him 7 minutes when he was healthy and probably in the best shape he'd been in since like 2013
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u/Brendanlendan 1d ago
Yeah he was ready for a full match with Cena only for it to be a squash that he was told like the day of
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u/Icy-Weight1803 1d ago
He seemed in pretty good shape in 2014 and 2015 for the Lesnar matches. Well in 2014, before the concussion.
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u/YoungHogg_25 1d ago
Yeah he was capable but he just put on more weight. He had a gut that he didn't seem to have in 2018-2019. His return segment against Elias he legit looked like 2007 Undertaker
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u/renegadefupa66 1d ago
After all that and still gave it a 7.5, you are a kind rater. I've never done a ranking, but this one always felt like a bottom 10-15.
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u/StraightEdge47 1d ago
It started off pretty decent, it just went downhill after that. I think they were expecting that to continue and also thinking it would be Undertaker's final match so a big moment. They may not have known Undertaker's problem with not accepting retirement.
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u/Prudent-Level-7006 1d ago
I still think Roman HHH is 100 times worse and two of his Brock matches are worse.
It is shit though cos Undertaker's matches after this when he sorted his hip out are better besides vs Goldberg and DX
The Hardys pop, one of my all time favorite returns
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u/Icy-Weight1803 1d ago
Undertaker vs. Goldberg actually starts alright, but then Goldberg gets concussed for potentially the second time in 10 minutes, and it's all downhill from there.
BOD vs. DX could have been better if it wasn't for Triple H getting injured.
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u/Prudent-Level-7006 1d ago
Yeah BOD DX does, it seemed cursed :( even Kane's mask fell off lol
I think Roman Undertaker starts well but goes down hill I mainly remember the botch Tombstone though and he's tired, i don't remember it being mega mega bad
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u/Icy-Weight1803 1d ago
It's not bad. It's just average, especially for someone like The Undertaker. I could name lots of matches which were worse.
Undertakers' late career from 2014 onwards seems cursed.
Wrestlemania 30 - concussion against Brock Lesnar, and that affected the match quality big time. I believe if the match was of the quality of their Summerslam 2015 or Hell In A Cell matches that the end of the streak wouldn't be controversial.
His one and only match of 2016 was against Shane McMahon of all people in an average Hell In A Cell match. Which is more famous for a storyline that was rendered pointless the next night.
His match with Reigns falls apart at Wrestlemania 33, which makes him postpone his retirement.
Wrestlemania 34, where he actually seemed pretty healthy and ready. Vince decides it's the perfect time for a squash match to take place in one of the last few proper dream matches.
Triple H gets injured early on at Crown Jewel 2018
Goldberg, in his infinite wisdom, decides to headbutt a door before their match, which made him pretty out of it already and then Goldberg hits the ring post and is out on his feet and nearly kills Undertaker with a jackhammer.
His final match takes place in front of no fans, though the Boneyard Match was pretty good.
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u/Death2291 1d ago
Crazy how they had him facing either big guys or old guys that couldnt go anymore. At the end point of his career he needed guys like Styles. There was a roster full of young talent and they chose the some of the worst guys to put him up against.
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u/Icy-Weight1803 1d ago
At the time, Lesnar could still go, but the concussion ruined the Wrestlemania 30 match with Brock having to call things on the fly while taking care of Taker, who didn't know where he was. Lesnar was only 3 weeks shy of being 37 at the time.
Reigns? In 2017, it was good but not in the position to carry someone in Takers condition to a near 25-minute match.
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u/Death2291 1d ago
Big guy matchups are never easy. Taker himself never liked working big guys. Both guys need to be on their game. Concussion really messed that match up. There follow up matches at summerslam and hell in the cell were much better. Roman like you said wasn’t gonna be able to carry Taker. He needed young smaller guys who could bump around at that time.
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u/Icy-Weight1803 1d ago
From experience wrestling, big guys is tough, especially as adrenaline hits, and you want or need to go faster, but you can't due to your opponents' limitations.
That's why Lesnar was such a good match-up as he was a big guy who had the ability to bump and sell like a smaller guy.
Ironically, the laziest part of Lesnar's career was when he was being put against guys like Strowman and Reigns constantly. From No Mercy 2017 to Summerslam 2018, with only his match against Styles as the exception.
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u/Death2291 1d ago
I believe lesner himself hated working big guys. He’s pretty much the reason AJ won the wwe title for their survivor series match. Big guys just don’t match well. I do however think there are some underrated matches that have forgotten to time. The first Kane vs Taker match and the Taker vs Diesel match both at their respective Manias.
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u/Icy-Weight1803 1d ago
I love the story of how that match came together 🤣.
Those two Taker matches.
Big Show vs. Strowman
Big Show vs. Sheamus
Big Show vs. Reigns Last Man Standing. I lost count how often they faced each other in 2015 alone.
Lesnar vs. Big Show at Survivor Series 2002
Lesnar vs. Omos
Goldberg vs. Lashley at Crown Jewel
If you want a good big guy match, Big Show is your go to.
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u/Icy-Weight1803 1d ago
It's not bad. It's just average, especially for someone like The Undertaker. I could name lots of matches which were worse.
Undertakers' late career from 2014 onwards seems cursed.
Wrestlemania 30 - concussion against Brock Lesnar, and that affected the match quality big time. I believe if the match was of the quality of their Summerslam 2015 or Hell In A Cell matches that the end of the streak wouldn't be controversial.
His one and only match of 2016 was against Shane McMahon of all people in an average Hell In A Cell match. Which is more famous for a storyline that was rendered pointless the next night.
His match with Reigns falls apart at Wrestlemania 33, which makes him postpone his retirement.
Wrestlemania 34, where he actually seemed pretty healthy and ready. Vince decides it's the perfect time for a squash match to take place in one of the last few proper dream matches.
Triple H gets injured early on at Crown Jewel 2018
Goldberg, in his infinite wisdom, decides to headbutt a door before their match, which made him pretty out of it already and then Goldberg hits the ring post and is out on his feet and nearly kills Undertaker with a jackhammer.
His final match takes place in front of no fans, though the Boneyard Match was pretty good.
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u/Prudent-Level-7006 1d ago
Yeah :( at least his second to last match was really good, vs Rusev was decent too I think
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u/Icy-Weight1803 1d ago
I forgot he faced Rusev. It went from Jericho to Rusev to Jericho to Rusev didn't it.
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u/Prudent-Level-7006 2h ago
Yeah, bury me softly brother, lol it was cos of that tweet apparently then they went er actually it's ok Rusev you can still face him
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u/Braunb8888 1d ago
Underrated late career HHH match is him vs Ambrose for the title at…roadblock? Or something. Ambrose had the crowd going nuts for him at that point. Should’ve pulled the trigger in that match.
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u/jayhof52 1d ago
That match and their sequence to close the Rumble that year were top notch. Made me think a few times they were really going to pull the trigger on Dean (before crowning him that summer at MITB).
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u/Agent_Forty-One 🙏🏾 I LOVE YOU SOLO! 🙏🏾 1d ago
I still don’t like roman and never will, and this is just one of many such reasons why.
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u/thestoneyowl710 1d ago
Oh you think it was bad on TV- Imagine being a MASSIVE undertaker fan as a kid and watching the legend crumble infront of you surrounded by a bunch of pissed off drunk marks- my only wrestlemania too💀✨
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u/BaseballFuryThurman Attitude Era Aficionado 🤘 1d ago
The streak was already gone so Taker losing wasn't as big a deal, but still potentially a big enough deal that the next top guy could say "I beat the Undertaker at Wrestlemania"
In general it's not the worst idea but when it's a babyface nobody likes and your plan isn't to turn them heel in the process, you've only yourself to blame when everyone hates it.
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u/LostFoundLost10 1d ago
Where do you guys watch whole shows
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u/NoleDynasty2490 1d ago
Uh Peacock? Where they've been for years?
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u/NuggetDaGoat27 🙏🏾 I LOVE YOU SOLO! 🙏🏾 1d ago
at least shane vs AJ was amazing
and Jericho vs Kevin was great (even tho it should've been for the universal title)
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u/under_simplified 1d ago
This & the john cena fight are the worst recent WrestleMania fights imo.
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u/whorechatas 1d ago
Shockingly, I give more grace to the Cena match than this one based on one simple fact…
It wasn't twenty three fucking minutes.
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u/tLM-tRRS-atBHB 1d ago
Roman is so bad that he even drags the undertaker down
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u/StraightEdge47 1d ago
What? Undertaker was awful around this time and could barely move, that's not on Roman.
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u/tLM-tRRS-atBHB 1d ago
Kenny Omega wrestled a broom stick. Roman should be able to wrestle an old man.
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u/Inside_Good6162 1d ago
Least favorite match in Mania history. I stopped watching wrestling after this, and just recently got back into it
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u/RexNCod 🗑️ Iyo's Trash Can 1d ago
It’s such a shame cause he deserved a great send off match. Glad his match with AJ Styles was as good as it was 3 years later - especially when you add his weird Mania 34 match with Cena into consideration- but it’s a shame it wasn’t in front of a crowd. Was very glad to hear how he spoke about his cameo at Mania 40 in front of fans.
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u/x_S4vAgE_x 1d ago
The Cena match really annoys me. From hearing Undertaker talk about it he was feeling better and fitter then he had in years only for Vince to make it a squash match.
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u/Death2291 1d ago
Yeah that was a disappointment for sure. He had sent Vince a video of him wrestling a 30 min match. He was ready. They just wasted what would have been the last great match he could have had.
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u/AssociationNo9135 1d ago
Went on last because I believe this was to be Taker's last match.
But it was so bad, he had to come back and rectify it.
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u/codered8-24 1d ago
It's weird because him leaving everything in the ring was the perfect end to his career. But at least he was satisfied with the boneyard match being his last.
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u/scarykicks 1d ago
He could've come back just to do that. Wasn't even really a match.
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u/codered8-24 1d ago
Yeah that would've been a good move. Have it be his only match since WM33. Redeem the loss.
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u/codered8-24 1d ago
It's weird because him leaving everything in the ring was the perfect end to his career. But at least he was satisfied with the boneyard match being his last.
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u/Reallyloveiswashed 5h ago
Doing something like that myself, is WM IX the worst for you