The Most Controversial Booking Decisions in WrestleMania History

Over the course of four decades, WWE has presented its annual showcase of professional wrestling excellence: WrestleMania. Home to some of the most unforgettable moments in the industry's history, it has also seen its fair share of controversial booking decisions.

Some left fans lashing out on social media, others were met with in-arena defiance. Then there are those who left the audience in stunned silence, unable to comprehend what they had just witnessed.

In celebration of all aspects of The Showcase of the Immortals, these are the most controversial booking decisions in WrestleMania history, listed in chronological order and featuring some of the top Superstars in sports entertainment history.

Hulk Hogan Leaves Las Vegas as Champion (WrestleMania 9)

The beginning of 1993 brought a concentrated effort by WWE to focus on the creation of new stars, including WWE champion Bret "Hitman" Hart and Royal Rumble winner Yokozuna.

With those two slated to headline WrestleMania 9, WWE struggled to sell tickets as fans had yet to invest in the fresh faces.

Enter Hulk Hogan, who rekindled his business relationship with Vince McMahon in time to rescue the company from an embarrassing turnout at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.

Despite build for a tag team title match with Brutus Beefcake against Ted DiBiase and IRS, which the babyfaces would lose by disqualification midway through WrestleMania 9, Hogan would have a greater impact on the closing moments of the show.

Just after Yokozuna defeated Hart to win the WWE title via nefarious means, Hogan emerged from the back, accepted an illogical challenge for an impromptu championship clash and won the gold.

Goodbye youth movement. Hello Hulkamania.

Over 30 years later, Hogan's win represents one of the most ego-driven booking decisions in WWE; one that benefited no one but himself and single-handedly set the company and its attempts to look to the future back several months.

Brawl for All (WrestleMania 15)

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Bart Gunn exceeded expectations in the inaugural (and thankfully only) Brawl for All in 1998, knocking out known tough guys The Godfather, "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, and Bradshaw with a devastating left hook.

On the road to WrestleMania 15, Gunn was booked to showcase his boxing "skills" once more, this time against professional tough man, Butterbean.

It did not go well.

In a special-attraction Brawl for All fight, in front of a Philadelphia crowd that neither cared nor wanted to see a faux boxing match, Butterbean knocked Gunn out in a matter of seconds. Over was the fight and gone was Gunn's credibility with fans.

First, the match did not need to happen on the biggest wrestling show of the year. Brawl for All was a universally panned concept that made no stars, was not popular and served no real purpose. It also got several wrestlers hurt, costing them time and paydays. Not exactly a flub deserving of exposure on the WrestleMania card.

Second, it cost the company a potentially solid midcard performer. Gunn was never going to be a main eventer, but a badass Floridian who can outwrestle opponents or knock them out on a whim is a character that would have fit the Attitude Era perfectly.

Instead of thinking about the ramifications, Vince Russo booked one of his worst creations on a prestigious card and ruined any legitimacy and future connection with fans that Gunn may have had.

Triple H Wins the Main Event (WrestleMania 2000)

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With a McMahon family member in every corner, Triple H defended the WWE Championship against Big Show, Mick Foley and The Rock in the main event of WrestleMania 2000.

Whether it was Foley ending his recent retirement and winning the title or The Rock winning his first WWE belt since the previous year's show, history suggested it was a given that a babyface would leave the event with the top prize in WWE.

After all, no heel had ever left the main event of The Showcase of the Immortals with the gold.

That would change at the 16th incarnation of 'Mania as a shocking betrayal of The Rock by Mr. McMahon secured his son-in-law a successful title defense. Angry fans hurled trash at the ring, and even a Rock Bottom and People's Elbow to Stephanie McMahon wasn't enough to send fans home happy.

The booking decision was a gutsy one at a time when Triple H was, arguably, the best wrestler on the planet and the industry's best heel. If there was a time to do it, that year's show was it.

The Game had been such a dominant presence and dastardly bad guy, though, that fans demanded to see him get his comeuppance. At the start of the millennium and during a run of red-hot programming, WWE did not deliver what the fans wanted.

Steve Austin Turns Heel (WrestleMania X-Seven)

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"I need to beat you Rock. I need it more than you could ever imagine," Steve Austin told his WrestleMania X-Seven opponent on the final SmackDown before the big event.

That one line would foreshadow a moment that would bring an end to the Attitude Era as fans had known in at the 2001 extravaganza.

Late in the high-stakes, red-hot main event for the WWE Championship between Stone Cold and The Rock, the evil Mr. McMahon made his way to the ring and shockingly assisted his longtime foe, Austin, in relentlessly bashing The Great One with a steel chair and scoring the victory.

From there, Austin shook hands with his megalomaniacal boss, validating the deal with the devil.

The moment created a ton of intrigue surrounding the WWE product coming out of the biggest show of the year, but that does not necessarily mean fans were ready for, or wanted to see, it.

The heel turn never stuck, mostly because the fans still loved The Texas Rattlesnake. Even when he took the character in a drastically different direction, becoming a paranoid, country-singing, McMahon-hugging bad guy, the entertainment value was off the charts and the audience still could not fathom booing him.

The booking decision was a gutsy attempt to change things up, but it failed and served as the end of the Attitude Era as fans knew it.

Sheamus Defeats Daniel Bryan in 8 Seconds (WrestleMania 28)

Sheamus challenged Daniel Bryan for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 28. What many expected to be a sleeper candidate for best match on the show turned out to be exactly the opposite.

Just before the bell rang, the controlling Bryan ordered his girlfriend, AJ Lee, on to the apron for a good luck kiss. Referee Charles Robinson called for the bell and Sheamus exploded across the ring, dropping Bryan with a Brogue Kick.

Three seconds later, The Celtic Warrior was the new world champion to the dismay of the fans.

Not because they had anything against Sheamus, but because their support was solidly behind Bryan. They wanted him to be champion, but it had been snuffed out in a matter of seconds for no other reason than to create a social media moment at the top of the show.

Chants of "No!" rained down from the stands in defiance of the decision, as did "Daniel Bryan" throughout the show.

They inadvertently started what would become the Yes! Movement, which would eventually catapult their hero to the top of the industry and the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania two years later.

Sting Loses to Triple H (WrestleMania 31)

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In November 2014, Sting made his long-awaited debut in WWE after more than two decades of competing for rival promotions such as WCW and TNA Wrestling.

Greeted with tremendous fanfare and a main event feud with crooked Authority figure Triple H, it felt like The Icon was a sure thing to avenge the misdeeds of The Authority and defeat The King of Kings at The Showcase of the Immortals.

Even as the competitors entered the ring, it was all but certain Sting would conquer Triple H and celebrate a win in his first 'Mania appearance. Then, instead of taking on the obvious story of an avenger fighting against corruption of power, it morphed into the embodiment of the Monday Night War, with nonsensical cameos from D-Generation X and the New World Order.

Despite making no sense within the context of the story told during the lead-in to the match, it descended into a battle between WWE and WCW that the latter was never going to win.

Triple H won to the shock of many and Sting would never again compete on the grand stage, thanks to a neck injury that forced him into premature retirement for the remainder of his WWE career.

It remains one of the biggest blunders of recent memory and controversial among fans who believe the Hall of Famer deserved a bigger, better moment.

Brock Lesnar Breaks The Streak (WrestleMania 30)

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Brock Lesnar was always going to win the WWE Championship, go on a run with the title and compete in pay-per-view main events, regardless of how his match at WrestleMania 30 against The Undertaker turned out.

There was no reason fans had to expect him to end The Deadman's iconic unbeaten run at the 2014 event.

Undertaker had conquered every WrestleMania opponent, amassing a 21-0 record over Hall of Famers and former world champions. Jimmy Snuka, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Kane, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and CM Punk all fell to him, and Lesnar appeared to be next up to be etched on the tombstone of his victims.

But that did not happen.

Instead, Lesnar ended a physical match in which his opponent suffered a severe concussion with an F-5 and covered him for the three-count. The arena went silent, with the fans stunned by the completely unforeseen conclusion.

The Streak had been the most protected non-championship prize in the industry and to have it finally ended by someone who did not need and would not benefit from it was unthinkable.

That outcome remains one of the most shocking moments in WWE history, as well as one of its biggest "what ifs."

Roman Reigns Defeats Cody Rhodes (WrestleMania 39)

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Cody Rhodes had completed a triumphant return from a torn pectoral with his victory in the 2023 Royal Rumble match and the final component to his ascent up the WWE mountain was the main event of WrestleMania 39 against undisputed WWE universal champion Roman Reigns.

The Tribal Chief had reigned over the company for nearly three years at that point, the longest championship run since Hulk Hogan dominated the late 1980s.

With an incredibly popular babyface in place, though, it was widely believed to be the beginning of the end for The Head of the Table and the start of The American Nightmare's run.

Rhodes' family and friends sat ringside for the clash and expected a passing of the torch, only to watch as the second-generation star fell in defeat to Reigns following outside interference from Solo Sikoa.

The internet exploded with fans and analysts alike openly criticizing the decision. Fans in the stands sat in stunned silence as a dejected Rhodes watched, seated in the center of the ring.

It was a moment when some rightfully worried that Rhodes would not recover and that his window to become champion was closed. As they found out one year later in Philadelphia, that was not the case.