WWE WrestleMania 27: Snooki's Mania Debut and the 15 Worst WrestleMania Matches

At WrestleMania on Sunday, the tradition of having celebrities at WWE's grandest stage continues when Snooki from "Jersey Shore" steps into her official wrestling debut. Snooki will team with Trish Stratus and John Morrison to take on Lay-Cool and Dolph Ziggler in a six-person tag match.

This is a stupid idea to say the least and it got me thinking about what other WrestleMania matches looked better at the time. There have been some matches at Mania that failed to deliver, but that is not what this list is for. This is a list compiled of matches that should have never been booked in the first place.

These matches have been put in chronological order, beginning with a wrestling match at WrestleMania II. Actually, it was a boxing match.

WrestleMania II: Mr. T Vs. "Rowdy Roddy Piper

Mr. T's match at WrestleMania I, where he teamed with Hulk Hogan, helped to launch the World Wrestling Federation into the mainstream. While Mr. T was not a full-time wrestler and received some heat backstage, he held his own in the ring. Imagine our confusion then when Mr. T stayed with WWF to be a boxer alongside of his character in Rocky III.

Mr. T ultimately boxed "Rowdy" Roddy Piper at WrestleMania II, where the event was held in three separate venues. The first of three was the Nassau Coliseum in New York City. This was the main event of the four matches that took place there. Not only was it nearly three times longer than the Intercontinental Championship match at that same venue, but Mr. T and Roddy Piper in a boxing match was the longest bout of the 12 matches at a wrestling pay-per-view.

Moreover, Mr. T defeated Piper in the fourth round of the bout when Piper picked up Mr. T and bodyslammed him, causing a disqualification. Now we can all see that, had it not been for the moment that Hogan/Andre brought us the next year, WrestleMania would likely have died pretty soon with this being the first wound.

WrestleMania IX: Hulk Hogan Vs. Yokozuna

I still look at this picture of Hulk Hogan and it just doesn't look like it is really him for some reason.

Regardless, WrestleMania IX was the event that brought in a toga theme to the Showcase of the Immortals. The end of this event is remembered for having three different world champions in a matter of minutes. The main event was the challenger, Yokozuna, facing the champion, Bret Hart. After Yokozuna won the belt, he issued a challenge to Hulk Hogan with the title on the line. Hogan accepted and squashed Yokozuna in thirty seconds to have another title change.

What makes this unusual for me is watching the actual proceedings after Bret Hart gets salt in the eyes from Mr. Fuji and Yokozuna wins the match. Hogan comes out to argue and try to help his friend. Fuji tries to get Hogan to accept a challenge, which he refuses until the belt is put on the line. Bret Hart tells Hogan to go ahead (I'm sure he was ecstatic about being told about this idea) and Hogan runs into the ring. Yokozuna holds Hogan, but the Hulkster avoids Fuji's salt, which goes into the champ's eyes. Fuji gets knocked down and Hogan knocks down Yokozuna. He does an atomic leg drop and is the champ faster than you can say "backstage politics".

My problem with this is the fact that there was never a bell rung and that the referee watched Fuji throw salt into Yokozuna's eyes. I still don't see any indication that this was ever a true match in a technical sense. Then again, there wasn't much explanation needed in 1993.

WrestleMania XI: Lawrence Taylor Vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

For the third slide in a row, we are talking about a main event of a WrestleMania. Yes, despite Diesel defending his WWF Championship in a 20-minute match against Shawn Michaels, WWF decided to end WrestleMania XI with Bam Bam Bigelow against New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor. This is one of those matches that you think was either great or terrible to see.

On one hand, it was great exposure as the media ate up every bit of Lawrence Taylor wrestling a match. On the other hand, there was a lot of criticism for having a professional football player go into a wrestling ring and defeat a professional wrestler. I personally believe that Taylor did a great job inside the ring. While I know that most celebrities will win the match in these types of situations, I don't think that this had to be the main event of a WrestleMania. I'm sure that it is a hard pill to swallow when you see a celebrity with a match instead of yourself, but that must be even harder to deal with if they are the final match of the night.

WrestleMania XV: Butterbean vs Bart Gunn

This one needs a little explanation because, at the surface, it looks like another boxing match at WrestleMania. Back in 1998, with the momentum of Toughman contests, the WWF began a Brawl for All tournament. Inclusion in the tournament was voluntary as 16 superstars faced each other in what I see as the earliest form of mixed martial arts that I had ever seen. The rules were pretty complicated and the fighting was legitimate.

Bart Gunn won the tournament and, months later, was challenged by Eric "Butterbean" Esch to a match at WrestleMania. The two exchanged blows before Butterbean connected finally and Gunn took his time in catching his breath. Seconds after standing back up, Butterbean knocked out Gunn with the hardest punch that my then-10-year-old eyes had ever seen. The match is officially credited with lasting just 34 seconds.

One of the shortest matches in WrestleMania history was an actual fight, but was it necessary? Did we really think that a professional boxer named Butterbean with only one loss in his career at the time would fall to Bart Gunn?

WrestleMania 2000: Terri Runnels Vs. the Kat

This was, at the time, the lowest point in the WWF women's division.

The Kat and Terri Runnels fought at WrestleMania 2000 in a Catfight. And the word "cat" was certainly prominent in this match that lasted roughly two and a half minutes. Now, you may be asking yourselves what the rules to a Catfight are exactly. Well, basically, there is no actual wrestling skill necessary. The winner of the match is the first person to throw the other one out of the ring, much like a women's battle royale.

The thing that made this match even worse was having Val Venis as the special guest referee and having The Fabulous Moolah and Mae Young in the corners of the two women. Terri was thrown out twice in the match but Val Venis was distracted both times. On the second instance, Moolah brought The Kat outside the ring and threw Terri back in. Val Venis then saw Terri in the ring and The Kat out and rang the bell.

To make things worse, this was the match put on to follow the triangle ladder match at WrestleMania 2000. Womp womp...

WrestleMania XX: Playboy Evening Gown Match

Remember when I said in the last slide that it was the lowest moment in women's wrestling? Then this match happened.

First, it was Sable and Torrie Wilson against Miss Jackie and Stacy Kiebler in evening gowns. Then Sable takes off her evening gown and the rest follow suit, even if Miss Jackie was forced out of her dress. The majority of the match was roll ups that featured the girls in compromising positions. In the end, it took the high profile of a WrestleMania in Madison Square Garden and put on antics that are commonly seen at an episode of RAW in Boise, Idaho (no offense to those from Idaho). This was a grand stage and it was a very disrespectful sight to see.

WrestleMania 21: Big Show vs Akebono

Yes, this really happened. This was the WrestleMania where the event "went Hollywood", but I think that Big Show got lost and kept going west to the Far East. In order to try and draw better numbers in Japan, Big Show was booked in a sumo wrestling match against the legendary Akebono. Akebono is considered a god of sorts in Japan and his inclusion would hopefully draw more fans to watch WrestleMania 21.

Weeks earlier, they had Big Show show off his strength by flipping cars and what not. All of it did not matter as Akebono disposed of Big Show in about a minute. It was a dud to say the least. Plus, we had to see Big Show in a diaper. Yuck.

WrestleMania 22: Playboy Pillow Fight

Remember when I said two slides ago that THAT was the low point for women's wrestling?

Take the antics of the Playboy evening gown match and throw in a bed with pillows and you have this trainwreck. There were just so many spots that have to make a wrestling fan insane. For instance, Candice Michelle tries to find something under the bed, only to pull out a copy of Playboy to literally rub in Torrie Wilson's face. What a devastating move from that foreign object.

In the end, Torrie rolled up Candice for the win, but not before she used her dog to rub over Candice's face. I can't imagine that PETA was too fond of that.

And yes, I know that I am not a good male wrestling fan for knocking matches that show hot women in bra and panties, but it is matches like this that have helped to develop the stereotype of women's matches being good for a "pee break". But I do have to enjoy the site of Candice Michelle in that position.

WrestleMania 23: The Great Khali Vs. Kane

Twenty years after Hulk Hogan slammed Andre the Giant, WWE reenacted the moment by having Kane slam The Great Khali. This is great, because nothing shows the impossible feat being honored more than having someone billed three inches shorter and weighing roughly 100 pounds lighter than The Great Khali do the act. Two decades prior, it meant something for the visibly smaller Hogan to slam Andre. Just three years before this, having John Cena lift Big Show was that type of defining moment.

The match only took five minutes on the card at WrestleMania 23 and ended with The Great Khali picking up the win. He then used the hook from Kane's movie, See No Evil, to choke out The Big Red Monster. All in all, if you didn't see it when it was happening, you probably forgot that it even happened. Its one moment to fame isn't even a big deal whatsoever.

WrestleMania 24: Floyd Mayweather Vs. Big Show

I know that this match was not too terrible to watch, but we didn't have to see it. The buildup was very fair. Mayweather legitimately made Big Show's nose bleed with the first punch thrown in the rivalry. The boxing star also allowed WWE to have him being thrown around like a rag doll, which was risky considering how much money his fights have grossed worldwide. When the actual match took place, however, there just seemed to be something missing.

Here was this match that was actually hyped well and, while I knew who would win in the end, I wanted to see how they would do it. Mayweather got the ability to use weapons like brass knucks and steel chairs in order to get rid of Big Show. It was a very solid Mania match with a celebrity when it was happening but in retrospect, it made wrestlers look weak once again. Big Show has been built up as a very strong individual and to have him being knocked out by a pro boxer makes every wrestler destroyed by Big Show look that much weaker.

Furthermore, if Floyd Mayweather can knock out Big Show, why doesn't he try to wrestle full-time? Would Mayweather have a chance at some gold?

WrestleMania 25: Chris Jericho Vs. Ricky Steamboat, Jimmy Snuka and Roddy Piper

This would have been a classic match... ten years ago.

Chris Jericho did not have any problem defeating Ricky Steamboat, despite Steamboat still being in fantastic shape. The main reason that it was easy was because Steamboat's two partners were Jimmy Snuka and Roddy Piper. Snuka was way too old and looked like he was in a daze the entire time, while Piper was still very frail from his own health issues.

I would have loved to see this match if Jericho took on the three legends when they were all at least near their primes.

It is not the match itself that I have a problem with as much as Mickey Rourke's involvement after the match. Rourke was nearly booked in his gimmick from The Wrestler to take on Y2J but nothing could be worked out. Instead, they had Rourke come into the ring post-match to do what the three Hall of Fame wrestlers couldn't: knock out Jericho. It was yet another moment where celebrities were booked better than the actual wrestlers, even when the wrestlers are legends.

WrestleMania 25: Santina Marella Crowned Miss WrestleMania

Okay, remember the three slides where I said that they were low points in women's professional wrestling? Consider this to be the finishing blow.

WrestleMania 25. Sixteen superstars pose for the event's poster. Not one of them were female. Instead, the likes of Mark Henry, MVP and R-Truth made it on. I also want to make it known that R-Truth was not even on the actual card, but was only there as a lumberjack in the dark match.

I digress, though, because there is a 25-Diva battle royale to crown Miss WrestleMania.The following Divas were in the match and lost:

Alicia Fox, Beth Phoenix, Brie Bella, Eve Torres, Gail Kim, Jackie Gayda, Jillian Hall, Joy Giovanni, Katie Lea Burchill, Kelly Kelly, Layla, Maria, Maryse, Melina, Michelle McCool, Mickie James, Molly Holly, Natalya, Nikki Bella, Rosa Mendes, Sunny, Tiffany, Torrie Wilson and Victoria.

Instead, the winner of the match was Santino Marella, who dressed like a woman and changed the "o" in his name to an "a". Holy Hervina, Batman. (If you don't know who Hervina is, look it up.)

In a bout where some Divas were brought back just to do this and some in the match were former Women's Champions, they decided that the best woman for the role was a man dressed as a woman. How appropriate.

WrestleMania 26: Bret Hart Vs. Vince McMahon

This was a match that was way overdue. The problem with that was that its desire of being an actual good match was done a few years ago. For Bret Hart, nothing was going to help the man who had suffered a stroke back in 2002. For McMahon, his physique was not going to help the 64-year old billionaire that much. This was a fight between two old and fragile 50-somethings.

So, what do they do when there are two old men fighting in wrestling and they don't want it to suck? They make it No Holds Barred (isn't that right, Triple H and The Undertaker?)

They even staged a moment where it looked like the entire Hart family had turned on Bret, only to show that they hadn't. This then led to the match, which was referred by Bruce Hart. The match lasted for eleven minutes. Eleven... very long... minutes. At one point, it even looked like Bret forgot what to do and just stood around without a clue.

It was certainly a match to forget, which is saying something. This was the same WrestleMania match where Vickie Guerrero did a frog splash, Rey Mysterio beat CM Punk in three minutes, and the Money in the Bank didn't even go fifteen minutes (Jack Swagger having trouble with the case didn't help much with time).

WrestleMania 27: Jerry "The King" Lawler Vs. Michael Cole

This match hasn't even happened yet and I am already smelly something bad in the air. I just feel bad all the way around for these four.

I feel bad for Jerry "The King" Lawler for never getting a WrestleMania match until now. He was in WWE Championship matches a few weeks ago and now he is fighting a very annoying journalist from New Jersey (no, not me). You would think that, for his first match at the event, the Hall of Famer would get a better draw. It went from the top of the food chain to the bottom of the barrel for Lawler with no inbetween.

I feel bad for "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, who must be bored by now. How many times does he have to be a special guest referee? He probably carries the black and white striped shirt around with him whenever he makes an appearance, just so he can be prepared. I think his new t-shirt should have read "Arrive. Raise Heck, because it is TV-PG now. Drink Beer. Hold Up Fists Instead of Middle Fingers. Be a Referee. Leave. Die a Little Inside." A little wordy, I know.

I feel bad for Jack Swagger, who was in a fantastic place in his career a year ago. He had just won Money in the Bank and was days away from his first world championship. Since then, Swagger has gone from a big fish in a small pond to a seamonkey in the Atlantic Ocean. At least this build for the match is giving him some squash wins.

Finally, I feel bad for Michael Cole. I don't really have a reason for it, but I just do.

WrestleMania 27: Lay-Cool and Dolph Ziggler Vs. Snooki, Trish and John Morrison

Now, we arrive to this match. Let's recap who the six people in this match are, shall we?

John Morrison: a man who is a fan favorite and has had some of the best matches in the WWE in the past few months. He was literally a second away from being a WWE Champion at the beginning of January. Now, he is getting made fun of by Vickie Guerrero.

Trish Stratus: one of the best divas of all-time is forced to try and look like she's friends with Snooki. All she really wants to do is promote Tough Enough and stay on the company's good side until they put her in the Hall of Fame.

Snooki: a celebrity, from what they tell me.

Lay-Cool: two of the best Divas in the company right now. While they often have to take another female wrestler and try to make them look good, they now need to make a 4'9" guidette from the Jersey Shore, but who actually resides in New York, look good. God bless you both.

Dolph Ziggler: A month and a half ago, this man was the World Heavyweight Champion. Then he was taken off of Smackdown to move to RAW, where much of the top talent resides. Since joining RAW, you would think that Ziggler would be having matches with Orton or Cena, much like what he was doing back when he was still on Smackdown and in the main event picture.

One of these things does not belong. Care to guess which one?