Did Taker deserve the last match at Mania?
 

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The Rumble winner should always have the last match.

Loose Cannon.

Not to mention it was the match that had more on the line. And probably had more emotional investment from fans regarding the outcome. It also ended in a title change, and that big epic celebration. Plus Taker winning wasn't gonna leave a sour taste in fan's mouths.
I'd say it would have been a better last match.
If this match came last, and got a few more minutes (ie Batista kicked out of the first tombstone and things picked up for a few minutes to get people scared) I think fans would have considered the event to be better.

Jiggle the handle.

Let's just say it would have left a probably MUCH more favorable opinion of WrestleMania 23 if they had left Batista/Taker for the MAIN Main Event, but when you're Vince McMahon there's no arguing with stupidity, especially if you're dumb enough to put your coveted hair on the line...

Also, if it had been the last match of the night, they could have had the ring fill with smoke, have lightning pyro repeatedly hit the ring, and when the lights finally came back the ring would have collapsed and Taker could have been gone, replaced by a giant fiery UT symbol.

jesus I'd mark out for something like that, I won't lie

Taker is the greatest showman WWE has ever seen, and his entrances and sometimes his exits are without rival. Just goes to show that, at least as far as live production value goes, WWE never falls short.

Live production has little to do with his own showmanship. Cena could be a "showman" with a 15 minute entrance.

I would have put him on last before the show.

Nah, he gets 15 minute entrances too. They just suck compared to the Undertaker. In fact, most elaborate entrances pale in comparison to the Undertakers just for the fact that there is so much invested in his character and the nature of his gimmick.

UFO entrance ramps, machine guns and gangsters, and pimped out hot rods all pale in comparison to the near religious experience that is the Undertaker's entrance.

I would have put Cena on Heat and had Flair take the title off him.

That's true, but it also has to do with how he behaves without the effects. Take away all of the lights and smoke, and his "belt reverence" kneeling pose is still a phenominal bit of performance. I'm reminded of his elimination in the Rumble that Flair won; Hogan clotheslines him over the rope (which Taker had to oversell because Hogan screwed it up), and he lands on his feet, unfazed, and just rolls his eyes back at Hogan. Or his return at WMXX, when he reaches Paul Bearer, looks at him for a second, and then turns sharply towards Kane. Not just anyone can pull of those kind of tiny moves and make them something exciting. Not just anyone can be terrifying by standing stone still and making faces.

And all of that would suck if the man doing the entrance couldn't hold up to it. Not saying that nobody else could, but very few could.

were we not all laughing at the thought of Taker vs Batista being the Main Event, before WrestleMania?? Now all of a sudden we're smart and Vince is dumb for not leaving it like that...ok...

Who was laughing at that? Seriously?

Given the possibilities within WWE today, it would have been a bad choice. Given the decided match list for Wrestlemania 23, it was the best choice from the given options.

I don't remember one person laughing at that. In fact, I think a lot of people thought it should be. Even JR said if he had a say he'd have it be last.
I think most people on here though and accepted that Cena/HBK would be last. But that doesn't mean they laughed at or were even opposed to Taker/Batista being last. In fact, it seemed to me like most people wanted that.

I actually argee with RP here.

Lot of people wanted HBK/Cena going on last.

<font color=goldenrod>I just love how this is two straight years now that Cena has bumped the Rumble winner away from the main event</font>

Next year we'll get what we want in the worst possible way: Cena will win the Rumble.

[JR] DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU TO HELL!!! [/JR]

Who holds the record for most consecutive main events (last match) at Mania? Hogan? And how many?

Umm... I know hogan had 1, 2, and 3, not 4 (that I believe was Savage vs DiBiase,) and then 5, 6, 7, 8, and you could say 9 if you count his match with Yoko.

Hunter had 20, 21, and 22. Cena had 22, and 23. So I guess Hogan wins at either 4 or 5, with Hunter and Cena just under him.

Oh and wait a minute, Rock had 15, 16, and 17. So he's tied with HHH.

Yeah, I know. It takes a special kind of man to get on one knee...OH GOD THE TENSION!

You're just mad because you want his tongue.
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I'm just not sure if you want to possess it as your own, or if you just want it in you.
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I think I'm going to hell for that. But it's worth it.

Hogan had 5 in a row. HHH and Rock have each had 3, but also had 4 out of 5. On that note, Hogan had 8 out of 9. As for title matches, Austin had 3 in a row in which he participated, or 3 out of 4. Triple H had 5 in a row and 6 out of 7. But nobody's ever won the WWE or World championship match 3 years in a row like Cena has.

Nobody has ever lost a match for a world title three years in a row either, like HHH did (vs Benoit, vs Batista, then vs Cena)

YOU WILL REST...IN...CUNNILINGUS....

The card no longer builds to bigger matches, every match is big so who gives a shit? What a whiny thing to complain about.

The only thing I'm really complaining about is the burglary of the prestige of the Royal Rumble. If this was the card they wanted to build, they should have had Micheals win the Rumble, especially as he was the last one out anyways.

Frankly, I won't say he "deserved" it (I AM a huge Undertaker mark, but I try to be reasonable), but I do think it would have made more "sense", just as having that Triple Threat debacle at last year's event would have made more "sense". They always hype the Royal Rumble as a "chance to main event WrestleMania!"

Going on FOURTH though? I mean fuck, they might as well say (on air) that if you beat Steve Lombardi, you can "main event" WrestleMania.

I was caught off guard by them not having them go out last. Made the rest of the night seem off.

nah rock lost the main event for the title at 15, 16 and 17

Rock's main event at 17 wasn't for the title; it was a match with Hogan.

That was at 18. Are you people fucking serious?

WM15 Philadelphia PA Rock vs Stone Cold. w/Stone Cold

wm16 Anaheim, CA Fatal Four way HHH pins Rock

wm17 Houston TX Rock vs Austin w/Austin

Wrestlemania X8 was Rock vs Hogan, and it wasn't even the main event. And yes of course it wasn't for the title.

Austin w/Austin? Nah, just kidding. Sorry about that, man. I fucked up.