10: Shane McMahon Tears His Quad – WrestleMania 39

WrestleMania 39 featured a completely unexpected return, as the prodigal son, Shane McMahon returned to WWE to challenge The Miz. McMahon received a hero’s welcome from the audience, yet this applause quickly turned to concern when McMahon was lying in a heap on the mat. It turned out that during a leapfrog attempt, the former European Champion had torn his quad.

An injury of this magnitude happening during a live WrestleMania broadcast put WWE in a difficult position, yet thanks to quick communication, WWE improvised, and had Snoop Dogg quickly punch The Miz, and follow it up with a People’s Elbow. WWE and their talent must be prepared for anything, and the aftermath of McMahon’s injury couldn’t have been handled any better.  

9: The Bladejobs – WrestleMania 8

During the early 1990s, WWE had a strict no-blood policy, and this applied to all wrestlers across the board. However, when it came to WrestleMania 8, two wrestlers decided that a little bloodshed would enhance their respective matches.

Firstly, during Bret Hart’s match with Roddy Piper, Hart bladed, and he did such a convincing job with making it look like he was busted open in a legitimate manner, that he avoided a fine and any punishment. The same can’t be said for Ric Flair, as the prone-blader, decided to blade during his WWE Title showdown vs. The Macho Man, and it was so obvious what Flair had done, that Vince McMahon fined both men a reported figure of $500,000.

According to the late, Lanny Poffo during an interview with Inside The Ropes, Flair obtained genuine heat from McMahon, yet Poffo admits the crowd loved the incorporation of blood into the title matchup:

“Ric caught some legitimate heat from Vince McMahon for blading during the match and was fined… Things had changed since I did that blade job for Andre the Giant. The company didn’t want the boys blading at that point. But Ric knew how fans reacted to seeing blood staining his blond hair and did it anyway. Vince was mad, but the fans loved it.”

8: Big Show’s Spot Gets Cut Short– WrestleMania 33

For the most part, the Andre The Giant memorial battle royal at WrestleMania 33 was a typical battle royal; however, the early elimination of Big Show did come as a huge surprise, as Big Show was one of the biggest names in the match. It was reported at the time that Big Show was unhappy backstage, as he was supposed to have an extended spot in the match with Braun Strowman, and the spot was reportedly cut short by numerous wrestlers failing to let the moment breathe.

Former WWE star, Sean Waltman AKA X-Pac would discuss the blunder on his radio show, and this is what Waltman had to say:

“Before the thing was even over Big Show had a bunch of guys that were in the Battle Royal back in the back and he was going off… I think it was over the stuff with him and Strowman. Because they had a moment there and I think the moment got taken from them too quick…”

7: Dominik Mysterio Throws Water At His Sister – WrestleMania 39

WrestleMania 39 saw Rey and Dominik Mysterio finally collide in a 1 vs. 1 matchup. The match lived up to expectations, and it was the perfect match to bring an acclaimed rivalry to a close.

An interesting fact about the WrestleMania 39 matchup is that Dominik went off script and threw water at his sister. This unplanned spot was a great move, as it took the intensity of the match to the next level, and Dirty Dom himself offered some insight on the improvised spot during an appearance on The Ringer Wrestling Show:

"… I didn't know I was going to throw a drink at my sister. I walked down and saw her holding a cup and thought, 'This dumbass is holding a cup.' I grabbed it, was going to drink it, and saw there was a little bit of water and said, 'That's just a little bit,' so I figured I would throw it on her. That was a blast. Looking back at it now, I threw it with some force. She didn't expect it at all. It's a lot of fun. Hopefully, I get to do some more stuff where I get to torture them. It's a blast…”

6: Raven Almost Cuts The Power – WrestleMania 17

From top to bottom, everything on the WrestleMania 17 card came together to produce a beloved and celebrated PPV event.

One of the more underrated matches on the show saw Kane, Big Show and Raven face off in a chaotic yet thrilling Hardcore match for the Hardcore Title.

One infamous spot in the match saw Raven drive a golf cart into a mesh fence wall backstage, and this wall covered the wires that powered the entire building. Raven was legitimately a few inches away from cutting power to the entire building.

Speaking to Fightful, the wrestling veteran gave his recollection of the incident:

“But I ruined the greatest spot in the history of WrestleMania. We were supposed to be driving and Big Show’s choking while I was driving, and I was supposed to drive all around the building with Kane driving behind us in hot pursuit. What happened was that there was a fence that looked like a wall fence so I thought if I [drove] into it and bounced off, it would look cool because I was getting choked by a 400-pound guy. Then I hit the fence, didn’t get back anything and I just fell off the curb. But the best part is that I came within millimetres of turning off the power in the entire building…”

5: WrestleMania 24’s Pyro Accident

WrestleMania always has awe-inspiring pyro, yet in 2008 at WrestleMania 24, the pyro used for the PPV went horrifically wrong.

When The Undertaker had defeated Edge to become World Champion during the main event, an extravagant pyro display would ensue, yet unfortunately these fireworks malfunctioned, as the fireworks landed into a group of fans.

It’s believed that around 40 fans were injured, and some of these fans suffered burns. Three fans left WrestleMania in an ambulance as a result of their injuries, and the backlash and media attention was so severe that WWE were forced to issue a statement:

"We’re investigating the incident and doing everything we can to find out why it happened and to make sure it never happens again. While we apologize to anyone who was injured and/or alarmed by this occurrence, we take solace in the fact that the reported injuries were minor."

4: Papa Shango’s Timing Blunder – WrestleMania 8

The main event of WrestleMania 8 didn’t exactly light the world on fire. The main event was a standard singles match between Hulk Hogan and Sid, and it ended in a DQ victory for Hogan. The match was incredibly lacklustre, especially when it comes to WrestleMania main events. The planned finish of the match was supposed to see Papa Shango break up a pin attempt from Hogan, yet Shango missed his cue, meaning that Sid had to kick out of a trademark Hogan leg-drop.

Charles Wright, who portrayed the spooky persona discussed what went wrong during an interview with Scheduled For Two Falls:

“…The problem is that they knew I was green so they were going, ‘Don’t go until we tell you to go.’ And so, for whatever reason I got the cue late. I didn’t know. I’m there at the curtain like a track star getting ready to run and it was a long way.So, then they say, ‘GO! GO! GO! GO’ and I went. Once I got there I was like, ‘Oh s**t what’s going on’, because I wasn’t watching the monitors. I never heard anything about it for years and I mean years later. I’m doing autograph signings and people are like, ‘Hey what happened when you missed the cue’ and I’m like, ‘No I didn’t, what do you mean?’”

3: A Botched Ending – WrestleMania 35

The women of WWE took centre stage at WrestleMania 35, as Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair main evented the show. 

Whilst seeing Lynch become dual champion in WWE was incredible, the botched finish did ultimately overshadow the epic moment.

The match finish saw Rousey attempt to hit a Piper’s Pit on Lynch, yet this attempt was countered into a crucifix pin, and this managed to pin Rousey to the mat. The problem here was that this wasn’t the planned finish, and Rousey’s shoulders were clearly up.

It's unclear what was supposed to be the finish of the match, as there’s conflicting reports. Some reports at the time stated that Lynch was supposed to tap-out Flair to the Dis-Arm-Her, whilst some reports note that Lynch was supposed to make Rousey submit.

2: Mike Tyson Goes Off Script – WrestleMania 14

One of the most iconic moments of WrestleMania 14, saw boxer Mike Tyson knockout Shawn Michaels. This was a scripted spot, yet the spot which saw Tyson place a Stone Cold t-shirt over HBK’s face caused a ton of controversy.

The spot in question was in the initial WrestleMania run-down, yet HBK believed the spot was disrespectful, so he insisted it was removed.

Tyson ultimately decided to do the spot anyway, which naturally made HBK, who was notoriously problematic at the time, absolutely livid. The former WWE Champion was so angry that he attempted to confront Tyson at the post show press conference, and he had to be physically stopped by Shane McMahon. 

1: Stone Cold’s Blade Job – WrestleMania 13

The word masterpiece is thrown around a lot when it comes to pro wrestling, yet the match between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Bret Hart at WrestleMania is an outstanding showcase of everything that is great about pro wrestling. The match featured a double turn, and it was responsible for creating one of the most influential and popular babyfaces of all time in Stone Cold.

The most well-known element of the match is Austin’s blood-shed, as Austin being covered in blood whilst screaming in pain is one of the main reasons the match connected with so many fans. Believe it or not, blood wasn’t permitted for the match, as WWE had a strict no blood policy.

It was Hart’s idea to deviate away from WWE’s rulebook, and Hart offered a fascinating account on why he made the call during an appearance on Edge & Christian’s podcast:

“I said you don't want to take any chances at WrestleMania. Trust me, let me do it. He trusted me ... I remember one of the first things I learned in the business was to never let anyone do that to you and Steve totally trusted me. I said 'Trust me because I'll do it right'…”

“There could have been a lot of heat. I could have been in just as much trouble as Steve at that time. They had had a no blood policy for a while and the toy companies, and everybody were on Vince's a**. So I was like 'Let's just pretend it was an accident. What are they guna do?'..”