WrestleMania has been the endgame for every wrestler that has ever entered World Wrestling Entertainment. It has been WWE’s golden goose for 42 years now and is the pinnacle of any wrestler’s career. This is especially true for any wrestler who is lucky enough to walk into WrestleMania with the opportunity to compete for a World Championship. It is every wrestler’s dream to one day have the chance to win a World Championship on the grandest stage.
WrestleMania has the eyes of the world on it, and because of this, only the best challengers should be stepping up to the plate. Alas, not everything is perfect, and there have been some instances when the world was left scratching its head at the challengers that emerged for WWE’s World Championships. Below, we will look at the worst challengers to ever compete for a World Championship at WrestleMania.
King Kong Bundy – WrestleMania 2 (1986)
King Kong Bundy was one of WWE’s most recognizable heels. The Walking Condominium was a massive man, with an even more massive mean streak. He would destroy everyone standing across from him. He’d demand that the referee give him a five-count, instead of the usual three. It was a demoralizing move, and one that made him one of the faces of WWE’s early era.
As great as King Kong Bundy was, he was not the man who should have walked into WrestleMania 2 as Hulk Hogan’s challenger. Bundy was great as a mid-card heel, but he never achieved any main event notoriety. His biggest wins came at the expense of outside interference. He proved unable to win the big match on multiple occasions. He was a great challenger for Hulk Hogan at Saturday Night’s Main Event, but at WrestleMania? Not a chance. There was a single audience member who believed that Hogan’s World Championship was in jeopardy. Even the addition of a steel cage did nothing to heighten the excitement of King Kong Bundy.
Hulk Hogan – WrestleMania 9 (1993)
Heading into WrestleMania 9, the world was on the edge of its seat with anticipation. Fan favourite WWE Champion Bret Hart was walking into the main event against insurmountable odds as he defended against Japan’s Sumo Champion, Yokozuna. It proved to be a highlight match on an underwhelming card, and the fans were left exhausted after what they thought was the finish to WrestleMania 9. That was until Hulk Hogan used some stroke to make the end of the event about him.
As Yokozuna celebrated his victory over Bret Hart, Hulk Hogan interjected, getting the newly minted WWE Champion to put his championship on the line in an impromptu match. It was short, made no sense, and ended with Hulk Hogan stealing a victory. This moment was a slap in the face to all the hard work that both Bret Hart and Yokozuna had put in. They built a great program, produced a great match, all to have it dashed away for Hogan to have the spotlight shine on him alone. It was a black mark that ended one of WWE’s weakest WrestleManias.
