4 times WWE presented 'one last match'
WWE loves its marketing lines and bits to, well, bits. Advertising well enough to sell tickets and shows is the kind of thing they excel at, having promoted matches for decades.
Even today, one can clearly see the marketing and advertising chops WWE possesses. We all knew the company calling Edge vs. Randy Orton at WrestleMania Backlash the 'Greatest Wrestling Match Ever' was a bit of a stretch, but that didn't stop us from tuning in in droves in the hope that it MAY turn out to be just that.
A tried-and-tested hook Vince McMahon and team employ extensively is the 'last match' bait. Time has proven that wrestling fans love final chapters and they'll always show up in the hopes of witnessing history. Over the years, WWE has promoted 'last fights' many times, and not all of them have turned out to be that way.
On that note, we look at four times WWE presented the idea of 'one last match' and how the contests panned out.
#4 On our list of 'last matches' WWE has presented: The Shield's Final Chapter (2019)
With news breaking that Dean Ambrose was leaving WWE after the expiry of his contract, it meant that The Shield would no longer be a thing. Their status as one of the greatest factions of all time meant WWE went out of their way to present the trio's final match together.
The company booked a pay-per-view titled 'The Shield's Final Chapter' in a nod to the ending they were getting. The main event saw Ambrose and his SHIELD partners Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins take on Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre, and Baron Corbin in a six-man tag team match. The group emerged victorious in their final outing as a team.
As of today, Reigns and Rollins are going strong in the company while Ambrose is honing his craft as Jon Moxley in AEW. It looks to have well and truly been The Shield's last hurrah. However, we can never say never, can we?
#3 The Undertaker takes on Triple H in one final battle
The End of an Era Hell in a Cell between Triple H and The Undertaker was about as great as potential finales could get. The image of HHH, 'Taker, and Shawn Michaels standing on the WrestleMania ramp is one of the most iconic moments in wrestling history.
That is also the reason why everyone flinched for a bit when WWE announced that The Game and The Phenom would do battle one last time in Melbourne, Australia. In what is so far their last war of attrition, Hunter finally beat his illustrious rival in a No Disqualification match after interference from both Kane and Shawn Michaels. With both men officially retired today, it looks to have been their last ride together.
#2 The Rock and John Cena team up at Survivor Series
WWE captioned the main event of Survivor Series 2011 'Never Before, Never Again'. They were referring to The Rock and John Cena facing The Miz and R-Truth as tag team partners given the animosity between them.
This was Rocky's first match since 2004, and the excitement for it was palpable. The build saw him and Cena throwing shade at each other while also trying to be professional. Fast-forward to match day, and it was the combustible team who picked up the victory after a People's Elbow from The Great One.
Bar a segment at WrestleMania 32 wherein Rock and Cena teamed up to dispose of The Wyatt Family, the company never gave us a rerun of the unlikely tag team. We wish we could say the same for the next entry, because we are still salty about it.
#1 Once in a Lifetime
Nah, this was a joke. It has been ten years since this match and it's still rage-inducing. Why, WWE, why?
'Once in a Lifetime' was a reminder that as much as we all love Vince McMahon and company, sometimes they really don't mean what they say. The Rock and John Cena's clash at WrestleMania XXVIII was billed as a one-and-done between the biggest stars of their generations, and we naively believed the four-word description for it.
The match was fantastic and saw a finish that has been immortalized as an all-timer. However, one year down the line, it really became 'Twice in a Lifetime' when Cena and Rock met at WrestleMania 29. The WWE Championship being on the line did little to take away from the fact that the previous year's clash was presented as the first and last time.
Needless to say, the sequel wasn't as well received as its predecessor. There have been many times when WWE has promised a final battle and stuck to their word, but this was most certainly not one of those times. Looking back on the first Rock versus Cena match, some of the shine has worn off after seeing what happened a year later.