5 WWE WrestleMania results that should have gone the other way
WWE WrestleMania 37 is on the horizon, which leads to many members of the WWE Universe reflecting on "what could have been" in certain WrestleMania matches.
There have been many matches throughout professional wrestling history where fans in the arenas and watching at home felt like the wrong person had won. This can be for a variety of reasons such as storyline purposes, developing a new star or simply to garner a positive reaction from the audience.
Nevertheless, the "obvious choice" doesn't always win in a professional match, despite how obvious it may be to the audience.
Let's take a closer look at five WWE WrestleMania results that should have gone the other way.
#5 Stone Cold Steve Austin def. Scott Hall (WWE WrestleMania X8)
WWE Chairman Vince McMahon made the controversial decision to bring the legendary New World Order faction into WWE in 2002. The stable consisted of former WWE legends Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. All of whom had left the promotion in the mid-1990s to jump to WCW.
The nWo was responsible for the rise of WCW and the company's dominance over WWE for 83 straight weeks in the Monday Night television ratings war. However, after WWE eventually prevailed over its rivals, Vince McMahon made the offer for Hogan, Hall and Nash to re-join the WWE, despite protests from senior WWE talent.
Upon his return to the company, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were quickly placed into a feud with top star Stone Cold Steve Austin, while Hulk Hogan feuded with The Rock. These feuds culminated in matches pitting Hall against Austin and Hogan against Rock at WrestleMania X8.
According to reports, Scott Hall was scheduled to defeat The Texas Rattlesnake on the grandest stage of them all. However, plans were altered at the last minute and Steve Austin walked away victorious over Scott Hall. With The Rock also defeating Hulk Hogan at the event, the nWo had lost both their major matches at WrestleMania.
Due to such high-profile defeats, any momentum the villianous faction had prior to WrestleMania effectively ended on that night. Had WWE stuck to the original plan, the nWo would have still had some credibility and could have continued as a dominant force in WWE going forward.