15 pro wrestling bookings that went horribly wrong

4. John Cena vs. The Rock being a “Once in a Lifetime” match … that we saw twice; WrestleMania 28-29

Let’s give credit where it’s due: When John Cena wants to build a big match, John Cena builds the hell out of that match.

That’s exactly what “Once in a Lifetime” means. John Cena vs. The Rock was something that fans had talked about, but few believed would actually happen. At WrestleMania XXVIII, the two superstars met for the very first time in the show’s main event, with The People’s Champion toppling Mr. Hustle, Loyalty and Respect with a massive Rock Bottom in Rock’s hometown of Miami.

That should’ve been the end of it.

Instead, the two built a rematch for WrestleMania one year in advance, which sounded different and kinda cool. No match at WrestleMania had ever had that much build leading up to it, but when you bill a match as a “Once in a Lifetime” match, it should be, you know … once in a lifetime. Not twice, which is exactly what we got.

They tried to up the stakes with Cena winning his second Royal Rumble match in January and having Rock win the WWE Championship on the same night from who else? CM Punk.

Their match for the gold at WrestleMania that year was just a bunch of finishing maneuvers, Rock getting severely injured and still finishing the match and a weird sense of a torch being passed even though Cena was the company’s biggest star since Rock truly left the company in 2004.

This one is simple: when you book a match to only happen once … don’t do it twice.