5 Most Shocking WWE WrestleMania Endings

David slays Goliath, Mario saves the Princess, Superman holds off annihilation once more. If ever a squared circle spectacular were to have a storybook ending, it would have to come at WrestleMania, the most boldly-circled day on the wrestling calendar. And it's true - through three-and-a-half decades of Manias come and gone, the sheer majority of the events have concluded with the designated hero beating the bad guy and/or obtaining long-elusive spoils. Predictable? Sure. Welcome anyway? Usually.

But that hasn't always been the case. For the high volume of WrestleManias that have ended via Hulk Hogan's routine pose-a-thon, or a triumphant John Cena standing tall underneath bursts of pyro, there have been occasions where the finishing sequence was something completely out of left field. And on some of those occasions, that jarring dose of implanted reality was welcome (emphasis on "some").

You may concur that more than five WrestleMania endings qualify as shocking developments, but these, for my money, are the five that came as the biggest surprises.

David slays Goliath, Mario saves the Princess, Superman holds off annihilation once more. If ever a squared circle spectacular were to have a storybook ending, it would have to come at WrestleMania, the most boldly-circled day on the wrestling calendar. And it's true - through three-and-a-half decades of Manias come and gone, the sheer majority of the events have concluded with the designated hero beating the bad guy and/or obtaining long-elusive spoils. Predictable? Sure. Welcome anyway? Usually.

But that hasn't always been the case. For the high volume of WrestleManias that have ended via Hulk Hogan's routine pose-a-thon, or a triumphant John Cena standing tall underneath bursts of pyro, there have been occasions where the finishing sequence was something completely out of left field. And on some of those occasions, that jarring dose of implanted reality was welcome (emphasis on "some").

You may concur that more than five WrestleMania endings qualify as shocking developments, but these, for my money, are the five that came as the biggest surprises.

5. The Architect Cashes In (WrestleMania 31)

Has it been five years already? Five whole years since the Santa Clara was divided - half wanting Roman Reigns to lose, and other half wanting he and WWE champion Brock Lesnar to both just no-show?

A year had passed since vociferous fan sentiment willed Daniel Bryan into WWE's plans. Didn't seem like it was going to work this time, but there *was* an amendment to the scripted plan - it just didn't show itself until the 59th minute of the eleventh hour.

As Reigns and Lesnar sold their respective beatings, Seth Rollins' music hit, and the brief-case toting villain flew down the ramp, an "Option C" that people could really get behind.

4. The Warrior Returns (WrestleMania 8)

Seven months earlier, Warrior and Vince McMahon parted on very sour terms. The face-painted superhero was fired almost immediately after coming back through the curtain at the 1991 SummerSlam after trying to hold McMahon up for a heftier deal in the preceding weeks.

The bad blood and uneasy feelings may have continued to linger, but McMahon, knowing that Hulk Hogan was bound for hiatus, needed star power come the spring of 1992.

It was already stunning enough when Hogan's victory over Sid Justice in the main event was a disqualification. But that was secondary the moment a rehired Warrior's music hit, and Jim Hellwig gunned it down the long Hoosierdome aisle.

3. The Bad Guy Wins (WrestleMania 2000)

The first 15 WrestleManias ended the same way - some good guy standing tall, usually while holding the WWF championship overhead, following a titanic victory. When one previous 'Mania threatened to end with a victorious and exultant heel, a little "deus ex machina" came into play to fix that.

So when WrestleMania 2000 signed off Triple H still holding the world title, pinning The Rock after Vince McMahon got involved, it simply did not compute.

Even The Rock getting his revenge by laying out all of the villainous McMahons didn't fix the gallingness of seeing a heel win the final WrestleMania match for the first time.

2. Two Title Changes (WrestleMania 9)

A daring bettor may have wagered on a heel walking out of WrestleMania with the gold, but it takes a true clairvoyant type to predict what happened over the final few minutes of WrestleMania 9 in Las Vegas.

As hinted at in the prior entry, World champion Bret Hart lost the belt to the mammoth Yokozuna, which would've been the first time a heel walked out of WrestleMania with the belt, *and* first time a heel won the final match.

That's when Hulk Hogan magically arrived, magically got an immediate title match, and magically defeated Yokozuna to win the belt, creating a happy ending more contrived than the plot twist in Shut In.

1. Stone Cold Sells His Soul (WrestleMania 17)

The WWF title match pitting The Rock against Stone Cold Steve Austin is the best match of the former's career, and in the top five for the latter. A competitive, gritty, emotionally-gripping fight between two industrial cornerstones, you figured a humble handshake was coming from the loser afterwards.

But no. Vince McMahon interjected himself into the brawl, helping mortal enemy Austin take down Rock. Somewhere along the way, the usually-brash Austin had his self-confidence jostled, so he bought himself some unlikely insurance.

Austin's heel turn (which Stone Cold was having seconds thoughts about, even as he and Vince were toasting brews in the ring) brought the greatest WrestleMania of all time to a shocking and befuddling end.