How do you define "main event"?

[King Patrick]

Out of the choices listed above:

The last match on the card, no exceptions
This is the correct answer in my opinion, although it absolutely never started that way.

Last match on the card + WWE Championship match
Having the WWE Championship is a bonus, but this is the formula I love the most. It just feels right in every aspect you can think of traditionally and looking ahead to the future. If you change this formula, you’re fixing something that’s not broken. The last match belongs to the richest prize. If it doesn’t, then it might give off the impression that it’s not as important as a grudge between “friends”, or a grudge between apples and oranges, or the 2nd place medal, or a winning streak vs. a career, or college sophomores coming back to their old high school to beat up the high school juniors. It’s doesn’t happen in Boxing, right??

The WWE Championship match, no exceptions
I really want to feel this way. I really do. I was even in denial during WM VIII when the WWE Championship match didn’t close the show. I was angry that the WWE Championship match didn’t close the show at WM XI. I finally accepted it at WM XX. I said out loud, “Fine, let the Big Gold have ONE.” One turned into two immediately the year after. At WM XXIV, I justified my own argument with the formula (WWE Title = World Title + Undertaker’s WM Streak). By XXVI, I stopped caring about placement altogether and accepted that “Anything can happen in the WWE”.

Any match on a card that receives significant hype
Using my favorite Mania as an example, Triple H / Booker T got hype. McMahon / Hogan got hype. Austin / Rock got hype, but the Main Event was Angle / Lesnar.

The match I'm most interested in, ignoring hype
If this were the case, then Jericho Main Evented WM X8 and every other Mania he’s been on, which it’s not the case.

The match that has Cena/HHH/Taker/Brock/Rock in it
If WrestleMania opened with John Cena defending the World Championship against Triple H, Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, and The Rock in a Championship Scramble, would you consider that the Main Event of the evening?? Granted, there aren’t many matches that can top that, but let’s say, for argument sake, that the other Main Event, which is the last match on the card, is CM Punk vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin…for the WWE Title. If the Scramble went on last and Punk / Austin went first, would you still feel the same?? To me, it’s whatever the last thing you see on the TV.

[TWJC: The Beginning]

the match people paid to see. In music, the main event is the last act and the same with wrestling. However, at some shows, like lolapalooza, there are many huge draws and so who is on last doesn't really matter. It's like an all star show. So there are exceptions.

[CBKDiamond]

The main-event SHOULD be the last match on the card... but should also be for one of the World Championship's... no matter what PPV it is, no matter what other matches are on the card, the WWE Championship or the World Heavyweight Championship always should be the last match on the card. I remember watching a DVD once, I think it was the History of WrestleMania DVD, and I believe it was Triple H who said "I didn't want to go on after Hogan/Rock, but they said we had to, it was the title"... that was WrestleMania 18. Hogan/Rock was Icon vs. Icon, the leader of the previous generation, versus the leader of the new generation... but the Undisputed Championship Match between Triple H and Chris Jericho still main-evented, and it should've.

In the past 10 years, we've seen things drastically changed, we've seen the WWE and The WHC be placed on the back-burner and other feuds get more attention to the Championship feuds... THAT CANNOT HAPPEN! This is the reason why the prestige in the Championships has dropped so much, because they get placed on the back-burner and other non-title feuds get more of the spotlight... which isn't the problem, it's the match order that's the problem. World Championship matches deserve to be in the main event.