It's one thing to know in advance the trainers were going to annihilate Samus, but another thing entirely to see it unfold. Remember when Yokozuna ended Hulkamania and Hogan didn't return to the WWF for 10 years? There was a clear changing of the guard there, and everyone sensed it. The only thing that remained from here was just how far the trainers could go. Beating Mario would be a monumental, but not impossible, task. Then in the final, anything could happen. The trainers would go on to lose to Mario, of course, but not before scaring the absolute daylights out of him.