100 Worst WWE Matches Ever - The Great Big (Dis)Honourable Mentions List
This is always my favourite post of any list. First of all, it addresses (in theory) any questions and omissions the readers may have thought of through the process. No doubt there may be some obscure match on an episode of Superstars that someone may be adamant is the worst match they have ever seen, but for the most part I think I have caught most of the widely recognised worst matches ever. I pride myself on the amount of research, watching, and re-watching I do in these processes, and this post is my own little testament to the pain I’ve put myself through. Every match on the top 100 list, plus in the Dishonourable Mentions list has been re-watched by myself in this process, for a total of roughly 170 different matches on the shortlist.
Not only does this cover some of the more famous hated matches that missed the cut, but also includes a few of my personal least favourite matches that are not widely despised.
This list is also not just a list of matches that just missed the cut. It also includes famously despised ones that I do not believe warrant the levels of hate that they tend to get.
Without further ado, here’s some dishonourable mentions, in date order. This is not an exhaustive list, so if I have missed anything you think I should have considered, let me know and I’ll see if I covered it as part of my research.
1985
Leilani Kai vs. Wendi Richter - Wrestlemania 1 - an ugly catfight of a match that barely resembles a wrestling match at all. However, they innovated a frankly impressive amount of hair-pulling based offence, and they worked hard.
1986
Mr T vs. Roddy Piper - Wrestlemania 2 - If I wanted to watch a fixed boxing match between 2 celebrities, I’d watch boxing in 2024. I couldn’t in good conscience classify this as a wrestling match and therefore disqualified from consideration. However, as someone who doesn’t enjoy boxing on any level, I can’t stand this, and if it did count as a match I would certainly find a place for it. Hell, Vince McMahon and Susan Saint’s commentary almost makes me want to include the entirety of Wrestlemania 2 from New York.
Ted Arcidi vs. Tony Atlas - August 9th, WWF on NESN - Thought I’d put this in here because, as far as “workrate” goes, this is likely worse than any of the 100 matches. I remember reviewing it for Ken in my Worst of Pro Wrestling series. The only reason I omitted it was because the potential of including a match like this would open a massive can of worms to other similar matches tucked away on obscure, hard-to-find tapes in a particular blind spot of my wrestling fandom. However, if you want to know what I believe is the worst match in WWE history from a workrate perspective that I’ve ever seen, it’s probably this.
1987
Andre the Giant vs. Hulk Hogan - Wrestlemania 3 - Figured I’d put this on here in case anyone asks for it. The Meltzer rating of this is of course arguably the most infamous of his career - even if he has since revised it. If you are expecting me to say anything bad about this match, I am not sure you know my taste in wrestling. This is good, and know that you are wrong if you think this in any way belongs on a worst-of pro wrestling list.
1988
Ultimate Warrior vs. Hercules - Wrestlemania 4 - There’s a reason this show is my least favourite Wrestlemania ever - it’s not just the tournament matches that suck. For two muscle heads, not a single move looks convincing or impactful. Its short length probably saved it.
Andre the Giant vs. Hulk Hogan - Wrestlemania 4 - Unlike Wrestlemania 3, this one was in consideration. Andre didn’t look great in 1987, but just a year later he looks so much worse. In the end I opted against it due to the short length, plus I already had a few (much worse) late-era Andre matches. Any more would be overkill.
Brutus Beefcake vs. Honky Tonk Man - Wrestlemania 4 - Four matches from Wrestlemania 4 made the final shortlist. If I were naming my top 100 least favourite wrestlers ever, both these men would be on it. Yet, somehow, a lot better than the disastrous Jake Roberts vs. Rick Rude also on this card. Who’d have thought it?
Super Ninja vs. Ultimate Warrior - Saturday Night’s Main Event, 25th November - if you ever followed TNA during “Gut Check”, you may remember Kris Lewie. Super Ninja is probably the closest to WWE’s equivalent to that. At just 2 minutes long, the length of this match saved it from a high placement. If you’ve ever wanted to watch a match where Ultimate Warrior looks like Ricky Steamboat by comparison to his opponent, check this out.
1989
The Bushwackers vs. The Rougeau Brothers - Wrestlemania 5 - saved purely by the fact that there are worse Bushwacker matches, and I couldn’t stomach putting too many of them on my list.
Jim Duggan vs. Bad News Brown - Wrestlemania 5 - I’ve seen this a few times before, but I don’t remember anything about it. All 2022 Shock says about it is “Not List Worthy”. Thanks, 2022 Shock. 2024 Shock will not take the time to revisit and elaborate further.
Honky Tonk Man vs. Dusty Rhodes - Summerslam - Way too long for what it should have been, especially at this stage in Honky Tonk Man’s career. It nearly made my list purely off the back of Jimmy Hart being completely and utterly insufferable as he usually is. This era is seen as a black mark against Dusty’s career and it’s easy to see why.
1990
Dusty Rhodes vs. Randy Savage - Summerslam - Too short to make the list, more of an angle than a match.
1991
Koko B Ware vs. The Mountie - Royal Rumble - Slow, long, sloppy, Jimmy Hart - yep, all the makings of a bad match. Horrible start for the Mountie.
Jake Roberts vs. Rick Martel - Wrestlemania 7 - Similar to Hogan vs Andre at Wrestlemania 3, I have to put this on here because it has a reputation for how allegedly bad it is. This is one of the most underrated matches ever. It’s a lot of fun, has great psychology, the crowd is great, and is always a blast to watch. This was never close to consideration.
1992
Money Inc vs. Natural Disasters - Wrestlemania 8 - I like Earthquake. I like Ted DiBiase. Typhoon gave me my namesake on the forum. And IRS indirectly provided me with so much content for this list. Perhaps for those reasons, I never considered this.
1993
Lex Luger vs. Yokozuna - Summerslam - I know the finish is awful, and the post match may have been the stupidest that any babyface has ever looked in the history of wrestling. But I think the match is a lot better than their Wrestlemania X match that did make the list. Maybe I have a soft spot for both men and didn’t fancy including both of their matches.
1994
No dishonourable mentions. All shortlisted matches from 1994 ended up making the list. Well done 1994, I guess.
1995
The Royal Rumble Match - Royal Rumble - This has a reputation for being one of the worst Rumbles. It is bad with very little star power, but is saved by the fact it’s relatively short for a Rumble. Plus a hefty effort from Michaels (especially in the last minute or so) pretty much saves this.
Goldust vs. Marty Jannetty - In Your House 4 - Genuinely one of the worst debuts you’ll ever see. I’m sure there’s a point in time where Dustin Rhodes vs Marty Jannetty sounds like a damn fun time, but 1995 was certainly not that time.
Mabel vs. Yokozuna - In Your House 4 - You know, Mabel was close to having 3 consecutive PPV appearances on this list. However, it is perversely entertaining to watch these two mammoths battling it out. I found myself enjoying the spectacle, which is more than I can say for the rest of the show.
Diesel vs. Davey Boy Smith - In Your House 4 - This was pretty boring when Davey Boy was on offence, but there was enough good to keep it off the list. God this show in particular sucks. Of the 6 matches on the card, 4 were on the shortlist with 1 (Razor Ramon vs Dean Douglas) making the final list.
Henry Godwinn vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley - In Your House 5 - You may think I’m being ridiculous, but pigs are among my favourite animals. They are adorable, and I love them all. For that reason, I cannot put this on a worst-of list.
1996
Goldust vs. Roddy Piper - Wrestlemania 12 - Vince McMahon without a hint of subtlety or comedic timing says the car chase “images look awfully familiar”. God I hate commentator Vince. Despite this, still a better cinematic match than most of 2020, and Piper has one of his good days which keeps it oddly entertaining.
Goldust vs. Undertaker - In Your House 9 - Man, this time period sucked for Dustin Rhodes’ workrate. Stalling, awful, was a late omission from the list. Probably benefits from the Ultimate Warrior match outshitting it. You could take most Goldust matches from 1996 and put them into consideration for the list. The other Goldust vs Undertaker matches were slightly better than this, but still not good.
1997
The Royal Rumble Match - Royal Rumble - These late 90s Rumbles were all much of a muchness. The Austin and Bret stuff gave me just enough enjoyment to rank it above the 1999 Royal Rumble. This would be in my top 150.
Faarooq vs. The Undertaker - This one feels more mediocre than outright bad. It’s boring, and nobody bought Faarooq as a challenger.
Sgt Slaughter vs. Triple H - In Your House 19: D-Generation X - Some absolute tit thought that having Sgt Slaughter wrestle a 17 minute match in 1997 was a good idea. This was the very last omission from the list, and therefore number 101. Slaughter looks terrible, and the match is about 15 minutes too long, if it even needed to exist in the first place.
Important Note No.1
At this point, a special individual shout out to every single bra and panties, fulfill your fantasy, lingerie pillow fights, mud wrestling, pudding matches, and every other iteration of cheap horniness and sexual exploitation. With so much of this spread between the late 90s and 2008, trying to single out any in particular was an impossible task and therefore none made the list. All of them are a subject of their time. They’ve aged terribly; they’re almost always gross; and a lot of them make me embarrassed to be a wrestling fan. But hey, at least they never did a miscarriage angle for their mud wrestling, so a step up from WCW?
1998
Like 1994, all 1998 matches I considered made the list. Congratulations, 1998.
1999
Ken Shamrock vs. Undertaker - Backlash - This match bores me just thinking about it. If I wanted to watch people sit mindlessly in holds for 10 minutes, I’d watch Kane vs Undertaker from Judgment Day. Would certainly make my top 150
Fabulous Moolah vs. Ivory - No Mercy - What does it say about Sable and Tori that this match doesn’t make the list because of how bad the Wrestlemania 15 match is. Also at 3 minutes it is mercifully (get it?) short. In retrospect, I probably could have found a spot in the top 100 for this.
2000
Hardcore Battle Royal - Wrestlemania 2000 - One of those matches you really need to switch your brain off to enjoy, because the second you try and find logic in this is the moment it loses you. The finish is botched and particularly stupid, but because it’s the Hardcore title WWE didn’t care. Close to the list, but just missed out. I imagine there’s hundreds of Hardcore title matches that are as stupid as this.
Al Snow & Steve Blackman vs. T&A - Wrestlemania 2000 - This is stupid and unfunny, but it has evil 2000 Trish Stratus so it has a high floor to me. Plus I kinda sorta liked T&A as a lowercard power heel tag team? Definitely the best version of Test (shout out to Jazz Wolf on the Discord).
Naked Mideon vs. William Regal - No Mercy - I’ll be dead in my grave before I consider a William Regal match for a “worst of” list.
2001
Earl Hebner vs. Nick Patrick - Invasion - Does my list lose all credibility by leaving this off? Maybe. But fuck it, this has always been one of my wrestling guilty pleasures. At the very least, they fight like two men that aren’t trained to wrestle (cough cough, Shane McMahon, cough cough). Plus, Earl’s spear may be better than some prominent wrestlers who have used it as a finisher.
Diamond Dallas Page vs. Sara - Raw, 20th August 2001 - As a DDP fan, please let the pain end. The only compliment I give this is at least Sara didn’t beat him cleanly, which honestly wouldn’t have surprised me.
2002
Bradshaw vs. Scott Hall - Backlash - If I remember rightly, this had a reputation back in the day for how bad it was. And while it is certainly no good, I don’t think it’s even the worst match on this card …
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Undertaker - Backlash - One of the most tedious matches you are ever likely to see. These two famously had no chemistry together. Undertaker was still in a rough part of his career, and Austin had completely checked out at this point. Saved by the fact that there are worse main event matches from this time period, and it’s still better than some of their 1998-1999 matches. This was extremely close to making the cut.
Hulk Hogan vs. Triple H - Backlash - In the heavyweight battle between wrestling’s greatest politicians. Shockingly, 2002 Triple H saved this by bumping his ass off for Hogan. Not good, but I think a lot better than the match before it and therefore wasn’t close.
Hulk Hogan vs. Undertaker - Judgment Day - Hogan’s bumping is some of the worst you’ll see in a pay-per-view main event. However, still somehow much much better than Survivor Series 1991. Somehow. Maybe it was because it wasn’t 90% chokeholds.
2003
Mr America vs Roddy Piper - Judgment Day - In 1996, WWE were making fun of WCW running Hulk Hogan vs Roddy Piper, Here we are, 7 years later. This is sad for numerous reasons.
Kevin Nash vs. Triple H - Judgment Day - Close your eyes. Picture every Reign of Terror Triple H trope you can think of. The ref bump, the 20 minute match length, the sledgehammer, the DQ finish, the WCW alumni, the bladejob, Flair bumping more than anyone else in the match. This match has all of the above. Close to the list.
Scott Steiner vs. Test - Badd Blood - Famous for the Scott Steiner leap off the apron that has shamefully been edited out of the Network version. Steiner gets gassed early in the match and it never recovers. Stacy Keibler, bless her - I love her - can’t act.
Eric Bischoff vs. Shane McMahon - Summerslam - Would have been a solid choice. Everything involving Coach is fucking horrible. Which leads me on to …
Jonathan Coachman vs. Jim Ross - Raw, 29th September - My god, 2003 Raw sucked. This was the match just after Unforgiven where JR and Lawler got their job match. Thanks to actually having commentary, and not asking people to pay $40 for this, this avoided a spot in the list in lieu of the Unforgiven match.
2004
Lita vs. Victoria - Backlash - Ever wanted to watch Jerry Lynn vs RVD at x0.25 speed? There’s been technically worse women’s matches - much worse in fact, but considering these two are considered two of the better women from this era makes it stand out. I gave them the benefit of the doubt based on Lita just returning from injury.
Eugene vs. Triple H - Raw, 6th September - This is their steel cage match which promptly killed any of the surprise momentum Eugene had at this point. A gross, bloody squash that goes unnecessarily long and served to benefit absolutely nobody except presumably to beat up a special person on TV. Awful match, and was a late cut.
Heidenreich vs. The Undertaker - Survivor Series - Underrated, I guess. I think there’s probably been about 100 Undertaker versus the monster-of-the-week that are worse than this. Not close to the list.
Daniel Puder vs. Mike Mizanin - Armageddon - See my comments for Piper vs Mr T, paste here. Not good, not eligible.
2005
Maven vs. Shelton Benjamin - New Year’s Revolution - Tough one to rank. As an overall segment, this is certainly worth a top 100 spot. As a bell-to-bell (to-bell?) match(es), just missed out.
Akebono vs. Big Show - Wrestlemania 21 - See my comments for Piper vs. Mr T and Puder vs. Miz, paste here. Not good, not eligible.
John Bradshaw Layfield vs. John Cena - Wrestlemania 21 - A special shout out to this. The issue is that this is the end to an 8 month title reign and the crowning of your newest star. And yet the match is wrestled like a damn house show match, with Cena getting his ass kicked for 7 minutes before hitting the moves of doom for the win. Out of context, it’s whatever. In context, I could have found room for this.
Muhammad Hassan vs. The Undertaker - Great American Bash - An extended squash where Hassan didn’t get enough to stink up the joint too much. I don’t hate this, and it got Hassan off TV so I can’t judge it too harshly.
Batista vs. JBL - Great American Bash - Feels like any other JBL main event from 2004-2005. Way too long and very boring, but so utterly mediocre that they’re ultimately not listworthy.
2006
Boogeyman vs. Booker T & Sharmell - Wrestlemania 22 - mercifully short, and benefits that we can barely see anything thanks to Boogeyman’s smoke. Boogeyman is fucking awful though, and one of my least favourite wrestlers to watch. Booker T’s Wrestlemania resume continues to get worse.
Great Khali vs Undertaker - Judgment Day - OK, this isn’t good thanks to Khali (a performance so bad they took him off any live shows for a long time). However, Undertaker puts in a shockingly excellent and selfless performance. He sold his ass off for Khali, and that was enough for me to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Big Show vs. Undertaker - ECW, 23rd July - Big Show in 2006 is too easy of a target and I feel like I picked on him enough. There’s worse 2006 Big Show matches, and the Sci-Fi match with Batista overshadows this.
Big Show vs. Undertaker - Great American Bash - I promise I’m trying not to pick on 2006 Undertaker, because he’s far from at fault for any of these. If anything, his 2006 reminds me of early Undertaker where he’s just dumped with useless big lug after useless big lug all year (Kurt Angle excluded, of course). The Punjabi Prison gimmick is awful, and this was one of the last matches cut from the list. I am so glad Big Show took the time off he needed in 2006 because he looked like he was on death’s door here.
Shawn Michaels & Triple H vs Big Show & McMahons - Unforgiven - This is like the Dean Ambrose versus Chris Jericho asylum match. It had no idea whether it wanted to be a blood feud or a comedy match. Unlike Jericho versus Ambrose, it actually worked in one of those regards (the blood feud aspect), whereas Jericho versus Ambrose failed on all accounts.
Carlito vs. Jeff Hardy - Cyber Sunday - disastrous clash of styles, and some really ugly botches.
The Entirety Of ECW December To Dismember - Did you know I decided to watch this whole-ass show in the process of this project? Despite its deserved reputation as one of the worst PPVs of all time, no matches hit the very worst of WWE, though the mixed tag was likely the closest. The main event wasn’t close, but is one of the worst booked matches in WWE history.
2007
Finlay & Hornswoggle vs. Boogeyman & Little Boogey - No Way Out - can’t remember why I considered this, but harmless (relatively speaking, it’s still the Boogeyman).
Great Khali vs. Kane - Wrestlemania 23 - Close, but the Andre spot gives me a smile, which is more than I can say for Khali vs Batista at Summerslam which I opted for instead.
Great Khali vs. John Cena - Judgment Day - WC’s worst match of the year 2007. Can’t say I agree, thanks to another guy that went out of their way to try and get something watchable from Khali. He didn’t succeed (he would a month later), but Cena’s performance is enough to keep it off the list.
Deuce & Domino vs. Jimmy Snuka & Sgt Slaughter - Vengeance - How fitting that a show most famous for a different murderer features a 64-year-old Jimmy Snuka getting a tag title match. This match kind of demonstrates how bad the tag division was in a post-London and Kendrick world.
2008
John Cena & Randy Orton vs. The Entire Raw Roster - Raw, 17th March - Nah, this is fucking hilarious. The match screen alone makes this not worth a spot.
The Adamle Gauntlet - Raw, 20th October - Very close to the list. Extremely stupid concept and somehow worse in execution. Made many people, including the world champion, look like a moron.
Honky Tonk Man vs. Santino Marella - Cyber Sunday - Another of WC’s worst match of the year. You guys had bad opinions back then. This is way too short to be on the list, even if it does include Honky Tonk Man wrestling, much less in the year of our lord 2008.
2009
Big Show vs. John Cena - Extreme Rules - The match is centred around how will John Cena find a way to win without being able to use the STFU on Big Show. He then uses the STFU on Big Show for the win.
Santina Marella vs. Chavo Guerrero & Vickie Guerrero - Extreme Rules - Yes, there are two matches that don’t make the list due to my fondness of pigs. No, I do not regret this. I am also not going to exhaust two spots on this list to Santina Marella, thank you very much.
Kane vs. The Great Khali - Summerslam - Pretty much the same quality as their Wrestlemania but without the cool spot.
2010
Alicia Fox, LayCool, Maryse & Vickie Guerrero vs. Beth Phoenix, Eve Torres, Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim & Mickie James - Wrestlemania 26 - noteworthy for the fact that half the women fuck up their own finisher. However the frog splash by Vickie is a lovely moment even if commentary goes out of their way to ruin it. No worse than any other women’s match from this era.
Chris Jericho vs. Edge - Wrestlemania 26 - Excruciating. Edge is an awful babyface at this time of his career, and Jericho wasn’t in a position to carry him. The crowd had no interest in it, and what they delivered is one of the most boring matches in Wrestlemania history. The storyline sucked to boot. We are supposed to believe the worst spear in wrestling history is some devastating manoeuvre. Ew.
Eve Torres, Brie Bella & Nikki Bella vs. Alicia Fox, Maryse & Tamina - Raw, 8th November - This is not bad by any means. Nor was it ever worth a spot or consideration. However it has lived rent free in my head since the day it aired. This was aired in Manchester, England, so WWE thought they could get a cheap pop by having the face divas in Manchester United kits, and the heels in Liverpool kits. Not realising that at least half the people that live in Manchester despise Man Utd, so the fans ended up booing everyone.
This Bella has never been more confused in her life.
Edge vs. Kane - Survivor Series - The 2010 push of Kane is one of my least favourite runs. So many bad matches and worse feuds. It took a TLC match with three much better wrestlers before he had anything worth watching. Edge’s babyface run in 2010 isn’t much better. This match is a slog to get through, and I remember voting for it as my Worst Match of the Year when it happened. On rewatch, still bad, but just fell off the list. Probably could have done a whole entry just talking about the feud going into this, though.
2011
Primo vs. Sin Cara - Raw, 11th April - Another horrible debut. Way too long of a match to give to Sin Cara against a nobody. The botch (of his finisher, no less) set the stage for things to come for Sin Cara’s WWE career.
Jack Swagger & Michael Cole vs. Jerry Lawler & Jim Ross - Extreme Rules - Obviously a lot better than Wrestlemania. Much shorter, with an actual wrestler to keep it sort of … competent?
Big Show vs. Mark Henry - TLC - Despite having a pair of stellar matches earlier in the year, this one was about what you’d expect of them from earlier in their career. Kept off out of sympathy for Mark Henry being hurt. A tragic end to the Hall of Pain run.
2012
Kane vs. John Cena - Elimination Chamber - This is boring, but nothing egregiously bad outside of the story, concept, and the audacity of having an ambulance match main event the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.
Ricardo Rodriguez vs. Santino Marella - No Way Out - The Tuxedo match. Close to the list. Horrible, unfunny stuff, visually detestable.
CM Punk vs. Ryback - Hell in a Cell - Yet another totally underwhelming, unnecessary CM Punk Hell in a Cell match. Really stupid finish and a cheap way to end Ryback’s undefeated streak. More than anything, this match deserves consideration for introducing us to Brad Maddox, and subsequently people trying to gaslight me into believing he was a good character.
2013
Mark Henry vs. Ryback - Wrestlemania 29 - Bad match, but with an all time hilarious finish where Mark Henry just lands on Ryback’s head for the win. Then does his best Triple H Wrestlemania 19 impression for the pin.
Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H - Wrestlemania 29 - Arguably the most humiliating night of Triple H’s career. His entrance is botched and he gets white goo blasted all over his midsection (phrasing). Then he has a horrible, heatless match with Brock Lesnar of all people. Crowd do not give less of a shit even though his career is on the line. Fans were more into the Fandango match than this.
John Cena vs. The Rock - Wrestlemania 29 - I toyed with the idea of putting this on. A drastic step down from their excellent Wrestlemania 28 match. Boring finisher spam with no semblance of a transition at all. However, the fact that they had an excuse (Rock’s abdomen tear) gave me just enough sympathy to leave off the list.
Big Show vs. Randy Orton - Survivor Series - It’s bad, but more tedious than anything. Memorable for the crowd turning on it - which is hilarious when you remember they tried to push Bryan’s overness on to Show. I think that it is slightly overhated, but I can understand why.
2014
The Royal Rumble Match - Royal Rumble - Historical shitshow, but only really falls apart when Bryan doesn’t come out. I put this down to a terrible lapse in judgement rather than a malicious attempt to bury Bryan and piss off the fans (like they would do the following year).
Enzo Amore vs. Sylvester Lefort - NXT Takeover: Fatal Four Way - One of the worst matches of Black and Gold era NXT in a time when it seemed impossible. No good at all, and worse yet - this is a hair versus hair match where neither man gets their head shaved.
Cameron vs. Naomi - Raw, 15th September - WC’s worst ever pick for an award outside of the dark ages where they voted Edge as Wrestler of the Year. It has one bad botch where Naomi doesn’t know how pins work, but that’s it. With a bit of time and research, I reckon I could find 100 diva matches of similar or worse quality.
2015
Big Show vs. Ryback - Money in the Bank - Once again, lazy 2022 Shock comes back to haunt me, as I have made no notes outside of “not listworthy”. Please rest assured that I did indeed watch this.
2016
Brock Lesnar vs. Dean Ambrose - Wrestlemania 32 - Close, but Ambrose really tried. This stands out as one of the most disappointing matches in Wrestlemania history. Why you’d even bother teasing weaponry you can’t possibly deliver on is a mystery. Given this show already had its 2 biggest matches on this list, it’s safe to say that Wrestlemania 32 was a bit of a shitshow unless you happened to be female.
Darren Young vs. The Miz - Battleground - Remember when Bob Backlund was managing Darren Young in an effort to “Make Darren Young Great Again”? The wrestling sequences are brutal and the finish is an all time bad one.
Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton - No Mercy - Hard to believe this main evented a pay-per-view, even if it was just because the audience are a bunch of masochists and would rather watch the two worst presidential candidates of all time in a debate. In retrospect, I think I’d probably choose Trump and Clinton too.
2017
Seth Rollins vs. Triple H - Wrestlemania 33 - I desperately wanted to find a spot for this on my list. Two of my least favourite wrestlers of all time have a match that horribly exposes all of their flaws. Rollins with his on-off selective selling, and Triple H with yet another overly long, boring Wrestlemania bout. I would use this exact match as exhibit A of why I don’t like either.
Roman Reigns vs. Undertaker - Wrestlemania 33 - I kind of dig this as a sort of “Undertaker is a total mess and needs to be mercy killed” sort of way. I am under no illusions that this isn’t the intended story, but if you look at it from that end, it’s much more enjoyable. Not good, but there’s more unforgivable matches from this Wrestlemania.
Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton - Payback - The House of Horrors match. Some people will hate this. This and the Boneyard match are the only one of these straight-to-DVD horror film ripoffs I actually enjoy. I have always had a soft spot for the silliness of this one. Easily, easily, easily their most enjoyable match together.
The entire WWE Championship reign of Jinder Mahal - Yep, a whole honourable mention to everything here. The only matches that were not in contention was the eventual AJ Styles title switch, and the one where Baron Corbin failed his cash in (thank the lord). Everything else was fair game. In the end, only Punjabi Prison made it, but his momentum killing series with Shinsuke Nakamura was close, in particular Summerslam 2017.
2018
Braun Strowman & Nicholas vs. The Bar - Wrestlemania 34 - Saved by the fact that Cesaro and Sheamus were trash talking a child. Corey Graves screaming “where is this kid’s parents!?” is an all time great commentary call. On my deathbed, I will maintain that this should have been Braun and Alexa winning and introducing the Mixed Tag Team Titles.
Big Cass vs. Daniel Bryan - Backlash - Not even your GOAT is saved from consideration. In fairness, Bryan tried his best, but Cass was no good at this point. Not a good first singles match for Bryan on his return.
Asuka vs Carmella - Extreme Rules - I think this - more than the loss to Charlotte - was the moment Asuka lost her unstoppable aura in WWE. I hated this series, Carmella sucked and watching Asuka sell for her is a disgusting image.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins - Extreme Rules - 10 … 9 … 8 … 7 … 6 … 5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1 … EEEEERRHHHHHHHH. Famous for the crowd hijacking the match with their own countdown clock, and the hilarious mistake by WWE to think that removing the clock mid-match would stop them. If I were in that crowd watching this boring-ass match, I’d probably be trying to find something else to entertain me too.
Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa - NXT Takeover: Brooklyn IV - Their last man standing match. Stupid, nonsensical video game shitty match with no-selling, spamming moves, and a dumb finish. This was the moment these two men lost me and I lost a lot of enthusiasm for NXT black and gold. They’re lucky One Final Beat exists so I can direct all my hate towards that instead.
2019
Roman Reigns vs. Shane McMahon - Super Showdown - Typical bad Shane match from this time period. Would be a worthy pick, however faced extremely stiff competition when factoring in other bad Saudi matches from 2019.
Lars Sullivan vs. Gran Metalik, Kalisto & Lince Dorado - Super Showdown - He may be 5 Stars Lars, but this has the lowest rating on Cagematch of any match that didn’t make my list. The big monster couldn’t beat the three goofs by himself, and the whole thing was boring with a dead crowd. Close but didn’t make the list.
2020
Goldberg vs. The Fiend - Crown Jewel - It’s said that 450 billion tons of the Antarctic ice caps melt each year. In 2020, half of that was likely caused by the collective salt that emanated from the outcome of this match. Objectively the funniest fucking match that has ever existed. If you think this ever had a shot of making my list, you don’t know anything about my taste in wrestling.
Covid Matches That Aren’t Cinematic - Various - Lumping these all in together. These are by far my least favourite matches in WWE history, and I have no great desire to rewatch. I also think it’s unfair to judge most of them (with a few caveats, such as Edge vs Orton which we have already seen) against other traditional matches. With that said, there’s a few considerations that were quite close to the list. Randy Orton vs. The Fiend (TLC) - which makes this the fifth match of these two that was in consideration. Truly an anti-classic feud. Bray Wyatt vs. Braun Strowman (Money in the Bank), and Goldberg vs Braun Strowman (Wrestlemania) also came to mind.
Covid Matches That Are Cinematic
Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena - Wrestlemania 36, Night 2 - This sucks. And I know some people like it, but to me this is just painful, unfunny meta bullshit that I just don’t like. That said, too far removed from actual wrestling to be considered, but I would probably put it top 50 if I did.
The Viking Experience vs Street Profits - Backlash - Much like Money in the Bank, but somehow much much worse, t’s a cinematic “match” that relies way too heavily on unfunny silly comedy. This is awful because WWE decided that whacky = funny. Ultimately saved by the fact it doesn’t in any way resemble a wrestling match and therefore not eligible. If I were to count this entire thing as a match, it’s top 10, I hate it that much.
Bray Wyatt vs. Braun Strowman - Horror Show at Extreme Rules - It’s so far removed from a real wrestling match that it is impossible to judge it as such, or compare it fairly. It is, however, horrific in so many ways. Amateurish editing, boring action. In terms of my overall enjoyment, this is likely top 20 on this list, so if you consider this an actual match worth consideration, then that’s my placement. For me, it is too far removed for me to put on.
Adam Cole vs. Velveteen Dream - NXT TakeOver: In Your House - One of the most visually atrocious things you will ever see in your life. Was in consideration, would make a top 150.
2021
Alexa Bliss vs. Shayna Baszler - Hell in a Cell - The return of jailbait Alexa Bliss, who is only saved thanks to the fact that I didn’t want 2 of her Fiend-esque matches in this process. That said, this is horrendous, and almost as bad as the Asuka match. Horrible fall from grace for Shayna.
2022
The Royal Rumble Match - Royal Rumble - Shane McMahon was in the final four of a Royal Rumble in 2022. Disgusting.
Pat McAfee vs. Vince McMahon - Wrestlemania 38 - Thankfully only seconds long. Would not begrudge anyone putting this on purely on principle alone.
Ronda Rousey vs. Shotzi - Survivor Series - 2022 was, all things considered, a good year. It’s the only year post-1987 with no matches represented on this list. This was probably the closest of all matches to making the list. Shotzi is pretty bad, and Ronda was a far cry from her amazing 2018 run.
Important Note No. 2
Please note that this process had a strict cut off of 31st December 2022, so 2023 and 2024 matches were never considered. However, certain matches have happened that are worth pointing out.
2023
Bray Wyatt vs. LA Knight - Royal Rumble - Honestly, a fitting final match for Bray if you think about it. This would have certainly made my list somewhere in the bottom 50. If nothing else, because Mountain Dew is disgusting and should be enjoyed by nobody. Highlight of this being the post match where Uncle Howdy completely misses the elbow drop.
Baron Corbin vs. Gable Stevenson - NXT Great American Bash - You know your career is dead in the water when you, as a babyface, are getting booed in favour of Baron fucking Corbin. Stevenson is as bad a wrestler as he is a person, and this match would have been a contender for the low end of the list.
Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler - Summerslam - MMA rules in wrestling has literally never been good. I don’t know if it would make the list, but I’d certainly have it on my shortlist.
Jey Uso vs. Roman Reigns - Summerslam - Another easy choice that would have made my list. Unbelievably boring, even as someone who is usually really high on these Roman Reigns epic drama fests. This was tragic and likely would have found itself among other overly long boring matches like Kane vs Undertaker from Judgment Day or Kozlov vs. Triple H from Survivor Series.
2024 (as of 12/05/2024)
Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso - Wrestlemania 40, Night 1 - Very bad match that would have been in consideration for a low end spot. These brother versus brother matches at Wrestlemania have steadily been getting worse with each one. If we extrapolate it, in 15 years when we get our next set of wrestling siblings at Wrestlemania, I am expecting a worst match of the decade contender.
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