Great wrestlers’ worst matches

[RedTwoster]

Inspired by this quote:

46 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

AEW is lucky to have a small group of guys who just seem almost incapable of having bad matches, it's astonishing - Allin, Orange Cassidy, Mark Briscoe, Hangman etc.

That left me wondering, if there actually is a wrestler who has never had a bad match - it’s unlikely, but at the very least there will be someone who has had an astonishingly low number of them. 

What I’m looking for though, is good wrestlers’ worst matches. We know what their stand-out classics are, but what are their stand-out stinkers? 

I’m going to put this one forward…

Daniel Bryan vs Big Cass (Backlash 2018) 

I can’t find the full match online, which probably tells you something in itself. But Daniel Bryan returns from injury and, is inexplicably, flung into a feud with the future Big Bill. To be fair on Cass, he held up his end of the bargain during the feud itself, but when it came to their first match together…ouch. It wasn’t sloppy or anything like that, it was just plain dull. And I don’t think that’s a word I’ve used to describe any - or many - other Daniel Bryan or Bryan Danielson matches. I’d rather a badly wrestled match than a boring one, but that couldn’t be said about this one. Cass/Bill has improved enormously since then, and I don’t think the two would have a match this weak if they are ever to wrestle again. As far as I can think, though - this is Danielson’s worst match. Which isn’t bad going, really.

[LaGoosh]

A modern day Danielson vs Big Bill match would have probably been really good! I would have loved to have seen that.

Edited September 2, 2025 by LaGoosh

[tiger_rick]

I'll go for Bret. The worker of all workers. His match with Bob Backlund at Mania 11 is as high-profile a stinker as I can ever recall him having. It's a terrible gimmick, is refereed horribly by Roddy Piper, has a non-existent story and the work is average. I think Bret talks in his book about it being doomed to fail and he wrestles like he knows it. Boo boo face for bad matches.  

[sivy]

I was thinking Bret but more the Undertaker at Rumble 96, it's a plodding match, drags on for a while, crowd seems dead most of it too. 

Talking of Undertaker him vs Austin at Rock Bottom (terrible ppv) that's a terrible match too. 

[MVP RULZ]

26 minutes ago, sivy said:

I was thinking Bret but more the Undertaker at Rumble 96, it's a plodding match, drags on for a while, crowd seems dead most of it too. 

Talking of Undertaker him vs Austin at Rock Bottom (terrible ppv) that's a terrible match too. 

I think Undertaker has been in way to many stinkers to qualify for this discussion

It was only the latter part of his career did he start to have really good matches

his run from his debut in 1990 until at least his return as the American Badass gimmick in 2000 is littered with a lot higher % of dull plodding affairs than decent matches 

And even some after that return quite frankly 

It was mostly when the streak became a thing so to speak that he seemed to become conscious of leaving a legacy of having classic matches

EDIT: I realised reading it back you were referencing Bret having the bad match with the Undertaker

Though I guess my point can also be in reference to the final part.

Edited September 2, 2025 by MVP RULZ

[TheScarlettChad]

Shawn Michaels vs Mr Kennedy springs to mind. 

[gmoney]

He wasn't madly consistent anyway, but Rick Rude had an absolute stinker with Chono in WCW in 1992, I want to say it was Halloween Havoc? I'm not the biggest Chono fan, in fact I'd say he was probably my least favourite of the big Japanese names of the 90s, but you'd expect much better for these two. Goes on for bloody ever. 

[Snitsky's back acne]

1 hour ago, tiger_rick said:

I'll go for Bret. The worker of all workers. His match with Bob Backlund at Mania 11 is as high-profile a stinker as I can ever recall him having. It's a terrible gimmick, is refereed horribly by Roddy Piper, has a non-existent story and the work is average. I think Bret talks in his book about it being doomed to fail and he wrestles like he knows it. Boo boo face for bad matches.  

It still amazes me that Vince went with Backlund over Randy Savage for that heel turn in 1994. Don't get me wrong, as a gimmick, Backlund was awesome but as a wrestler he was washed. 

As Savage showed when he got to WCW, he still had loads left to offer and a heel Macho Man v Bret Hart would have kicked arse. Plus, it may have stopped Savage going to WCW.

Agree completely that this was the worst match Bret ever had. Just awful in every way.

[WyattSheepMask]

2 hours ago, tiger_rick said:

I'll go for Bret. The worker of all workers. His match with Bob Backlund at Mania 11 is as high-profile a stinker as I can ever recall him having. It's a terrible gimmick, is refereed horribly by Roddy Piper, has a non-existent story and the work is average. I think Bret talks in his book about it being doomed to fail and he wrestles like he knows it. Boo boo face for bad matches.  

Exactly the match that came to mind when reading the thread title. Piper is an insufferable twat throughout the whole thing, but even if he wasn't reffing it, it’s just a bad match from start to finish.

1 hour ago, sivy said:

I was thinking Bret but more the Undertaker at Rumble 96, it's a plodding match, drags on for a while, crowd seems dead most of it too. 

And to make matters worse it ends in a DQ after nearly 30 minutes. They weren’t going to put the belt on Taker at that point but they couldn’t have him lose either, it was doomed to fail from the off.

[SaitoRyo]

58 minutes ago, TheScarlettChad said:

Shawn Michaels vs Mr Kennedy springs to mind. 

Which one? I actually re-watched their Armageddon 2007 effort fairly recently and it wasn't bad at all. A little awkward at times, perhaps, but nowhere close to HBK's worst match.

[RedTwoster]

2 hours ago, LaGoosh said:

A modern day Danielson vs Big Bill match would have probably been really good! I would have loved to have seen that.

They had a better match at Money in the Bank that year, but they could definitely have a corker of a match these days.

1 hour ago, TheScarlettChad said:

Shawn Michaels vs Mr Kennedy springs to mind. 

I don’t remember their matches together, but as far as worst matches go, surely they weren’t worse than this utter mess?

 

Edited September 2, 2025 by RedTwoster

[SuperBacon]

Stings worst match has surely got to be that Jeff Hardy one.

[RedTwoster]

Unless I’m forgetting something, it’s a real shame that Kurt Angle’s worst match was likely his last one, against Baron Corbin. They did him a real injustice by having him wrap things up in that way.

[TheScarlettChad]

2 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

Unless I’m forgetting something, it’s a real shame that Kurt Angle’s worst match was likely his last one, against Baron Corbin. They did him a real injustice by having him wrap things up in that way.

Most of that final run were bad sadly. Kurt couldn't go anymore. Him vs AJ was disappointing considering their TNA work. 

[tiger_rick]

43 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

I don’t remember their matches together, but as far as worst matches go, surely they weren’t worse than this utter mess?

 

Surely Shawn and Hunter's worst match. Taker too if we're considering him a top worker. Kane was in it as well.