- 2 months ago
What happens when the biggest matches on the grandest stage of them all fail to deliver? This is a look at WWE bouts that collapsed under the pressure of live television, featuring confusing finishes, crowd rejection, and unforgettable mistakes.
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00:00I personally do not like the term botch.
00:02The only person who gets how to use that is Matthew from Botchamania.
00:05And of course, you can always laugh at mistakes in the ring as long as everybody is okay.
00:09But to act like these things can't happen or now the wrestlers involved suck?
00:13Come on, bro, that is not fair.
00:14It is always going to happen as well because that's just the way of things and even the best of
00:18us have off nights.
00:19Do you know who's more aware of this as well?
00:21The people in the damn ring.
00:22They've experienced it.
00:24It's like when you make a mistake at work, all of a sudden you want to cry.
00:27So I am Simon of the Board A-Hole and let's go through some of the more famous one of
00:30these right now and try and figure it out.
00:33Number 9, The Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 33.
00:37Now this one did irk me a little bit at the time because the world title is not on the
00:40line, so why did it main event?
00:42Even if The Undertaker was planning on retiring, it kind of felt like we should have shouted about that more
00:46in the build and he carried on wrestling anyways.
00:49It just felt like it would have been better served in the middle of the card.
00:52Roman Reigns and The Undertaker are huge stars.
00:54You don't even need me to tell you directly because the dead man has spoken about this a lot.
00:59He hates this match.
01:00Feels like he didn't do right by Reigns because he was so beaten up, so it didn't go the way
01:05he would have liked it to.
01:06He's not wrong either because yeah.
01:08And numerous times throughout this they both slip or a move doesn't go to plan.
01:12There's then a lot of resetting as they try to get it going again.
01:15It's not that fun to see.
01:16The tombstone spot goes totally awry and it didn't really live up to expectations or what you'd want from a
01:22WrestleMania main event.
01:23This isn't something to be ridiculed however, in fact it's just a shame.
01:27I think if it happened today too, Roman would actually be able to save this with the added experience, but
01:32in 2017 it just wasn't going to happen.
01:34The real disappointment for me anyway was the next night on Raw, the big dog got booed out of the
01:39place and that should have been the catalyst for the start of the Tribal Chief character.
01:43Nope.
01:44Whatever reason we carried on with the failed babyface push regardless, that was really weird.
01:48Number 8. Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 34
01:52You know something has gone bad when the man who just won the WrestleMania main event gets backstage and hurls
01:57his world title at Vince McMahon.
02:00Now it is wrestling so maybe it was pre-planned, but you can see footage of Brock Lesnar doing this
02:04and he is pissed.
02:05I don't think Lesnar could fake that.
02:07That is not his lane.
02:08I'm not surprised either because this Roman match was ridiculous.
02:12It actually has nothing to do with the performers and more this insistence that Reigns had to be kept babyfaced
02:17despite being booed in every single building.
02:20Most fans just accepted he finally would win the WWE Championship back at this mania and fine.
02:25If that's what management wanted to do, stop delaying it, make the damn switch and we can see what happens.
02:31Furthermore, Brock doesn't really turn up to work, so at least Reigns will when somebody got cold feet.
02:36It was so silly because if McMahon really didn't believe in this project, then just change things.
02:41Instead, we had Lesnar win with one F5 and we held off the change for another month.
02:45I can only assume it's because Vince didn't want any backlash at the biggest show of the year.
02:50Well, he got it anyway.
02:51It just felt so disjointed.
02:53The match also struggles because the crowd just do not buy in because of all the above.
02:57So in that sense, it did fall apart.
02:59The disparity between what fans wanted and what the creative team were going to give them was huge.
03:04It also sort of felt like no man was going anywhere.
03:07There was no set direction.
03:08It kind of goes back to what we just talked about.
03:10This was Tribal Chief time, the TCT, and we didn't do that until the world literally stopped.
03:17Sometimes stubbornness is not the answer.
03:197. Hulk Hogan vs. Sid Justice at WrestleMania 7
03:22This was much like our first entry as there was a selection of fans that felt slightly annoyed that Hulk
03:27Hogan was in the main event of WrestleMania just because he was Hulk Hogan.
03:30The world title had already been defended earlier in the night.
03:33If you switch those two matches around, this actually wouldn't have been that bad.
03:37Hogan himself had also taken a public relations kicking, so it was about to take some time off, and it
03:42all tied in.
03:43It was just a catalogue of bad news when the WWF turned Sid Justice heel so Hulk could work with
03:47a monster.
03:48Now look, I love Sid.
03:49The man was crazy.
03:51But this was not the right last bout for WrestleMania 7.
03:53It fell apart.
03:54It was the ending where this was most evident, because after the leg drop of Doom, Papa Shango was meant
04:00to run to the ring and break up the pin.
04:02Charles Wright, for whatever reason, then didn't get his time cue, though, so he was late, meaning Sid just had
04:07to kick out.
04:08So that's bad news number one.
04:10People did not just kick out of Hulk Hogan's finish.
04:12You also see Shango freeze in real time, because what does he do now?
04:16He is super late.
04:17Well, he just whacked Hogan in the penis, and the beatdown was on.
04:21Do make sure you watch the clip of this, because you can see Papa slow down when running to the
04:24ring as he realizes what's happened.
04:26We've all been there.
04:27I know that feeling.
04:28Should be in the dictionary as, oh no.
04:31Of course, it was sort of saved by the return of the Ultimate Warrior, but poor Bobby Heenan and Gorilla
04:35Monsoon.
04:36They had to ignore all of this, because they knew what the proper finish was, and they didn't want to
04:40draw attention to it.
04:42I don't want to be horrible, but at least parts of this are quite funny.
04:45Number 6, Cody Rhodes vs John Cena at WrestleMania 42.
04:48Let us throw a more recent match in there for your brain, and I blame this on one human.
04:53One human alone?
04:54Travis Scott.
04:55Because before he'd take 68,678 years to walk to the ring, John Cena vs Cody Rhodes is fun.
05:01Seeing John go full heel with punches and kicks is just a treat, and they seem to be having a
05:06ball in there.
05:07I don't think the crowd was necessarily into Cena's heel turn, but they still made a lot of noise.
05:11The atmosphere was great.
05:13When you do get Scott's song blaring over the speakers, though, it just goes sideways.
05:17Mostly because the crowd mistook this for The Rock.
05:20I think that is what pops the bubble, too, because Las Vegas soon realized they were getting Travis and not
05:25Dwayne Johnson.
05:26And, well, that's not what they wanted.
05:28It affected the match, because at this point on, it's all over the place.
05:31And by the time Cena had cheated to win his 17th world title, the vibe was weird.
05:36I think people were trying to catch up.
05:38I still don't get why Travis Scott took so long, either, because that disturbed the flow of the thing.
05:42Cody knew he had to thump him, so he was just hanging out playing Nintendo.
05:46Rhodes also sort of hinted at this recently, saying he sees the Mania and SummerSlam matches as a part 1
05:51and part 2,
05:51so I would assume he is aware.
05:53If you do go back-to-back with him, it's way better.
05:55And just fast-forward past the interference during match 1, and then hit stop after Cena and Cody embrace a
06:01SummerSlam.
06:02You know what I'm talking about.
06:04You do not need it.
06:05Number 5, Triple H vs Scott Steiner at the 2003 Royal Rumble.
06:09I find it hard to take too many shots at this, because it all comes down to age.
06:13I was a fetus watching this, and because it was two massive dudes crashing into each other, well, I thought
06:18it was awesome.
06:19Scott Steiner had also come from WCW, which I thought was cool.
06:23Sometimes you do have to watch things with a kid brain.
06:25Your innocence does vanish eventually, though, and yeah, if you watch this today, it ain't great.
06:30Mostly because poor Scott can't walk.
06:32I've no idea what WCW was thinking, but Steiner had a serious case of drop foot during his last run
06:37of the company,
06:38and yet they sort of ignored it.
06:40Maybe that was his choice, but don't put a guy with that sort of ailment in long matches.
06:45Keep them short and intense.
06:46Push the strengths.
06:47Hide the weaknesses.
06:48Instead, this went 18 minutes, and really, I don't think Triple H and Scott Steiner liked each other.
06:54Neither gives an inch, and you can almost hear them saying,
06:56I'm going to outflex you during this.
06:59There was a definite case of wanting to literally be the big man.
07:02Steiner also runs out of gas due to his size and this injury, and WWE knows it too.
07:07Soon after this, he was moved down the card, but the damage had already been done.
07:11It was a massive shame because in 2003, you did need matches like this.
07:15It felt fresh, but it just didn't click.
07:17In fact, it went the other way.
07:19You don't even need to see it now.
07:21You're just going to be a little bit upset.
07:23Number four, Charlotte Flair vs. Nia Jax on the 30th of August 2021 Raw.
07:27To this day, I want to know what happened here.
07:30The feeling was good in WWE in the summer of 2021,
07:33because fans were finally allowed back into the building, and shows didn't feel like a funeral.
07:37It also meant the audience was pretty forgiving, and it was just nice to be back.
07:41It was the same as Charlotte Flair and Nia Jax on this episode of Raw,
07:44when it just stopped.
07:46And I mean that literally.
07:47One day, I hope we get a book on this,
07:49because there was some sort of communication breakdown
07:51when they paused and looked at each other.
07:54That's right, the fighting ended, and stare.
07:57It was like a T-Rex had turned up.
07:58They then started sandbagging and seemingly punching each other in the face for real,
08:02which created even more confusion.
08:03This is fascinating to watch.
08:05It's like they forgot thousands of people were looking on.
08:08Because it's not collaborative at all, it looks mad.
08:11And how wrestling would be if it was legit, I suppose.
08:14Nia's face at one point too.
08:16She looks genuinely aghast Flair has done whatever she thinks she's done.
08:19I don't have more information, so I can't tell you.
08:22Now, there is something fun to it,
08:23because you rarely see two pros fall apart to this degree on Raw.
08:27And I would guess that a few hard shots just pissed one of them off.
08:30To sum up in a headline, though, this was totally mad.
08:33Number three, Goldust versus the Ultimate Warrior at In Your House 7.
08:37Right, let's go the other way.
08:39Something that's totally lost at the passages of time.
08:41Now, we do need some caveats.
08:43Goldust was the Intercontinental Champion,
08:45but did this match basically in pieces.
08:47He had a serious injury.
08:49And in 1996, the Warrior's mere presence in the company was weird.
08:53He'd fallen out with Vince McMahon so many damn times.
08:56Due to all the above, though, they knew they needed to stall for time.
08:59So they did.
09:01Warrior went and smoked Marlena's cigar, because that'll be up some minutes.
09:04And he then kind of wore their wardrobe, which sent the hills crazy,
09:08when they ran around the place literally for minutes.
09:10Goldust then got the cigar and burned Warrior's hand, which set him off.
09:14And the bad guys were so scared, they got counted out.
09:17Also meant Dust was still the icy champ.
09:19The belt can't change hands on a count-out.
09:21It also means there's basically zero wrestling in this, and I mean none.
09:26Begs the question why the WWF didn't cancel it, or do a replacement contest.
09:30Even if some fans had been disappointed, it would have made them feel way better than this did.
09:34If you put the Benny Hill music over the top, well, that's the vibe.
09:37Vince McMahon took it hard publicly, too, as he had been promoting the show as the new era,
09:41and the new generation is meant to be a fresh beginning.
09:44And if this was the plan going forward, then my gosh, let's get off the wagon now.
09:49I would say you should go check this out after listening to me, because you will laugh your ass off.
09:53It's such nonsense, but maybe that's the beauty of wrestling.
09:56You can actually do whatever the flub you want.
09:59Number two, Chris Jericho vs. Neville at the 14th 2016 Raw.
10:02So I wanted to include this one to show you how a true pro can handle things.
10:06It didn't go exactly according to the new plan, but honestly,
10:09if you are an up-and-coming wrestler and need a blueprint on how to balance mistakes,
10:13Chris Jericho smashed it.
10:15Now, people forget this match with Neville is also really good,
10:17as Jericho was having a great 2016.
10:20Neville was Neville.
10:21The man didn't know how to have a bad match.
10:23They were rocking and rolling when Neville went to dive through Chris' legs, though,
10:26and rolled his ankle.
10:28You could tell it was bad as he just stopped moving,
10:30and Jericho realized instantly, too, he went into ring general mode.
10:34He instantly rolled up his opponent and held the tights to be an asshole
10:37while telling referee Charles Robinson to ignore the original plan,
10:40as we gotta go home.
10:42I don't think Charles heard him.
10:44He counts the one to ooh, and man, Chris went nuts.
10:47Got in his face and screamed, he's hurt.
10:49He even gave him a shove.
10:50This was most definitely a real reaction.
10:52This is where Robinson's brain kicked in, too, though,
10:55because he got the message and disqualified Jericho for laying his hands on an official.
10:58So, sure, seeing it get real for a second ain't ideal,
11:01but they do hide it well, and there's no lost time.
11:04Nobody freezes in the moment, and they carry on regardless.
11:07If Robinson had heard Jericho the first time,
11:10this would have been on every single training synopsis,
11:12protect your opponent, get the match done.
11:15It is still very well pulled off, though, even with the slight miscommunication.
11:18I mean, compare and contrast it with other entries on this list.
11:21It's not even close.
11:23Number one, Tiffany Stratton vs. Jay Cargill vs. Nia Jax
11:26for the 26th of September, 2025 SmackDown.
11:28So, we will throw the one in there that happened recently
11:30that everybody wanted to talk about,
11:32and if you've watched any of my content, you know my opinion on this.
11:35Sometimes bad things happen in the ring,
11:38and I suppose this goes back to the intro.
11:40I don't put any blame on anybody's shoulders.
11:42We all go to our jobs and sometimes make a mistake,
11:45and that's what happened here.
11:46Now, things have actually already taken a turn before this,
11:48when poor Jay Cargill was thrown into Simba the Still Steps by Nia Jax,
11:52and good grief the cut that she suffered.
11:54She had to have that thing stitched up.
11:56You can go on her social media now to see the damage.
11:59It will make your stomach turn.
12:00I just hope she's alright.
12:02This also could have been the reason they went straight to the finish,
12:04but essentially, after Jay Cargill had slammed Nia Jax to the floor,
12:07she went to get the 1-2-3,
12:09when Tiffany Stratton was meant to run in
12:11and boot Jade and try and steal the pin herself.
12:13The issue was Tiffany was a little bit late,
12:15meaning Jax had to kick out,
12:17so when Stratton went to get the pin,
12:19well, I think the referee assumed,
12:20well, Nia's going to have to kick out again.
12:22She's not suffered any more damage,
12:23so why would she lay down for the 1-2-3?
12:26As far as Nia Jax was concerned, though,
12:28she had been told it was time to go home,
12:30so she didn't kick out the tool,
12:32meaning the referee did the 1, did the 2,
12:34and, well, the 3 should have come,
12:36but instead, nope, we just got silence.
12:38And what really makes this somewhat amusing
12:40is that Nia Jax looks at the official like,
12:42what are you doing, dude?
12:43Before she realizes, oh, I better kick out,
12:45and she does.
12:46Now, of course, WWE was just trying to pull off
12:48their favorite finish, which was,
12:50somebody is about to win in a triple threat
12:51when somebody else steals the pin.
12:53And look, Tiffany Stratton does go up to the top rope.
12:56She hits the PME.
12:57She gets the 1-2-3, and that rhymes,
12:58so it must be true.
12:59I really wouldn't put the blame on anybody, though,
13:01and especially not referee Daphne LaShawn.
13:03I think she was just trying to do
13:05what was right in the moment,
13:06and given that there was a lot of miscommunication,
13:08nobody actually knew what that was.
13:10Doesn't mean that it was fun to watch
13:12from a professional wrestling standpoint,
13:13but as we've talked about,
13:15Tiffany, Jade, and Nia will know this,
13:17and I bet they got to the back and facepalmed,
13:19whereas today they're probably laughing about it,
13:22because, yeah, it all fell to pieces,
13:24but that can happen.
13:25It still wasn't great, though,
13:26and nobody would pretend otherwise,
13:27but listen, my friends,
13:29it won't be the first time you see it,
13:30and it absolutely won't be the last,
13:32because this is what makes sports entertainment
13:34so damn good to begin with.
13:35You are flying by the seat of your pants,
13:37and there's absolutely no safety net,
13:39and with great risk comes great reward.
13:42But I've run out of Instagram quotes now.
13:44Let's just end the video,
13:45because you can certainly throw in more of these
13:47that may be in your brain in the comments below
13:48before you like the video,
13:49share the video, and subscribe,
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13:53well, you can click the video on the screen right now.
13:55Otherwise, I just appreciate having you
13:57for the last 15 minutes or so,
13:58and hope you have a terrific day.
14:00This bold A-hole will talk to you soon.