As we are on the eve of Blood and Guts - a match that is booked to be the only live match for a two hour show - I thought it would be worth revisiting matches that we thought would be incredible that under delivered. Hopefully not the date the BG faces!
To be clear, I’m not talking about a match that was supposed to be average and ended up being terrible . I mean matches that you thought had the potential to be a match of the night or a match you thought would be a show stopper or that sold PPVS that instead was a let down. It isn’t just matches that you though would suck but sucked even harder (ie Randy Vs Fiend).
In no particular order
Shawn Michaels vs Mr. Perfect - Summerslam 1993 - probably the poster child for this. A match on paper that was between two of the greatest workers (even according to their peers!) of all time and just kind of sucked. It’s a dream match on paper (80s vs 90s) and it turned out to be highly average.
Nakamura vs AJ - Wrestlemania - When Okada and Suzuki fly in to watch this you know it’s got hype. I have to be honest this was part of the reason I went to see this pay-per-view live. I have to say in the end it wasn’t anything that memorable. The match was very average and never really hit a gear where it will be remembered. Probably the first sign that the Nakamura we knew was probably gone forever. Wonder what Suzuki was like after a few beers seeing that ?
Omega vs Moxley - AEW Cage - Pretty self-explanatory here. While the match was great, the ending was highly disappointing and is more likely to be a meme of jokes than a meme of excellence. Given their pay-per-view numbers clearly was a huge selling point and they had to basically try and explain the match away from existence.
Bret Hart vs Bob Backlund - Wrestlemania 11 - On the surface this sounds great. Two technical wrestlers in a submission match, the first one in WM history. They had a feud leading into it and Roddy piper as a guest referee. So you have to think it’s going to be good however it ends up being one of the most confusing and disappointing matches of Bret Hart’s career. Nobody even knows to this day if Backlund gave up.
Bret vs Shawn - WM 12 - The controversial choice (bc it was still a good match) but this in all likelihood for most people had the potential to be the greatest match of all time. Think of Okada vs Omega before Okada vs Omega. In WWE history these are arguably the two greatest in ring wrestlers of all time. Here they are in their prime given an hour. And to be honest the match is just kind of boring. It drags for almost 40 minutes and the while the last 20 minutes are great as a whole this doesn’t even approach either mans best WM match.
Sting vs Hogan - Starcade - although I don’t think anyone considers this to have 4 star potential it clearly was a match people wanted to see and thought would be memorable. It sold the highest WCW PPV buy rate ever. Instead we got a confusing mess with a phantom fast count and Bret Hart for some reason invoking Montreal. Like how hard was this to do properly?
Goldberg vs Lesnar - WM XX - Yes the crowd basically ruined this match but you could tell neither man was really into it. To give you an idea though years later they were able to do it correctly and it was one of the best matches either has had at WM. Done properly many years previously, they probably could’ve had a longer and better match instead of this disaster.
Eh Alex, I wanted to say thank you for being informative and for everything you do. Continue to stay positive!!
As for the match, it’s pretty difficult. But I still have to say Eddie vs Chris Benoit at ECW ONS. I understand, in context, it was a throw-away match, but it should’ve been better.
I’d say definitely Nakamura/AJ and Sting/Hogan on your list.
I’d also throw in Brock vs Ambrose at Mania, HHH vs Orton at WM25 and Sting/HHH at Mania. I was actually really disappointed in the Cena/Rock matches too - they just didn’t have any chemistry in ring.
AEW wise - I was really disappointed in Moxley/Hagar, just felt it was a total mess and way too long.
For me the last few years AJ Styles has been the king of “great on paper” with matches I’d be excited to see. For me he hasn’t had a truly great match since vs Cena a few Rumbles ago, Nakamuras feud with AJ is a great example. But the big one for me was the feud with Orton, in 05/06 there was no bigger dream match out there for me then that TNA vs WWE match, and when I finally get it, it just wasn’t anything special.
Nakamura Aj is is interesting to me. It would be my pick too. It us a perfectly serviceable match. However, due insanely great match they had tat the dome and all the expectations after shinsuke’s royal rumble win was really underwhelming.
I could get some flack on this, but I will say Cena vs Lesnar at Summerslam 2014. Going into that match I figured it would be interesting how they would book the match. However, I wasn’t expecting a 16 minute plus squash match, one that after the 10 minute mark just felt boring and beyond repetitive. I just kept thinking, ‘Ok, just end this already.’
Moxley vs Omega at Revolution for obvious reasons. (which is funny because I normally find Mox boring in the ring, but this one was actually pretty good until that complete botch/joke of an ending.
Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins…dont remember the PPV, but it was the one after the Ambrose heel turn, horrible match which is a hard thing to pull off with Rollins in the ring.
AJ vs Nakamura…I was pumped for this match, and it really really disappointed as it was just meh.
Omega vs Okada…I don’t normally watch NJPW, so when I heard that this was a 5 star match and one of the best of all time, I made a point of seeking it out. I watched it with my cousin, and at the end both of us were like “It was good I guess”, which isnt bad by any stretch, but considering the over the top hype it was getting from the IWC, I was disappointed.
Hogan vs Sting at Starcade…Just a horrible finish for a match that had such an obvious way to book it. Sting should have gone over.
Lesnar/Kofi, Lesnar/Ricochet… both matches that could have been great but instead we get a 30 second squash that derailed both guys’ careers to some extent. And this from the company who is too scared to let the likes of Nia Jax eat a pinfall occasionally because I guess it would be too damaging.
It was the match that had no finish because time expired. I remember both my cousin and I feeling annoyed that I watched an hour long match only to see a tie.
The work during the match was good, don’t get me wrong. I just had the expectation of “best match in the history of the sport” as my bar lol.
I actually think all the matches are very good but I am hesitant to say greatest ever. One match didn’t have a finish as you said and the 2/3 fall match is amazing but I’m not sure it’a head and shoulders above everything else.
I always love Angle vs Michaels at WM and Bret vs Austin as being two I prefer over any of the Omega vs Okada ones
I remember being underwhelmed by their initial match on Superstars (were Backlund first “snapped”.). There Survivor Series match was pretty boring (and the never ending chicken wing finish was extremely boring, only saved by Owen’s begging for his mom to throw the towel on).
Believe me, I wish Bret vs Backlund was an amazing match, but I had no reason at the time to expect it to be.
And you just made me think again for the first time.in 20+ years of Backlund’s random “I saw the light” promo after the match…
I’m a big Bret fan. WM 11 was a terrible event. Out of the matches on there the three big kens were
LT vs Bigelow - I could care less about this
Shawn vs Diesel - wasn’t a fan of Diesel really wasn’t really looking forward to this
Bret vs Backlund - I agree it didn’t scream main event but I thought the idea of a submission match was cool and I thought both guys were good technical wrestlers so it would be a good hard hitting match. I was thinking a bit of Bret vs Austin
However your point is well taken. It was hardly something that drew a lot of fans I’m sure
Oh, definitely agree about Mania XI.
I remember heading into the Rumble a rumour was Bret would regain against Diesel, and then defend against Bulldog at Mania… Which would have been terrific. But alas, we got Bret’s worst singles Mania match instead.
I don’t think it is fair to hold this finish against the match. The draw was a big part of the story of this rivalry. They had what I believe was the longest match ever at Wrestle Kingdom. Kenny lost, but never hit the One Winged Angel. In this match, he still didn’t hit the move, but Okada couldn’t beat him either. The 3rd match, they only had 30 minutes in the G1.