10 WORST WWE Matches Of 2012

From the infamous 18 second Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus match at WrestleMania 28 to Cody Rhodes vs. Big Show at Extreme Rules, these are the 10 WORST WWE Matches Of 2012.
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[@scootinand]

That table spot was one of the few unique and unexpected moments of that era of WWE, and Big Show's sell job with that look of "oh NO" felt like something out of The Office.

[@syko2695]

It just seemed like a "well, we have to do it once" thing

[@stonemasonlew9349]

“OH NO! OUR TABLE! ITS BROKEN!”

[@atomato5884]

i stand by that Big Show stepping through the table was a nice unique finish and didnt look to set up in the match

[@slimmusic757]

I came here just to say this. And I've been saying it for 11 years now lol

[@matttibos2562]

I saw a video of that earlier, was that planned?

[@rebeccarussell4155]

Same

[@recapdrake]

Agreed, I thought that ending was brilliant

[@jack0slack]

I’ll also come in to defend the ending. The whole match before then played as a David vs. Goliath encounter and the ending was great.

[@elmaster27428]

Big Show accidentally breaking the table was hilarious

[@saywhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat]

Lesnar VS Cena was an incredible match. Obviously the wrong person won, but it should still be nowhere near this list

[@thecodester6669]

Agreed

[@yomamma359]

Was just thinking this, yes the finish should have been different but I remember the match being very entertaining

[@SleepLess_Plays]

100%

[@thebigbop5866]

Why did the wrong person win? Did it ruin Lesnar because he was unable to recover from such a loss for the rest of his career? That's laughable so it's pretty ridiculous how you're all like "yeah, that was a bad thing" when he's still going strong over a decade later!

[@RuanAntunes7]

@@thebigbop5866 Brock just returned and it was his first match back.

[@landonangel5134]

2012 will always hold a special place in my heart because that’s the year I started watching WWE

[@zanethind]

Honestly the Cena vs Lesnar match at Extreme Rules 2012 was amazing still

[@awm8414]

Its a 9/10 match Legit i love the ending still

[@zanethind]

@@awm8414 yeah I was fine with Cena going over honestly

[@iamnothuman77dartdontlie66]

i honestly think ryback handled his situation with tensai well. he was clearly sandbagging and it’s not easy to deadlift someone that big, especially in a fisherman’s type hold

[@AS-is4dt]

ok ryback

[@Sizzlinpapaya1014]

I love how you guys decided to completely wash over how actually popular ryback was. Dude was push for a reason. Back in 2012 everybody loved ryback.

[@Bugga-Ray-Dudley]

For sure I can’t think of many people that were more over than him at that time

[@john1336]

@@Bugga-Ray-Dudley he was so boring though

[@lordstian4233]

The fan base was desperate for somebody/anybody to potentially dethrone Super Cena and represent the idea of a new up-and-comer getting that kind of push. Fans were excited because it looked like Ryback mightve been that guy. Once the jig was up nobody cared about Ryback, because nobody cared about him from the start.

[@Bugga-Ray-Dudley]

@@lordstian4233 at the time I was younger and I’m not gonna lie it was kinda cool to root for him at the time but in retrospect he really isn’t that talented compared to 99% of the rest of the roster on the mic and in the ring

[@woobgamer5210]

he was just Goldberg 2

[@MrSamBerrett1]

Putting Cena vs Brock on this list is insanity

[@thtboyjosh_]

Fr

[@youarenowawarepodcast8896]

Nah Cena winning on Brock’s return during Cena’s alleged ‘worse year ever’ was egregious 😭💀

[@Jordan-ti9oc]

Right? The result was stupid it the match was still awesome

[@RobertJW]

#1 is just objectively correct for worst match of 2012 in WWE. That match main eventing over Bryan vs Punk is a crime against wrestling!

[@tzvikrasner6073]

That decision was straight from the top. Genuine "I don't like either of these guys, they don't have enough muscles" from Vinnie K.

[@archie1942]

Ryback’s incident with tensai was on purpose as Vince wanted to to see how ryback would react

[@lild5470]

He told you?

[@benvlerick8303]

THE BIG SHOW TABLE FINISH IS GENIUS, YES I SAID IT. GENIUS I SAY

[@hhtptai]

2010-2012 were some rough years, man.

[@MrBlack1968]

9:24 that was not Paul Heyman, it was an impersonator. Paul was very clear about this when Vince McMahon confronted him with the video.

[@mattpujol1111]

I'm no Ryback fan, but in his defense, Tensai sandbagged the shit out of him on the Shellshock attempt.

[@TheTommylee619]

2012 is the year that drove me away from wrestling for a couple years

[@aaronstaubs6508]

I can't blame you

[@Shiny101]

I remember turning 12 too lol

[@TheTommylee619]

@@Shiny101 actually turned 16 that year. I guess you could say it wasn’t as much the product as much as me thinking I was to cool, but this video reminded me that 2012 was not that great of a year.

[@j.navarro9976]

Same here. Raw was just abysmal for a good while.

[@sgtaee100]

actually last year i stopped watching wrestling in total.

[@PowerRangerfan]

The bad matches make you appreciate the good matches even more.

[@XTesT15X]

Correction. Cena And John Laurinitis were NOT feuding for a year. They barely even feuded. Johny was Feuding with Punk before Cena randomly decided to have a problem with him to give Cena a Stone Cold esque feud.

[@eyebrows2318]

2012 maybe had some baddddd matches but it’s when I started watching wrestling and for that it’ll always have a sweet spot to me in my heart

[@nicholasfrancis2192]

Jesus mine was 01-02

[@supermario_49]

This is a list of worst matches, not wrong winners. Lesnar vs Cena was one hell of a match despite the winner, so that does not belong on the list. Hope you don’t repeat this mistake for future “Worst Matches” lists.

[@woobgamer5210]

A wrong winner can ruin an entire match though.

[@mrMOBlunts420]

2012 the year of “Bad Match John”😂

[@HakumeiTenshi]

I've been away from wrestling for a hot while, so this is my first time hearing the story of Big Show stepping through a table, and I am utterly confused to how this is on a "Worst Matches" list. This sounds like comedy plutonium.

[@owenchapman8320]

It's just objectively wrong that Lesnar vs Cena is on the worst list.

[@jamesforgione]

I’m sorry what?? Eve torres was so underrated

[@alanjackson9366]

She was the best

[@saintnick7252]

Being at Over the Limit live, that match may not have sucked but we had a blast during it. People randomly chanting People Power throughout the arena, imitating Laurinitis' husky voice, all the goofy stuff that happened during the match... It may have sucked to watch on PPV, but that match is proof that wrestling events are often far more fun in person.

[@TjByrd9]

Big show’s face after he stepped on that table will live on forever in infamy😂

[@ChrisRyot]

It's nice when the occasional memory flares up. Could go without the immediate despair over the realisation that this was TEN YEARS AGO but hey, what's time anyways...

[@nicolaslucena8077]

11:16 to be fair, he did manage to pull a decent match out of the great Khali

[@BainesMkII]

While certainly not a benefit, Ryback's run wasn't killed due to losing a match to Punk. His run was killed because Punk behind the scenes complained that Ryback wasn't a safe enough worker and refused to have more matches with him. WWE chose to keep Punk happy and pretty much gave up on Ryback.

[@ChrisJZedStormzone-fz8od]

And the funny thing is that Ryback had more main event matches with John Cena than Punk did for far as PPV events go

[@AbsoluteWoo]

Agreed. The HITC match wasn't that bad. They booked themselves into a corner (like they usually do) but managed to get out of it with the screwy finish. It definitely didn't hurt Ryback because he almost won the WWE Championship a month later at Survivor Series and it wouldn't have been a shock if he did.

[@RuanAntunes7]

John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar was a great match even though Brock should’ve won but It was far from bad.

[@nujabeez6573]

The world did end in 2012, and the social media era that came after 2012 is hell

[@Nflux]

I like to imagine an entire warehouse filled with Team Johnny shirts, as well as John Laurinaitis personally trying to unload them at Wrestlemania. JOHNNY: Hey there, young person. Have a free Team Johnny shirt. You'll be the coolest kid at school.

[@randomdude3533]

John Cena vs Brock Lesnar at Extreme Rules was possibly THE best match of the year, and one of the most important and significant matches of the decade.

[@iamlougotti]

“Big Show turned heel for the 465th time” 🤣🤣🤣

[@theycallmedom4157]

Miro has a submission victory over a guy who’s catchphrase is never give up.

[@GiuseppeNegri95]

Don't know if you can do it in post prod, of course it's not damaging the video, but at 3:23 it's XXVIII not XVIII. Fantastic video as always!

[@rickiehathaway8649]

Albert Tensai straight up sandbagged Ryback

[@TheJJStrife]

"Not only does JOHN BLODDY LAURINAITIS have more pinfall wins over John Cena than Miro does." At least Miro has a submission victory over Cena.

[@AbsoluteWoo]

That’s Johnny Ace to you.

[@siraan5642]

Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan I think was good at the time. It's SUPER rare for a face to truly overcome a heel in WWE, usually it's heels that come out with the big victories (they might give a face a minor victory after being screwed over and over and over by the heel, but it's usually a meaningless minor "win" before the heel ends coming out on top in the end), so having a heel get humiliated so badly was enjoyable. Also, I remember that Ryback vs. Punk match. It was so dumb. Should have just given Ryback the title. I didn't enjoy Punk as champion at that point - I really don't think it worked, and dragged on way too long. That was the perfect opportunity to finally drop it.

[@youarenowawarepodcast8896]

Everyday i think about the “John Cena’s worst year” angle where he proceeded to have his worst year. After losing to the rock he won money in the bank, later won the royal rumble, and of course before all of that he beat Brock lesbar

[@sanetarnold4080]

Lmao I was in the crowd at Over the Limit 2012. I did not remember the John Cena match at all but I do remember The Miz absolutely busting it down in the middle of the ring

[@jdizzle8993]

Putting Cena vs lesnar on this list js actually outrageous

[@sh-spectrum409]

In hindsight, Punk had a point about not being valued very high as WWE Champion in 2012 as he was barely booked in the main event of ppvs.

[@thomasclark-puia5864]

Video idea, 10 worst Meltzer ratings for 2022

[@iiShanebot]

I coulnd't stand WWE after they had the Annonymous RAW gm crap so I thankfully missed some of these weird years.

[@fatkid86]

i was at Over The Limit and omg, people were NOT happy 😂🤣😂🤣

[@Naruto0s44]

Punk vs Bryan not maineventing over the limit was proof that WWE didn't take cm punk's 434 title reign seriously

[@BFFR5150]

Naomi V. Eve wasn’t even bad…. Did you even actually watch it? Naomi showed her athleticism & Eve was one of the best heels in the divas division. The ONLY real issue was they didn’t have enough match time.

[@alanjackson9366]

Totally agree, EVE was the best female wrestler at that time

[@ChrisRyot]

So John Laurinaitis has as many victories over Cena as The Rock does. What a world

[@Vandalia1998]

Imagine if #1 was when he was his possible step father in law and that story was part of Total Bellas 🤯

[@tristanmatheny2361]

Cena vs Lesnar at extreme rules shouldn't be on this list at all.

[@Tobsta5456]

WTF!! The Hell in a cell match of Triple H and Undertaker is 11 years old

[@gaminglizard1256]

I don’t even know how Brock vs cena is on this list. That’s madness.

[@ramsesrendon2895]

Lesner v Cena should NOT be on this list cmon

[@willkuzenka]

If i I don’t see Del Rio v Sheamus at any point on this I’ll understand but I’d put them there

[@xmanclub3293]

Funny enough 2012 was the year I started watching wrestling so some of these matches I thought (and still do) think are good😂

[@Batista7105]

I completely disagree about brock and cena. Cena needed to be rebuilt for the rematch with Rock in 2013, and jobbing to two of the biggest stars back-to-back would have done more harm than good. As well, WWE probably weren't super confident in Brock's first return (considering how he left and the ensuing litigation with his no-compete in 2004) and so having him job early on was a ways to restore that trust in him.

[@bugsquashinghero891]

So losing to Brock would have harmed cena but losing to laurinaitis didn't?

[@coltkillergaming5685]

He lost to lauirinitis that would hurt a lot more then Brock

[@timothyblair7464]

see that would make sense, if WWE didn't frame 2012 as a horrible year for Cena where he lost his edge. Like yeah he lost to the rock but he also received multiple WWE Championship matches, beat Brock, Kane, and Big show in ppv main events, and won money in the bank. His only real loss was to The Rock. nobody else cleanly beat him all year. Laurinitis needed big show, the summerslam triple threat had big show pinned not cena, he had a draw at night of champions, wasn't pinned at survivor series (plus the shield attacked him and ryback), and only lost to ziggler because of AJ Lee. If WWE really wanted to paint 2012 as a horrible year for him, then every match after the rock would've ended in defeat. That way his narrative of "losing to the rock starting a downward spiral" actually makes sense

[@ItsS1lky]

Please reply I used to always watch u in 2020 during lockdown I used to get my dad and show him the worse wrestle manias and the worse war champions I miss watching you every single day the good times

[@vertizwood14]

Y’all 💩 on that match all the time but I loved the Sheamus/Bryan match. I remember being a kid watching it with my best friend and calling the entire match the moment he kissed AJ. We psyched out when it happened 🤣🤣

[@footballstats9127]

how can you say lesnar vs cena was one of the worst matches just cause the wrong man won?

[@Naruto0s44]

They weren't gonna have Cena lose to Lesnar right away

[@KingsNerdCave]

Most of these were awful, but Big Show accidently going through a table felt unique and was kind of funny.

[@AbsoluteWoo]

This is a really bad list. Cena/Lesnar was a great match and Cena only won due to a lucky punch with a chain. Sheamus/Bryan turned Bryan into a megastar. Show/Rhodes had a really unique ending and tbh I enjoyed it. Ryback/Punk really showed how much of a threat Ryback was at the time, the screwy finish worked and Ryback almost won the title a month later so this match didn't hurt him.

[@ghostofsocrates]

Next video: “The Best-Looking Wrestling Gear of 2006!”

[@hazardtriplezero]

Cool graphic work @ 3:50

[@GachaReact2024]

Santino is basically a different version of R-Truth. Obviously R-Truth is better.

[@joshfenwick1479]

Cena vs lesnar was amazing

[@A_T_F_]

I don't agree with several on here. Lesnar vs Cena was an amazing match with a wrong winner, that's about it. Cena vs Johnny Ace was a fun match that I genuinly had fun watching, same as Santino vs Ricardo. And Big Show vs Cody had a unique finish that I don't mind at all.

[@RobertJW]

Cena vs Johnny Ace was a comedy match that absolutely did not deserve the main event over Bryan vs Punk.

[@brandongordon2392]

You legit lost me after Cena/Lesnar…. This was a phenomenal match, people are just butthurt about the finish. I get it; it’s super low on the list but that match doesn’t belong anywhere near a worst of the year list

[@carribob1992]

Fun fact: There was another stipulation for Cena Vs Laurinatis. That was that if anyone interfered, they would be fired. Now I know what you are all thinking "Why wasn't Big Show fired when he interfered on behalf of Mr People Power?" Well Big Show was fired in the week building up to the PPV by Laurinatis and basically he turned heel and helped Johnnie Ace to beat Cena to get his job back. In a sense, the outcome was kinda predictable.

[@micaigeorge6972]

Number 1 was in my state, went to see it in person. If I recall right, it might've been my first PPV after a long while of not going to RAWs in, say… '05 or more. Kept the chair to Over the Limit for a good while until I moved.

[@cjvs1604]

I will not tolerate Rhodes/Big Show table finish slander.

[@multiyapples]

John Cena vs Brock Lesnar shouldn’t be on the list.

[@Farwell3d]

Okay, I get the idea that having Cena win was insane... But Cena/Lesnar was quite possibly the best match in WWE that year.

[@REALadejny]

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[@scbroncosfan84]

Brock vs Cena being on this list really questions the credibility. Because you didn’t like the finish it’s gets placed on this list. It was a awesome match and it didn’t hurt Brock’s momentum moving forward

[@kellen9836]

2012 was the year I was born

[@KindaHappy15]

Ricardo rodriguez is actually a great wrestler

[@johnnybro2883]

Many people expected 2012 to be the worst year ever. Instead, it was one of the best years ever

[@zaibjameel6609]

I’d say the year before this was the worst. Wrestlemania 27 is an example and the awful heel of Michael Cole.

[@timothyblair7464]

@@zaibjameel6609 honestly every ppv from 2011 is kinda ass, except Money in the Bank (obviously), TLC, and Extreme Rules

[@Shiny101]

Super revelant and great timing. Only 11 years ago lol

[@Nbflowers1989]

Another fun list!

[@danialsmith7]

Cena vs Brock was actually great but the ending with cena won the match was stupid.

[@awm8414]

0:40 Oh i don't remember I just googled it, i instantly regretted it

[@JouvaMoufette]

5:25 ummmm was this rendered properly?

[@zanethind]

According to people the year 2000 was supposed to mean the end of the world but turns out it wasn't

[@keyesy9]

Top shelf 🙋‍♂️

[@stevensalzman1418]

I like John Cena vs Brock Lesnar match also the Cody Rhodes vs Big Show match was funny

[@anidiotsguide757]

Cena v Lesnar was great, but the booking was bad. Booking and match are not the same thing though. D-, see me after class.

[@slimmusic757]

Cena beats Lesnar but loses to Michael Cole and John Laurinaitis 😂😂😂 Daniel Bryan and Sheamus get 18 seconds at WrestleMania and Maria Menounos gets over 6 minutes 😂😂😂 2012 in a nutshell

[@guillermosierracuellar9812]

Also Brodus clay vs drew McIntyre at the royal rumble

[@PressMinerBTC]

2016 - 2019 was the worst Era in WWE from 2000 - 2023. Like who wanna see face Reigns and B+ Ambrose run the show.

[@AJ-lg7bm]

2012 is the year when the world started for me 😂

[@optimus2008]

They screwed up John in 2012 so bad.

[@showtime9508]

2011: I know what going to be #1 cole v lawyer mania 27 I called it

[@MrPompey666]

Thought the lesnar vs Cena match was good. Booking wasn’t though. The promos up to the match was class as well. Remember edge coming out to confront Cena saying he has to win pointing out Brock doesn’t care about wrestling just money.

[@darrenjackson2800]

Bruh☠️☠️ if Romans title rain ends cos of a bribed ref ill cry

[@alexdredge655]

No way Lesnar/Cena should be on here, sure Lesnar should have won but the match was still pretty good

[@trevorsleight3765]

John Cena vs Brock Lesnar wasn't anything special but it was definitely fun and had some cool moments I don't think it deserves to be on this list.

[@Gary-le1tb]

We need more AEW lists! Although they haven't been around long we could easily have these types of lists for the proper wrestling company.

[@JaimeD.]

There are some things I really wish not seeing from WWE 2012. And the whole _People Power_ was a headache until No Way Out.🤦🏻‍♂️