Wrestling Matches That Didn't Live Up To The Hype

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This one looks at a selection of matches from WWF / WWE & WCW that didn't live up to the hype. Matches include Triple H vs Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels vs Mr. Perfect, Brock Lesnar vs Dean Ambrose, Bret Hart vs Sting and many more.
#WWF #WWE #WCW

[@thomasredmond5793]

you should do the reverse aka wrestling match that over delivered expectations despite little to no hype

[@danfortuna1984]

Love this idea for a video

[@michaelnugent9758]

Great idea

[@ellismarquez8410]

Yes, this.

[@ericwollam5532]

The first one that comes to mind for me is Raven vs Rhyno at Backlash 2001 for the hardcore title. This match was way better than it had any right to be.

[@charlottescrafts]

​@@ericwollam5532 big show v sheamus as well. And rock v hogan of course

[@brandondeakins564]

Starcade 97 still hurts to this day because ALL they had to do was Sting start strong and explosive af, hogan gets control by "hulking up" sitng kicks out of the leg drop and wins clean in 3rd act come back. That's it, that simple and it would've been huge. It was so, so, so, ridiculously simple and somehow they screwed it up

[@jackcarraway4707]

It should have been a squash.

[@zlinedavid]

Well, there are 6 reasons that didn’t happen: 1. That 2. Doesn’t 3. Work 4. For 5. Me 6. Brother

[@MrPLLuke]

It should have been max 10 minutes squash by Sting. Maybe one counter by Hogan with missing Stinger Splash on barriers, body slam, big boot, leg drop, kickout and Stings rise, series of punches, three Stinger Splashes, Deathlock and Hogan taps, the end.

[@Moxleygirl]

I haven’t seen anyone else mention this as well, Sting said in his personal life this was his lowest point and he really wasn’t excited about the match which is heartbreaking because the build up was so great

[@AskAdam28]

Right up there with HHH V Sting

[@LoneLeeGH]

Jimmy vs Jey Uso. Chemistry doesn't mean anything if neither one can carry a singles match. Also their time was cut which didn't help matters.

[@yoholmes273]

Honestly, it's a damn shame it didn't work. They had a great run in angle at night 2 but night 1 was the drizzlings

[@thomasbatta3250]

I agree it sucks when the video package is better than the match itself

[@ShockerTopper]

You mean Jay “never gonna be a main eventer” Uso? They need stop trying to make that a thing it will never happen. He doesn’t have the charisma to step out of the “tag team bubble”, it is what it is. His athleticism is good but he isn’t anything special over anyone else and he isn’t good on the mic at all and just uses these dumb modern day pop culture words and phrases.

[@woobgamer5210]

@@ShockerTopper considering the love he gets in crowds and especially at france backlash, thats just a lie, he HAS the charisma, he has lots more charisma than Roman Reigns, lots more than any of the other active Anoai's and Fatu's

[@eljermo]

Their time being cut was a blessing. Did you really want even more super kicks? They stunk it up hard and were out of shape.

[@Venemofthe888]

Triple H v Orton at WM 25 should have been no holds barred. It was a match limited by its stipulation

[@MR.__G]

And they also had to go after hbk vs taker which didn’t do any favors. They got double fisted each 😂😂

[@sirkjohno0129]

It's a double whammy of it not being a no holds barred match, as well as Triple H would lose the title if he got DQ'd.

[@kekeedordu8422]

they made up for it at night of champions . that was a great match

[@chubbycatfish4573]

The 18 month build that led to Sting/Hogan immediately comes to mind.

[@thomassalas5191]

It doesn't work for me brotha!

[@LordDeBahs]

i dint understand why wcw didnt solve it by simply saying hogan is chicken wus and fears fight sting . simple solution , he would look like fool

[@treybrannon4964]

@@LordDeBahs Three reasons. 1.) Creative control (they'd be sued), 2.) Bischoff was a Hogan sycophant and 3.) he had the belt (and thus, re-reference #1)

[@ashtonndlovu9470]

"too much black paint on your face paint, makes me think of those brothers I don't like brother" - Hulk Hogan probably

[@mycahjofficial]

*Sting vs. Hulk Hogan at Starrcade ‘97 has to be one of my least favorite matches in the history of wrestling. They literally spent 18 pissing months building up to that match and it ended up being one of the most stupidly convoluted finishes of all time when they just had one simple thing to do: have Sting go over Hogan clean as a whistle. Sadly, due to Hogan’s ego and the incompetence of Eric Bischoff, that didn’t happen. They literally had just one simple thing to do, but nope, they just had to ruin it at the last minute. It makes it even more frustrating that they even had a more complicated follow-up after that event. It was just such a massive waste of everybody’s thanks to Hogan and Bischoff. SMH.*

[@glencurtis6052]

Have you watched the 'Who killed WCW' documentary on Vice? Bischoff said they changed the finish on the day because Hogan didn't think Sting's head was in the right place...😂

[@kal0247]

​@glencurtis6052 I'm guessing Hogan showed up and said "Yeah that's not gonna work for me, brother 😂

[@S.T.A.N.D_inspirational]

Least it was better than sting vs Jeff in tna

[@glencurtis6052]

@@kal0247 I'm pretty sure that's exactly what he said 🤣

[@TheRustedShackleford]

It was the best match in modern history until the bell rang...

[@jefferyjones8399]

I was so hyped for Nakamura vs. AJ too. It was so deflating. WM 34 as a whole was a big waste of time.

[@donnieconjure]

Between Asuka losing, taker vs cena, and the main event of Roman and Brock, WM definitely under delivered. Best match was the mixed tag

[@gavinross4395]

I put it down to the WWE style of wrestling. WWE has always been about story telling over spot driven matches. There has been some exceptions but its one of the reasons why WWE cruiser weights never got to the heights that WCW cruiser weights achieved because Vince never liked the fast paced style that you see in Japan or other promotions. AJ and Nakamura looked they were wrestling on slow mode.

[@jefferyjones8399]

@@gavinross4395 The NJPW matches tell a better story most of the time though

[@heyyoitsmebrian]

they probably knew they were going at it again at the next ppv... AND the next ppv... so save it for MITB or whatever

[@wjrmyop]

Worst Wrestlemania of all time

[@MattHall05]

When kane lost his mask 💀💀💀

[@yoholmes273]

I was there at MSG, Brother!!! What a wet fart that turned out to be.

[@SeveralKenobis]

That was so disappointing, I've been an HBK fan since I was a kid I was so excited about seeing him perform again, absolutely horrendous lol

[@pleaseshutup7053]

@@SeveralKenobisI still haven’t watched the match I’m not watching bald hbk wrestle

[@WesleyWilkins-qf2ky]

lol right. I was like hold up isn’t that my mayor?? lol

[@michaelnugent9758]

​@@yoholmes273As was I. What should have been a big moment went over like a fart in church

[@willkayl8793]

That Nakamura x Styles match was criminal. You know they were told tone it down. Maybe Vince didn’t want those guys to overshadow the main event, which these two would do. Easily. What a disappointment.

[@donnieconjure]

I was at that mania. Crowd fell flat and the ending came out of nowhere. Keep in mind to, that’s when mania was one night and i remember the show being like 6 hours deep before they even wrestled

[@Ian-Omega]

Nakamura was never going to wrestle the same style he did in Japan. He went to the states to make money, he’s not interested in destroying his body for the pleasure of some sweaty marks.

[@OSEsean]

@@Ian-Omega Tell me you never watched his matches in Japan without telling me

[@fatcat8033]

That Goatee Sting was rocking at that time in the Wolfpack…🤦‍♂️ Yeesh!

[@starrsmith3810]

So not a fan. Or attractive. And yes he is actually pretty good looking.

[@zlinedavid]

That was the point in his life Sting was the most messed up. He was drinking about as much as Hall at that point.

[@nickn271]

⁠​⁠@@zlinedavidHe went Wolfpack in June 98 and was born again August 98. He said he quit everything cold turkey. His personal life/marriage may have still been pretty rocky but he was off the junk

[@dr.snakes]

Sting looked like the gawddamn Deviled Ham mascot. All he was missing was a little red pitchfork.

[@LeeONardo]

@@zlinedavid I take it this was the time Sting did his rant video for the Playstation thunder game? because Sting's rant vid in that isn't just phoned in, it's sent by carrier pigeon.

[@jerrymarshall5965]

Anyone who doesn’t know about the Steiner brothers in late 80s early 90s should go back and watch they were an awesome tag team

[@aic8001]

Scott's steiner screwdriver was nasty

[@justafanofnerdculture7602]

The first Bobby Lashley vs Brock Lesnar match was very, very disappointing. In fact, every time they faced each other was a let down 😔

[@diesel101raw]

Booked Terribly

[@zacharyrupley3264]

I was at wrestlemania 25 way back in 2009. I can personally speak to the crowd being exhausted emotionally after that Shawn Michaels / Undertaker match.

[@AmazingGuy13]

*HIAC 2019 not 2013

[@Maverick33]

Glad I'm not the only one who caught that

[@K.J.S.est1994]

Honestly, Bret Hart should’ve been the referee for the Sting vs Hogan match at Starrcade 97 from the start and whilst Sting locks in the scorpion deathlock, Hart calls for the bell immediately even though Hogan didn’t tap, a la the end of Survivor Series ‘97 which would’ve lead to a “Bret Screwed Hogan” storyline and would’ve been the beginning of the end of the nWo.

[@extremeking425]

I honestly feel like WWE told AJ and Nakamura to tone it down so Ronda can look good in her debut match.

[@Kalel2.0]

It also comes down to being limited by a safer and restrictive style that limited them in going all out

[@Nostalgicguy2242]

​@@Kalel2.0or perhaps WWE didn't wanted to risk another ending to the Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle Wrestlemania 19 match.. especially considering their reckless all out styles

[@TheMGSlow]

That HHH vs Orton match just made no sense. It needed to be a no DQ clusterfuck with interference from Legacy, The McMahons, hell have Batista return a couple weeks early if you are dead set on HHH retaining since Orton was the one who took him out at the end of the previous year. Instead 'if HHH gets DQ'd he loses the title' stipulation just completely killed the match midway through the show when it was added.

[@woobgamer5210]

the only reason why it wasnt, is probably cause it was only a year and a half ago since Benoit... went rabid.

[@scottmorrison3929]

I don't know if it was an intentional nod, but I cannot imagine it was not; Dean Ambrose is from Cincinnati, OH. Cincinnati has a long standing radio station, WEBN, that throughout Ambrose's entire life has been a mainstream rock station with a veneer of wanting to be portrayed as counter-culture. WEBN's long standing nickname has been "The Lunatic Fringe of American FM" and I always figured that the WWE lifted that nickname for Dean. I actually listen to your shows while I drive, and caught this episode while driving not only through Cincinnati, but right past Heritage Bank Arena, the venue that the WWE (and AEW) air their locally filmed shows from. Got to watch Moxley have a heroes reception there the last time I caught some live wrestling. Thanks for another great upload!

[@zlinedavid]

You a local or just drive through the area?

[@scottmorrison3929]

@@zlinedavid I'm a local.

[@tafua_a]

At first I thought that nickname was kinda cool. In a "he's so insane, he's not just part of a lunatic fringe, he IS the lunatic fringe!" Then I heard LittleKuriboh describe an Ambrose vs. Sheamus match as "The Lunatic Fringe vs. The Psychopathic Mohawk" and I was never able to take that name seriously again.

[@timothymattson5369]

Mistico vs Rey Mysterio at one of the Rey de Reyes PPVs. Rey paused at one time to just stare at Mystico in disbelief, because Mystico was botching nearly every move.

[@mattypenta]

In the dying months of WCW, Triple H vs Scott Steiner was at the top of my list of then current roster WCW vs WWF matches. I had images of Scott Steiner with his steel pipe and Midajah in his corner going against Triple H with sledgehammer and Stephanie in his corner going at it in some street fight main event of a PPV after a heated feud. It definitely tops my personal list of dream feuds/matches that were better left as just dreams.

[@glencurtis6052]

Good shout

[@pleaseshutup7053]

They did it too soon scott wasn’t in ring shape or healthy

[@TheRealAhoy]

It was also the worst shape Triple H was ever in. After a big injury, athletes can go a while when they return but eventually they're gonna rust for a while, and Triple H spent all of 2023 rusting, until his raw match with HBK at the end of the year. Long term effect of coming off that injury so quick, it eventually caught up to him. They must have had no idea how immobile Scott had become, both of them in the worst shape of their careers at the same time lol. Recipe for disaster.

[@DarranKern]

Post-‘98 WCW fans baffle me

[@reginaldgalloway]

For me, it’s any Hogan/Flair match. The biggest WWF and NWA stars of the 80s never had a memorable match that matched their profiles.

[@diesel101raw]

Had it happened at WM 8 I felt it wudda been Great

[@PhenomsServant4]

Tbf Hogan has never been known as good from a purely wrestling standpoint, he got to where he was because of his larger than life personality. Even his biggest matches were average at best. Anyone expecting Flair/Hogan to be a MOTY candidate were fooling themselves.

[@zlinedavid]

@@PhenomsServant4 There’s only one exception to that: WM3. Hogan slamming Andre was a moment in history. Doesn’t matter what the match was like, that moment alone paid it off.

[@GeoGuy388]

Agree to disagree - their Bash at the Beach '94 match was pretty good. It's just not as "memorable" because it happened in kind of a lost period for WCW. Nobody really remembers anything from WCW before Nitro.

[@poopsyko]

@@GeoGuy388it wasn’t that great of a match though,tons of media and hype and star power but that was it 🤷‍♂️ Hogan and Flair had some good house show matches apparently but nothing spectacular,we fans weren’t ever getting that with those two it was just star power

[@PoeticProphetic]

I would put Goldberg versus glacier on this list. Solely for the fact that glacier should’ve went over. It’s no secret as to WCW floundered after the mismanagement of glacier. They let him melt away.

[@yoholmes273]

😂

[@SeveralKenobis]

😂🤣😂🤣😂

[@zlinedavid]

You’ve been in HBK’s fanny pack, haven’t you?

[@RemoWilliams1227]

And now we have changing ocean temperatures... Coincidence?

[@dannydbrown90]

A rip off mortal kombat character should've gone over? You ok mate? 😂

[@PaulSman123]

HHH vs Sting was one of the most upsetting Matchs in history to me. They really did my boy Sting wrong

[@TimTE01]

Cena vs Reigns at No Mercy 2017. Super Roman was ludicrous.

[@sethkaplan]

Hogan vs sting starcade 1997😂

[@DebitAdams]

That had so much potential

[@BrandanTheBroker]

I'm still trying to figure out what a lunatic fringe is and why was Dean Ambrose even near being a lunatic. He just came off as not really caring about much, but never a lunatic

[@pleaseshutup7053]

Pg lunatic

[@dukes1993724]

He earned that nickname more from his FCW and Indie days, but WWE did a poor job carrying over that character trait when they had him on Raw & Smackdown

[@SteveEazy]

​@@dukes1993724so true man

[@ryananderson5202]

Whats a cult of personality? Just as stupid.

[@zlinedavid]

It’s also a shout out to his hometown, Cincinnati. One of the most popular radio stations (WEBN) is known as “the lunatic fringe of American FM”.

[@TheSBleeder]

One of the issues with Goldberg vs. Lesnar at Wrestlemania 20 was that Lesnar was a technical machine who had wrestled a 60-minute Iron Man Match with Kurt Angle the previous year. Goldberg had no stamina and had 5 moves in his arsenal. I don't know why anyone expected a great match.

[@davidwyatt9827]

That head shot at 1:19 😂

[@johnbrouillet988]

Literally any Hulk Hogan match after Road Wild 96, and prior to Wrestlemania X-8, could make this list 😂

[@pleaseshutup7053]

Hogan vs Luger was great

[@zlinedavid]

@@pleaseshutup7053 That’s what Road Wild ‘96 was.

[@MR.__G]

All his ppv matches in 1998 were abysmal lol

[@SW1FFLEE]

@@MR.__G Superbrawl VIII was good, it's what Starrcade 1997 should have been

[@GeoGuy388]

Basically every match Hogan had at Halloween Havoc, after Hogan/Flair in '94, fits this list. Especially Hogan/Warrior, but the cage match with Piper and the stallfest with Savage were also really atrocious.

[@volodymyrbilyk555]

Bret vs Sting was quite a dud

[@pleaseshutup7053]

I enjoyed it

[@antology7]

It's bizarre because their backstage brawl was great, the short nitro match before Halloween Havoc had more fire than the PPV match. Then in 1999 they had a pretty decent title match on nitro as well as a good contest on Mayhem. They had some decent matches, they just both looked less than enthused for the match between them that had the most build up.

[@Nostalgicguy2242]

​@@antology7Sting at that time was going through some personal problems and really wasn't all that invested in the feud.. while Bret surely at the time was coming to realize that leaving the WWF was the worst desicion he could had done.. It clearly showed they wanted to end it the second the bell rang at Havoc..

[@XKTwentyFive]

HHH vs. Scott Steiner would have been awesome in 1999 or 2000.

[@nicktaylor2657]

WCW World Champion vs WWF World Champion

[@fergalstackstreams]

Yeah, that's the thing about the 2003 match, is I don't think it's a match anyone was EXPECTING to be good, so it doesn't really belong here. Steiner had been a botch machine for years at that point, and HHH had clearly taken a step down since returning from his quad injury.

[@zlinedavid]

Early 1999. 2000 and after, Steiner’s body started to crumble like blue cheese. He could still (literally) muscle his way through a mediocre-to-ok match, but he was nowhere near the worker he once was. Shame too, because he had just come into his own on the mic.

[@simeonflake]

Bret vs. Sting--I don't have a problem with the match at HH, rather the build up. Sting vs. Bret should have been a top of the line, ppv main event. But--due to incompetence from Bischoff and Hogan--the dream feud was relegated to the midcard & both guys were stuck in factions they had no business being in. The fact that Sting and Bret only had 3 "official" matches is sad testimony to how WCW misfired... 😢

[@burntvirtue]

Still the best backstage brawl ever recorded though

[@mistere9099]

I think less is more here due only to WCW's booking and their ability to inevitably mess things up. Also, Wolfpac Sting with the gnarly long hair just wasn't his best look. I do like the Nitro and Mayhem matches the next year, though.

[@poopsyko]

@@burntvirtueand the funniest thing about that Bischoff was late in phoning the ambulance Bret and Sting had to lay there beaten up in confusion as to where the damn ambulance was lmfao 🤣 it got there but took longer than it was supposed to hahaha

[@theoldhermit2601]

All Cena vs Orton matches could fit this, right? Crazy heated blood feud between the top face and top heel and then the matches feel underwhelming even for an episode of Raw

[@pleaseshutup7053]

The feud in general wasn’t even hot Kofi vs Randy was better and felt more intense

[@woobgamer5210]

Cena vs Orton matches only got interesting if Orton won,

[@CheknoEternity]

Not all. Their “I Quit” match from Breaking Point 2009 is probably my all time favorite “I Quit” match. 2007 Summerslam was pretty solid too.

[@pleaseshutup7053]

@@CheknoEternity says more about you you like someone getting tortured for 20 minutes the ceba wind 30 seconds

[@laserramon9926]

First one that pops in my mind is Hogan vs Sting 97 Starcade

[@chrissalem3747]

NOBODY expected steiner v. Triple h to be good in 2003.

[@littlemike0258]

Brock Lesnar vs Cain Velasquez at Crown Jewel 2019

[@Kalel2.0]

This was frustrating and outright stupid as the match didnt even go longer than 2 minutes and just unjustified how they ended Kofi's reign in the most direspectful and insulting way all for a rematch from at that point 13 years prior that no wrestling fan asked for

[@Xehanort10]

Where Brock treated being booked to win a scripted wrestling match like it "avenged" his real life MMA loss to Cain.

[@EssexAggiegrad2011]

No Hogan v Warrior at Halloween Havoc

[@yoholmes273]

Fireball ending 🔥 🤣🤣🤣

[@zlinedavid]

That’s not a disappointment. Thats more of an atrocity.

[@jondrummer1997]

Build was horrible and didn’t make sense just warrior showing up in smoke and kidnapping the disciple that match was a trainwreck warrior was just brought in cause hogan needed his win back from wrestlemania

[@dr.snakes]

Just about everything Hogan did, during his career with WCW, was a sad attempt at recapturing the successes he had in the '80s. Who really wants to watch a broken down, middle-aged, man try to relive his glory years?

[@LuisHGarcia]

One other thing to factor about Bret Hart vs. Tiger Mask II/Mitsuharu Misawa that may have played into the match: Misawa did not like wrestling in a mask and being the Tiger Mask character altogether, so having to use a very different in-ring style instead of what he was best at. Also props to Kim Justice's vid and her excellent 4-part Misawa vs. Kawada series.

[@codex0451]

Sting wasnt tan enough, brother.

[@greghuffman3061]

but he got that "3 second tan"

[@Tasiturne]

Wait didn't the Rollins/fiend feud happenned in 2019 (not 2013) ? Anyways great vid brother as Always 👌

[@robertm6590]

Yeah it was no where near that long ago. I was thinking about that 2013 thing but I wasn't watching WWE at the time but remembered it being more recently than 2013 lol

[@Spikeland]

Well 9 is divisible by 3.... lol 😆 🤣

[@BrolyChan]

AJ VS Jericho at Wrestlemania, (also known as that the reason for that Infamous Kevin Owens and Vince "are we good?" gorilla position clip) Man that match was so disappointing, that entire storyline was great up until towards end when KO lost the title to Goldberg in like a minute. Then he and Chris had a boring match at mania. Which led to that infamous clip at gorilla position where after the match KO asked Vince "are we good?" Vince said no.

[@stirlock]

I can absolutely second the Kim Justice recommendation. Her coverage of Japanese wrestling is second to none. I was never into it either, but she does an extremely good job of filling you in. Great great stuff.

[@kamenanew9867]

Thanks to you and wb here I'm now a new fan.

[@robertdesantis729]

Sting vs Jeff Hardy where Hardy shows up on drugs has to be on there

[@ArizonaColt407]

Mr Perfect vs Lex Luger was a dream match for me in 1993. That's my first memory of being disappointed by a wrestling match.

[@emperorburton]

Hennig’s fault. He blanked the whole match according to Luger.

[@joelbrown2782]

I remember that Eddie Guerrero vs. Benoit match. You can see how Eddie is annoyed and he is just trying to go through the motions of the match, but not go out of his way to put on a great match. It was so disappointing to watch.

[@FunkesBlowhard]

Me wrestling with all of my bills...huge letdown and definitely ended up under-delivering.

[@fattiger6957]

Why do people always overexaggerate Scott Steiner's physical transformation? Yeah he became bigger, but he was always jacked even before he was Big Poppa Pump. Dude was massive even during his WWF run in '92, even then being bigger than most guys in the business.

[@woobgamer5210]

considering he went from reasonably buff to ultra popped out veins buff, he definitely took roids to get that jacked

[@fattiger6957]

@@woobgamer5210 I don't think pre-white hair Scott could be called "reasonably buff" when he dwarfed most other wrestlers he stepped into the ring with. The guy was always a giant ball of muscle.

[@zlinedavid]

It’s not like Scott was a cruiserweight to begin with, but he put on probably 20-30 lbs of muscle between “Scott Steiner” and “Big Poppa Pump”. And when you’re 225-230 to begin with, that’s not easy to do.

[@user-fe8gx3ie5v]

Suzuki, Okada, and Tanahashi were reportedly in the crowd for Shinsuke vs AJ, and they laughed at Shinsuke's heel turn.

[@17thNO]

So you had a mayor, a injured deadman, a CEO and a multple time retired old man toy...what could possibly go wrong?

[@mannygonzalez7735]

I'm not your old man toy, old man to-oy.

[@DarkHeroesForever]

3:26 You weren't alone, my friend. You weren't alone.

[@kevinwilliams6889]

Great topic! I think this should be looked into even further. Love this idea!

[@Joeelkins.]

Not even watched yet. But hart vs vince 2010 pops to mind 😢

[@Ironhawx]

I agree. I purposefully skip that match in the dvd…it’s sad

[@Deadpool_64]

In my head, DX vs BoD never happened and isn't cannon because it was at Crown Jewel, lol.

[@zlinedavid]

Same thing with any Flair match after WM24. Doesn’t exist IMO.

[@ironman2326]

Sting at Starrcade 97 and the Undertaker listing the steak immediately come to mind.

[@ctwwtc8761]

Bret vs Goldberg at Starrcade

[@mistere9099]

I always saw the Bret Hart vs Sting as the big WCW vs WWF match in the 1990s. At least it happened. The two matches they had around Mayhem 1999 were good, but one happened on a random Nitro and the other was a screwy tournament matches (both very good). Halloween Havoc '98 was an incredible card on paper. The whole PPV is one big night of failed dream matches. And DDP-Goldberg, which was probably the best Goldberg streak match.

[@anjetto1]

It's crazy that any of you thought the kane/taker v michaels/HHH was going to be good. I knew it was going to suck going in and it delivered

[@MrVenom973]

Right that might have been good 20 years ago lol

[@dr.snakes]

At least you weren't let down.

[@anjetto1]

@@dr.snakes luckily I'm rarely disappointed in things because I've learned to expect so little from people

[@dr.snakes]

@anjetto1 When you expect nothing, and get everything, that's destiny.

[@wwered96]

Best Eddie v Benoit WWE match was Vengeance '03. Austin and Taker Rock Bottom match didn't work because they had moved on to different feuds and pushed back into facing each other to fill a gap in getting to Royal Rumble. The Fiend was pushed slightly early for title that year and Survivor Series was a better show to put him Fiend over. The lack of interference in WM 25 match between HHH and Orton took from it.

[@hugheswhiteman1674]

Sting vs Hogan was the best story buildup I ever seen

[@poopsyko]

Obviously if you were watching wcw at the time You clearly missed out on the building up of THATS GOTTA BE KANE!!!! The real best storyline of all time!!!!

[@jamesbounds]

As Kevin Sorbo would say to these matches "Disappointed".

[@THEANIMEFANZ_]

since you mentioned the change to Mania xix... Triple H vs Booker T, wwe wanted it to be wwe vs wcw but it went into wtf don't you see the implactions wwe, that we all thought the Mania match was going to be this brawl but turned out to a meh/subpar match with an ending that nails the implications wwe didn't wanted hard on this match.

[@carloshill]

18 months of build that led to sting vs hogan I remember every kid in school talking about that angle and match only to be disappointed like me in a match that was a mess and didn't resolve anything.

[@Dock76]

I do like most Austin vs Taker matches in 98-99. That buried alive match was disastrous.

[@Billy-ot8mk]

The Fiend/Seth Rollins was the most pissed I'd been at a wrestling match in my entire wrestling fandom.

[@MrVenom973]

😂😂😂😂

[@g-dub5272]

Without question Hogan vs Sting Starrcade 97….that build up was so amazing for it to be wasted in a match like that 🤦🏾‍♂️ and they had it too. Hogan should’ve worked and actually wrestled, with some nWo shenanigans involved but Sting eventually overcomes and beat him clean but no 🤦🏾‍♂️

[@presntnow]

Most of WCW matches from 1998 to 2001

[@TheDoubleZTV]

One match that felt huge, but didn't feel like it met expectations for me was Triple H vs. Hollywood Hogan from Backlash 2002. Two huge names in the company going at it for Triple H's recently won Undisputed WWF Championship, just didn't feel like it was as great as it could've been once the final bell rang.

[@17thNO]

Bret Hart and Sting are two if my favorite wrestlers of all-time and two of the greatest of all time.

[@notreallyabear]

I was at that Rock Bottom match between Stone Cold and Undertaker in Vancouver. When they went to the area with all the dirt for the burial, nobody could see anything, so people started throwing their drinks and stuff, WCW style. I remember a guy seated near us nailed Taker with an empty soda cup at one point. That show really sucked.

[@Julford]

Love the shoutout to Misawa and especially to Kim Justice! I recently found Kim Justice's channel, and have been binging a lot of their content, especially their multiple hour-long videos on the Misawa/Kawada rivalry. Misawa is a legitimate contender for THE greatest in-ring performer of all time, and it's a real shame that his random match with Bret Hart (long before either wrestler truly came into their own) was a let down.

[@michaelreich4827]

Not to nitpick, but Sting would have quick dark matches after several Nitros well before Starcade '97 to send the fans home happy.

[@zlinedavid]

A fact I didn’t know. Thanks.

[@Hallofshame-f7x]

Wrestling bios you need to do video essay on Japan wrestling in general

[@MichaelSpikes-pv6kl]

Excellent video

[@MrPLLuke]

Sting vs. Bret Hart from ring perspective and storyline build. Breaks my heart that my favorite wrestlers from the '90s doesn't deliver some classics.

[@aklestinec]

I thought Nakamura vs Styles at WM had so much potential and I thought it was underwhelming. That match could’ve been so much better in my mind. I didn’t hate the match but expected a little more. This is a great list. I do agree with all these matches misfiring and a lot of them were very well done leading up to the match. The only one I give a break to is the Orton vs Triple H. The life of that crowd was sucked out the room and the match had to close the show after the greatest match ever seen arguably.

[@TiVo67]

Some off the top of my head Stone Cold vs Scott Hall Cena vs Theory Vince vs Bret Nexus vs Team WWE Goldust vs Stardust Jeff vs Matt Hardy Mox vs Omega exploding ring Hogan vs HBK

[@marvindeleon5850]

I could really feel that something was wrong with Eddie vs benoit at one night stand. Eddie didn't feel happy nor well. Finally someone shed a light here regarding this match

[@NickFish-mk9vv]

The lunatic fringe is him paying homage to I guess our hometown Cincinnati. The local rock radio station calls itself the lunatic fringe.

[@zlinedavid]

“From high atop Frog’s Mountain….”

[@laurenced2916]

Hogan vs Warrior at Halloween Havoc 98!

[@zlinedavid]

That’s not a disappointment, that’s a train wreck.

[@killergrooves2438]

Nick Patrick: I was told not to fast count. Hogan, proven habitual liar: Nobody told Nick not to fast count. Honestly, Sting deserves some share of the blame for Starrcade. He was in the business for a decade at that point. He should’ve known to kick out if the ref wasn’t fast counting. And he also shouldn’t have let Hogan take the match the entire time, even if he had to go into business for himself.

[@poopsyko]

Bischoff was also saying Sting didn’t seem to be taking things seriously and legit looked like he just got off the couch Bischoff had a very interesting side to this story No one wants to admit their wrongdoing in it all if you’ve heard all sides lmfao 🤣 Still nothing beats Bret Hart punching out Nick Patrick for a fast count that he didn’t do 🤣🤣🤣🤣😀

[@PettyHateMachine]

Matt Hardy vs Edge at Summerslam 2005 is right up there for me. The real life issues between the two created some huge expectations, but the match itself was nothing special before the lame referee stoppage finish - Edge took most of the offence, when people wanted to see him take a pasting. They eventually got it right at Unforgiven, but by that point it felt just a tad too late.

[@Xehanort10]

3:18 The Undertaker vs Triple H end of an era match with Michaels as the referee should have been the last one those three were ever involved in.

[@fromationart5371]

Jimmy vs Jey Uso. I was there live. The fact that it was freezing cold and I had pneumonia amplified my disappointment for that match 😅💀

[@woobgamer5210]

why was you at wrestlemania with a sickness that could've klled you

[@fromationart5371]

​@@woobgamer5210 I had antibiotics medicine with me. Plus I paid way too much money for those tickets to miss my one and only Mania show live. Not sorry 😂

[@tommylovesstuff]

Awesome video. Agreed with all of these. Also, the WM 12 iron man match. Some people love it but watching it on ppv I was kinda bored. And it became evident they were gonna go 0-0 after about 15/20 min

[@stingrey1571]

There was a sting/bret street fight on nitro which was a banger. However there was zero follow up. This it is often forgotten.

[@poopsyko]

I knew forgot it too awesome!!! As I commented elsewhere about this I’ll never not laugh at Bret’s story about this,Bischoff forgot to call the ambulance so Bret and Sting were laying there selling the injury a lot longer lol 😂 and in confusion at one point 😂

[@trupahesqwire6734]

- The British Bulldog vs. Shawn Michaels at WWF One Night Only (1997). - Bret Hart vs. Diesel at WWF King of the Ring (1994). - Jeff Jarrett vs. Sting at WCW Halloween Havoc (2000). - Kurt Angle vs. The Undertaker at WWF Survivor Series (2000). - The Rock vs. Triple H vs. Kurt Angle at WWF SummerSlam (2000). - The Undertaker vs. Faarooq at WWF Royal Rumble (1997). - JBL vs. The Undertaker at WWF SummerSlam (2004). - Triple H vs. Booker T at WWF Wrestlemania 20 (2004). - Brock Lesnar vs. Hardcore Holly at WWF Royal Rumble (2004).

[@stingrey1571]

Dx vs bros of destruction i believed was the turning point where Vince realized you can go to the attitude era one too many times

[@solascripturaPR1517]

LoL @ Bret Hart suffering from jet lag before his match against Tiger Mask II.

[@Steveman34]

Surprised what hasn't been mentioned more about the Undertaker-Austin match was that Austin had a back injury that occurred during the match. Probably why it wasn't as good like when he received a concussion at Summer Slam 1998 against The Undertaker.

[@seankilduff7652]

I was in attendance for the Triple H match, against Scott Steiner. It definitely didn't live up to the hype.

[@Loganjohn636]

Sting Vs Triple H wrestlemania 31 Triple H vs Randy Orton wrestlemania 25 And most definitely Hollywood Hogan Vs Sting Starrcarde 97 Hollywood Hogan Vs Ultimate warrior Halloween Havoc 98

[@zlinedavid]

Hogan/Warrior wasn’t a disappointment, that was an embarrassment 😂

[@acceptable1609]

@@zlinedavidagreed that match was horrible it didnt even come close to capturing the magic of the Wrestlemania 6 match.

[@andrethegiant3035]

The goat of wrestling videos on KZbin. You my friend are the best.

[@bryanalvaradov]

Great video pal. I would love to see the opposite video: matches that looked 💩 on paper, but turned out to be good, like HHH and Steph vs Kurt and Ronda.

[@emceeschwartz]

JYD vs Hacksaw Jim Duggan at the Tipsy Too Saloon in '88

[@generalkhan5569]

One of the matches I was disappointed in was JBL vs Finlay and WM24, the buildup was personal bc JBL was abusing poor hornswoggle and Finley wanted revenge only to get dominated in the opening match, that's one that passes off.

[@PrettyboyAshtun]

usually the matches that aren’t built up like the big matches are the best ones

[@colonicus]

The Fiend vs Seth one should have finished with Seth getting disgusted with himself about how far he was willing to go and quitting and giving the win to Wyatt. Then do the medics running in and panicing, just for the Fiend to claw himself up to his feet after a few minutes and start laughing, preferably with blood pouring out of his mask or something. Could have played into a great promo from Bray praising Seth for being honorable while the puppets called him weak etc. Then rematch, Seth wins with a rollup, proving he doesn't have to become like the Fiend to beat him, he only needs 3 seconds.

[@eljermo]

Rocky Maivia vs The Sultan really let me down.

[@dr.snakes]

Honky Tonk Man on commentary was pretty funny. "GET HIM SHEIK! TEAR HIS CLOTHES OFF!! STRETCH HIM!!"

[@tysheinin8733]

Kim Justice is a great KZbin channel BTW. Glad he is getting shouted out.

[@biggie21990]

Styles vs Bryan Royal Rumble 2019 MJF vs Jay White Rollins vs Ambrose TLC 2018

[@miroslawkowol]

All Rollins vs Ambrose feud matches