Time has not been too kind to these wrestling matches...
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00:00 From emotional show of shows finales that became increasingly painful to revisit, to
00:05 highly anticipated throwdowns that haven't stood the test of time.
00:09 These matches were awesome or innocuous in the moment, but in 2022?
00:13 Not so much.
00:15 Gareth here from WhatCulture Wrestling and here are 10 wrestling matches that haven't
00:19 aged well.
00:20 10.
00:21 John Cena vs CM Punk - Money in the Bank 2011
00:24 Crowds have a funny old habit of being able to make or break just about any contest going
00:29 down inside of a wrestling ring.
00:31 And while the actual in-ring action seen going down on the fateful night in Chicago back
00:35 at Money in the Bank 2011 was far from terrible, the fact John Cena and CM Punk's WWE Championship
00:40 skirmish sits as the only Meltzer-rated 5-star WWE main roster match of the last decade or
00:46 so tells a story of about far better in the moment than it is through a 2022 lens.
00:51 Sure, the nuclear noise heard within the Allstate Arena is one the duo would struggle to conjure
00:56 up again in later efforts.
00:57 But their epic clash on the road to WrestleMania 29 outclasses this pantomime pay-per-view
01:02 punch-up.
01:03 And the best in the world's recent All Elite exploits have cast a staggering shadow over
01:07 the last few years of his WWE run in general.
01:10 As a moment in time and catalyst for momentary change, this contest still deserves all the
01:14 love frequently sent its way.
01:16 But when held up against more recent standards and the rival's other battles, its 5-star
01:20 status feels increasingly questionable.
01:22 9.
01:23 Bianca Belair vs. Natalya - NXT TakeOver With the WrestleMania show being well and
01:28 truly stolen by the likes of Bianca Belair, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch over the last
01:32 few years, it's easy to forget how painfully long it took for the freakishly talented women
01:36 occupying the wrestling world to finally be given a shot at showing the blokes how it's
01:40 really done.
01:41 Hopping back to the first ever TakeOver special in 2014 then, and it was during said first
01:46 flicker of black and gold that the women's revolution truly began to catch fire.
01:50 That being said, for all of the progress undoubtedly made on the night by having Natalya and Charlotte
01:55 Flair put on a match of the night display in front of a rampant full sail, the aforementioned
01:59 performances put on in more recent times by WWE's resident game changers haven't been
02:04 all that kind to the two Queen's NXT Women's Championship battle.
02:07 The presence of a certain blacklisted nature boy at ringside also doesn't do the contest
02:11 any favours upon a re-watch either.
02:13 With WWE's stacked women's roster of NXT alumni now churning out bangers by the pay-per-view,
02:19 important contests like this were always destined to be dwarfed in quality as the bar continued
02:23 to be raised.
02:24 8.
02:25 Six-Man Hell in a Cell - Armageddon 2000 The noise that greeted each now legendary
02:30 star as they made their way down to the monumental Hell in a Cell structure suggested more than
02:35 one roof could be blown off inside of the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Centre.
02:39 Yet what would ultimately follow amounted to little more than six dudes taking their
02:42 turns trying to get their stuff in before going for various wonders around the arena.
02:47 Seriously, that's about it.
02:48 An inevitable Vinnie Mac intervention only bloated the drama that bit more, in a contrived
02:52 setting of the stage for Rikishi's moment of sawdust slamming in the bout's closing
02:56 stages, and a weak finish that saw Angle retain his gold after capitalising on a stone-cold
03:01 stunner was diluted even further with the champ ending the night on his back courtesy
03:05 of yet another Steve Austin pay-per-view closing stunner.
03:09 Whether due to not being aided by the lofty standards set by prior Hell in a Cell wars,
03:13 or due to trying to give too many feature players a reason for being there in the first
03:17 place, this one made for a fun set of visuals, sure, but does not sit as one of the Attitude
03:21 Era's crowning achievements for a reason.
03:24 7.
03:25 Goldberg vs. Hulk Hogan - WCW Nitro 1998 WCW's handling of Bill Goldberg and his
03:30 all-encompassing streak inevitably set the stage for the mother-of-all monster mashes
03:35 inside of the Georgia Dome on an episode of WCW Nitro in July 1998.
03:40 The fact Eric Bischoff was able to convince 40,000 folks to cram inside of the venue for
03:44 the mouth-watering collision between Hulk Hogan and Da Man tells you all you need to
03:48 know about how anticipated this seemingly inevitable crowning moment was during the
03:52 height of the company's success.
03:54 And while, once again, the noise produced by those watching on suggested we were witnessing
03:58 an all-time classic, the actual physical showing from the two hulking forces left a lot to
04:03 be desired in all honesty.
04:04 No one was ever expecting a steamboat savage clinic from the two infamously limited workers,
04:09 but outside of an exhilarating final minute or so, the remainder of this drawn-out, meaty
04:14 match - with its numerous cheap heat spots and dull tests of strength - can be filed
04:18 directly under the word "skip".
04:20 6.
04:21 Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit - WrestleMania 20
04:25 In the show-closing visual of WrestleMania 20, WWE appear to have captured lightning
04:29 in a bottle with the emotional parading around of new World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit
04:34 alongside longtime pal and then reigning WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero in front of a sold-out
04:39 Madison Square Garden.
04:41 But an image and preceding bout that looked destined to sit as one of the most replayed
04:44 and adored in company history was ultimately rendered understandably meaningless on the
04:49 back of Benoit's horrendous acts during his last moments.
04:52 The contest between Benoit and DX Buddies-turned-bitter enemies Shawn Michaels and Triple H over said
04:57 world title came equipped with just the right mix of pulsating drama and jaw-dropping physical
05:02 prowess expected of three of the greatest workers of their generation.
05:05 However, the harrowing Benoit double-murder suicide that would unfold in 2007 has since
05:10 all but erased this once-cherished contest from WWE history, on the minds of many a fan
05:14 who originally watched the showcase of the immortal moment unfold.
05:17 5.
05:18 Kane vs. The Undertaker - Unforgiven - In Your House 1998
05:22 Hot on the heels of a WrestleMania 14 brotherly collision, Kane and The Undertaker were set
05:26 to duke it out in WWE's first ever Inferno match.
05:30 What could go wrong, eh?
05:32 In truth, actually getting through the fiery contest without either man being seriously
05:35 damaged or incinerated for that matter was no doubt seen as a job well done for all involved,
05:40 and those in attendance at Unforgiven In Your House 1998 seemed to genuinely lap up every
05:45 blaze that accompanied the various bumps taken by both battling bros in the ring.
05:50 Yet the action only really began to heat up the second both men left the much-hyped Burning
05:56 Squared Circle late in the match, and while the sight of the Big Red Machine's arm being
05:59 set alight as he squirmed back up the ramp was jaw-dropping at the time, watching the
06:04 Mayor of Knox County slowly position himself and carefully allow the flames to take over
06:08 his fully prepared arm doesn't quite elicit the same response all these years later.
06:12 It still ranks as the best Inferno match in WWE history, though.
06:16 Admittedly, that is not saying too much.
06:18 4.
06:19 Eugene vs. Umaga - WWE Raw 2007 It is not difficult to see why WWE are not
06:24 in too much of a rush to relive the many humiliating and uncomfortable scenarios fans were forced
06:29 to witness involving one Eugene.
06:32 On top of being made into the butt of many an insensitive and tone-deaf joke, Eugene
06:36 also ended up on the receiving end of his fair share of childish bullying over the course
06:40 of his questionable time within the sports entertainment sphere.
06:43 And one of the most awkward instances of live-tormenting the now-beer-star-advocating company pumped
06:48 onto their flagship inevitably involved the Chairman of the Board himself.
06:53 Because of course it did.
06:54 After accidentally spilling his drink on Vince McMahon backstage in the lead-up to his Battle
06:58 of the Billionaires hair vs. hair match at WrestleMania 23, Eugene's boo-boo was rewarded
07:03 with an impromptu match against the dominant Umaga.
07:07 Of course, Eric Bischoff's nephew was quickly dispatched, but McMahon was not done there,
07:10 was he?
07:11 Sending a message to his mania rival Donald Trump still feels bizarre to say out loud,
07:15 Eugene was promptly shaved bald in front of an unsettled Raw crowd.
07:19 And given a billionaire bitch slap for good measure, too.
07:22 Yep, that is exactly what he said.
07:24 3.
07:25 Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant - WrestleMania 3
07:28 While still a main event to behold mostly due to the sheer audible excitement being
07:31 generated by the visual of these two larger-than-life superstars squaring up to each other inside
07:36 of the squared circle, this was again a case of the hype far exceeding the in-ring end
07:40 product.
07:41 With Andre's back being an absolute mess coming into the showcase bout, the Hulkster
07:45 wasn't even sure if his great adversary would be in a position to take the now-legendary
07:49 powerslam.
07:50 According to Hogan himself, Andre even rejected his first attempt to pull off the monumental
07:54 feat early in the match, despite it being part of the original plan.
07:58 Away from that Pontiac Silverdome popping slam heard around the world, though, there's
08:02 a reason this Mania 3 conclusion came away with Meltzer's worst worked match of the
08:06 year award in 1987.
08:08 It was not very good.
08:09 2.
08:10 The Rock vs. Mankind - Royal Rumble 1999
08:13 Even Mick Foley has gone on record to admit that he may have gone a little too far when
08:17 it came to making a barbaric impact on the night of his Royal Rumble 1999 I Quit match
08:22 with The Rock.
08:23 Utterly bludgeoning the Mankind man with a steel chair whilst Foley's hands were cuffed
08:27 behind his back, the devastating shots to the Hardcore Legend's head were only made
08:31 worse with the realisation that his wife and kids were in damn attendance for the massacre.
08:36 While there's still definitely a place for the more extreme and savage corners of pro
08:39 wrestling, watching a grown man be repeatedly pulverised by a metal object was excruciating
08:44 then and does not need to be repeated any time soon.
08:47 1.
08:48 Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart - WrestleMania 12
08:51 In Bret "The Hitman" Hart, who had undoubtedly the finest in-ring performer of his generation,
08:56 opposite him was a heartbreak kid determined to make good on his second Royal Rumble win
09:00 in a row and go on better than he did the previous year against one-time pal Diesel.
09:04 Throwing the two out-of-this-world workers into a contest for 60 whole minutes looked
09:08 like a recipe for guaranteed success on the grandest stage.
09:12 However, the reality of an hour-plus extra time of these two masters of their craft aimlessly
09:17 battling over the richest prize in the game wasn't all it was cracked up to be for those
09:21 in attendance as it goes.
09:22 The lukewarm reception to the show of shows main event, and what acted as WWE's first
09:26 ever televised Iron Man match, was slightly salvaged by the likes of Dave Meltzer and
09:30 many other wrestling critics reassessing the lacklustre bout in the immediate aftermath.
09:34 Yeah, with the match type being very much evolved and perfected as the years would roll
09:38 by.
09:39 With Bayley and Sasha Banks' NXT TakeOver respect outing arguably sitting as the finest
09:43 to date, this overindulgent damp squib of an Iron Man misfire has seen its acclaimed
09:49 status be gradually diminished to the point where it now sits as one of the most disappointing
09:53 many a show closes of all time.