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Worst in the World: Booker T vs Buff Bagwell-Monday Night Raw (7/2/2001)

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Hey everyone. Since this will be the last post before October, I wanted to announce that, like last year, I'll be going to a weekly schedule for October. Last year, I did "A Very WCW October", but this year, since it's the Halloween season, what better time of year to cover some matches that fit the Halloween spirit. These will be matches that either feature horror or horror-adjacent wrestlers, matches with horror-adjacent gimmicks, or matches set at Halloween-themed shows. I've had this planned out for a while, so I'm not gonna be doing the poll for this month, but that will resume for November. With that out of the way, I hope you enjoy this edition of the Worst in the World.
On paper, Buff Bagwell seems like a guy who would've fit right in with the WWF. After he turned on his fellow American Male Scotty Riggs and joined the nWo, Marcus Bagwell would go from a pretty bland babyface to the incredibly vein and boastful Buff Bagwell. From there, Bagwell would cement himself as a staple of the WCW midcard up until the company closed in 2001. Even without a decorated resume (only a single tag title reign between 1996 and 2001), Bagwell stood out. Sure, he's by no means a great wrestler, and he's not gonna put on a must-see match, but the man was undeniably charismatic and had a great look. Like I said, if there was anywhere someone with tons of charisma and a great look would thrive, at the very least in the midcard, it would be in the WWF. And if Vince McMahon's gauging of opinion on the first Raw after the WWF bought WCW was anything to go by, the WWF audience was interested in Bagwell in the WWF. Again, this should've worked. But, as you probably know, nothing about Buff Bagwell in the WWF worked.
Bagwell would join the WWF following the purchase of WCW, agreeing to a buyout of his AOL Time Warner contract. He'd work a single house show match on July 1st before making his first televised appearance for the company on the July 2nd episode of Monday Night Raw. By the next episode of Raw, he'd be released from the company. How did it go so wrong so fast? Well, things got off on the wrong foot almost immediately, when Bagwell was involved in an altercation with fellow ex-WCW wrestler Shane Helms, during which Helms hit Bagwell with a water bottle (whether it was frozen or not depends on who's telling the story.) There have also been allegations that Bagwell had faked an injury following a powerbomb from the APA, and had even had his mother Judy call the WWF and request time off for the injuries & complain about his travel arrangements, the latter of which Bagwell has denied. And then, of course, there's this match; Buff Bagwell's one and only televised WWF match, where he challenged Booker T in the main event of that July 2nd Raw for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
This match, the first of future "WCW matches" in the WWF at the start of the Invasion angle, was seemingly to see if a separate WCW brand was viable within the WWF. Any plans of that flew right out the window with this match, which was soundly rejected by the fans and journalists. Another person who hated this match was Vince McMahon himself, and aside from a few matches on the following SmackDown, solely WCW matches, and a WCW-centered brand, would be no more, and we'd instead get the WWF vs WCW/ECW alliance. Let's take a look at this infamous match.
Before the match, Jim Ross & Paul Heyman sign off as the show officially changes to WCW, complete with the logo projected onto the ramp & mat, WCW logos on the TitanTron, announce table, and ring apron, and even the little WWF chyron in the bottom left corner changing to WCW.
WCW owner Shane McMahon comes down to the ring, a WCW nameplate popping up on the screen. Shane brings out his commentators, former WCW commentator Scott Hudson and Arn Anderson, and the ring announcer, Stacy Keibler. Stacy announces that the referee for the match will be former WCW referee Nick Patrick. She is interrupted, however, by WWF Commissioner William Regal and his assistant Tajiri. Regal says that, while WCW is entitled to a match tonight, Shane doesn't have to be involved, so he has security escort him out of the building, specifically "to his car and to his hotel." Shane doesn't protest, instead saying that he doesn't need the spotlight like his father, and that tonight, and promotion, will always be about the WCW superstars. Security then escorts Shane to the back.
Booker T's out first, and while he is both World Heavyweight & United States champion, and his nameplate even says so, he only comes out with the World Heavyweight title. Bagwell comes out next. Bagwell takes a cheap shot on Booker, punching away at him as he hands the bell to Patrick. The bell rings as Bagwell continues laying into Booker with punches & kicks. Booker blocks a punch and fires back, but Bagwell keeps control with an eye rake. Booker reverses an Irish whip and goes for a clothesline, but Bagwell ducks it and hits a double-arm DDT, which gets a two count. The crowd is already getting antsy, which is a little harsh considering the match started about 25 seconds ago. Bagwell makes another cover, but Booker kicks out again and gets to his feet. Bagwell punches Booker in the corner before whipping him into the opposite corner. Bagwell charges at him, but Booker catches him with a boot before hitting a spinning heel kick.
Booker follows up with a back elbow for a two-count, but Bagwell regains by flapjacking Booker onto the top rope. Bagwell follows up with a swinging neckbreaker before choking Booker against the mat. Bagwell lays into Booker with punches as the crowd starts loudly chanting "BORING." Again, I don't know if that's really justified. This has been a pretty mediocre match, but it's not boring, there's still action. I might be in the minority on this, but based on how quickly this crowd turned on the match, they weren't gonna be down for this regardless of what actually happened in the match.
Bagwell follows up with a suplex for a two count before slapping on a chinlock. Booker fights to his feet, but Bagwell quickly throws him back down to the mat. Bagwell goes back to the chin lock before switching to a seated surfboard stretch. Booker again fights to his feet and, after fending off Bagwell fires back with punches before hitting a dropkick. Both men are down, but Bagwell gets to his feet first and quickly kicks Booker in the ribs. He then loudly yells at the crowd to shut up. Bagwell chokes Booker against the ropes before trying to toss him across the ring. Booker reverses it, however, and hits a jumping leg lariat. Booker runs wild, clotheslining Bagwell twice. Bagwell ducks a third clothesline, but Booker keeps control with a forearm for a two-count. Booker follows up with a Scissor Kick and a Spinarooni before calling for the Book End (an Uranage.)
However, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Kurt Angle run down to the ring and attack Booker, beating him down. The nWo might be 4 Life, but WCW is not, as Bagwell joins in on the beatdown. The three men drag Booker to the back, punching & stomping away at him the entire time. The segment ends there, but there's one other part of this story I didn't want to leave out. Following a backstage segment between Vince McMahon, Torrie Wilson, and Linda McMahon, we cut back to Austin, Angle, and Bagwell beating down Booker. Austin tosses Booker into a podium and a wall before throwing him out the door. Bagwell celebrates, only for Austin & Angle to quickly turn on him, beating him down and tossing him out with Booker. Outside of being a background character in a backstage beatdown on the following SmackDown, this is the last we see of Buff Bagwell in the WWF.

The Verdict

How bad this match actually is is definitely blown out of proportion. I'm not saying this is all that good of a match or one that you should go out of your way to watch, and it's definitely not main-event caliber, but it's just kind of unremarkable. If it weren't for the crowd pretty immediately voicing their displeasure for the match, then it probably would've just been another match the WWF did. The only part of the match I thought was all that boring was when Bagwell was putting on rest holds, but the crowd was chanting "BORING" well before that. I'm probably in the minority on this, but to me, this match is just not that bad.

The Rankings (Best to Worst)

  1. The Rock, Hulk Hogan, and Kane vs The nWo-Friday Night SmackDown (3/28/2002)
  2. Steve Austin & Bradshaw vs The Undertaker, Scott Hall, and X-Pac-Monday Night Raw (4/15/2002)
  3. Steve Austin & Bradshaw vs Scott Hall & X-Pac-Monday Night Raw (4/29/2002)
  4. Sgt. Slaughter vs Colonel DeBeers-AWA SuperClash III
  5. The Mexicools vs The Blue World Order-The Great American Bash 2005
  6. The nWo vs Steve Austin & The Rock-Monday Night Raw (3/11/2002)
  7. Jake Roberts vs George Wells-WrestleMania 2
  8. Jeff Jarrett & Owen Hart vs D'Lo Brown & Test-WrestleMania XV
  9. Tommy Dreamer vs Bully Ray-Victory Road 2011
  10. Corporal Cajun & Lt. Loco vs The Perfect Event-Halloween Havoc 2000
  11. Melina vs Torrie Wilson-The Great American Bash 2005
  12. Scott Hall vs Crash Holly-Sunday Night Heat (4/7/2002)
  13. Triple H vs Kevin Nash-TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs 2011
  14. Wrath vs Glacier-World War 3 1998
  15. The Rock's 25th Anniversary Battle Royal-Survivor Series 2021
  16. Hardcore Holly vs Billy Gunn vs Al Snow-WrestleMania XV
  17. Wendi Richter & The Top Gunns vs The Diamond Exchange-AWA SuperClash III
  18. Wahoo McDaniel vs Manny Fernandez-AWA SuperClash III
  19. Booker T vs Buff Bagwell-Monday Night Raw (7/2/2001)
  20. Rick Rude vs Jake Roberts-WrestleMania IV
  21. Too Much vs Al Snow & Head-King of the Ring 1998
  22. Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns-Greatest Royal Rumble
  23. The Fatal 4-Way Intercontinental Championship Match-WrestleMania XV
  24. Ernest Miller vs Norman Smiley-Fall Brawl 1998
  25. The Concrete Crypt Match-The Great American Bash 2004
  26. Shane McMahon vs Eric Bischoff-SummerSlam 2003
  27. Mordecai vs Hardcore Holly-The Great American Bash 2004
  28. Luther Reigns vs Charlie Haas-The Great American Bash 2004
  29. The Tag Team Gauntlet-Extreme Rules 2010
  30. The Gimmick Battle Royal-WrestleMania X-Seven
  31. Hernandez vs Matt Morgan-Victory Road 2011
  32. Randy Orton vs Bray Wyatt-WrestleMania 33
  33. Vampiro vs Sting-Great American Bash 2000
  34. T&A vs Head Cheese-WrestleMania 2000
  35. Jake Hager vs Wardlow-AEW Dynamite (6/6/2021)
  36. David Arquette & Diamond Dallas Page vs Jeff Jarrett & Eric Bischoff-WCW Thunder (4/26/2000)
  37. Tyson Fury vs Braun Strowman-Crown Jewel 2019
  38. The Texas Tornado vs Dino Bravo-WrestleMania VII
  39. The Women's Tag Team Turmoil-WrestleMania 37 (Night 1)
  40. Triple H vs Sgt. Slaughter-D-Generation X: In Your House
  41. Konnan vs One Man Gang-SuperBrawl VI
  42. Ultimate Warrior vs Hercules-WrestleMania IV
  43. Candice LeRae vs Christina Von Eerie-PWG DIO!
  44. The Fabulous Moolah vs Velvet McIntyre-WrestleMania 2
  45. Rick Rude vs Hawk-Clash of the Champions XXV
  46. The Rock 'n' Roll Express vs The Stud Stable-AWA SuperClash III
  47. Ernest Miller vs Disco Inferno-Bash at the Beach 1999
  48. Shelton Benjamin vs Viscera-New Year's Revolution 2006
  49. Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar-WrestleMania 38 (Night 2)
  50. Carmella vs Asuka-Money in the Bank 2018
  51. Steve McMichael vs Reggie White-Slamboree 1997
  52. General Rection vs Lance Storm & Jim Duggan-Halloween Havoc 2000
  53. Chyna vs Ivory-WrestleMania X-Seven
  54. Lars Sullivan vs Lucha House Party-Super Showdown 2019
  55. The Last Rites Match-Destination X 2007
  56. Alexa Bliss vs Bayley-Extreme Rules 2017
  57. The Tag Team Fatal 4-Way Match-WrestleMania 13
  58. The Barbed Wire Christmas Tree Match-TNA iMPACT (12/20/2007)
  59. Gunner vs Garett Bischoff-Against All Odds 2012
  60. Tag Team Battle Royal-WrestleMania XIV
  61. EVIL vs Tomohiro Ishii-Wrestle Kingdom 16 (Day 1)
  62. The Chamber of Horrors-Halloween Havoc 1991
  63. Toru Yano vs Great O-Khan-New Japan Cup 2021 (Day 6)
  64. The Rock vs Scott Hall-Friday Night SmackDown (3/7/2002)
  65. Legion of Doom vs Power & Glory-WrestleMania VII
  66. Steve Austin & The Big Show vs Scott Hall & X-Pac-Monday Night Raw (4/22/2002)
  67. Corporal Kirchner vs Nikolai Volkoff-WrestleMania 2
  68. Glacier vs Wrath-The Great American Bash 1997
  69. The Mountie vs Tito Santana-WrestleMania VII
  70. The Natural Disasters vs Money Inc.-WrestleMania VIII
  71. Ivan Koloff vs Paul Jones-Clash of the Champions IV
  72. ODB, Taylor Wilde, and Roxxi vs The Kongtourage-Genesis 2009
  73. Kane vs Triple H-WrestleMania XV
  74. Rachel Evers vs Marti Belle-Mae Young Classic (Episode 2)
  75. Jake Roberts vs Rick Martel-WrestleMania VII
  76. Kazushi Sakuraba & Yuji Nagata vs Daniel & Rolles Gracie-Wrestle Kingdom 8
  77. Ivory vs Tori-SummerSlam 1999
  78. Giant Baba vs Bulldog Bob Brown-AWA WrestleRock
  79. The Reverse Battle Royal-Impact! (10/26/2006)
  80. The Undertaker vs King Mabel-In Your House 5: Season's Beatings
  81. Savio Vega vs Rocky Maivia-In Your House 14: Revenge of the Taker
  82. Jerry Blackwell vs Boris Zhukov-SuperClash II
  83. Nikita Koloff vs Bobby Eaton-Bunkhouse Stampede
  84. Alex Wright vs Steve McMichael-Halloween Havoc 1997
  85. The Great Khali vs Kane-WrestleMania 23
  86. Genichiro Tenryu & Koji Kitao vs Demolition-WrestleMania VII
  87. Savio Vega vs Crush vs Faarooq-Ground Zero: In Your House
  88. The Shockmaster vs Awesome/King Kong-Starrcade 1993
  89. Greg Gagne vs Ron Garvin-AWA SuperClash III
  90. Total Divas vs Other Divas-Survivor Series 2013
  91. The Undertaker vs Muhammad Hassan-The Great American Bash 2005
  92. Randy Savage vs George Steele-WrestleMania 2
  93. The Intercontinental Championship Elimination Chamber-Elimination Chamber 2015
  94. The Oddities vs Kaientai-SummerSlam 1998
  95. Paul Orndorff vs The Magnifcent Muraco-WrestleMania 2
  96. Team RAW vs Team SmackDown Men's Elimination Match-Survivor Series 2017
  97. Earthquake vs Greg Valentine-WrestleMania VII
  98. Scott Hall vs Spike Dudley-Monday Night Raw (3/4/2002)
  99. Rick Steiner vs Van Hammer-Bash at the Beach 1999
  100. Triple H vs Randy Orton-WrestleMania 25
  101. Hulk Hogan vs Sid Justice-WrestleMania VIII
  102. Paul Ellering vs Teddy Long-Capital Combat
  103. Dusty Rhodes vs Big Boss Man-Saturday Night's Main Event (10/31/1989)
  104. The First Blood DNA Match-Halloween Havoc 2000
  105. Konnan vs Scott Hall-Fall Brawl 1998
  106. Damian Priest vs The Miz-WrestleMania Backlash
  107. Tyson Tomko vs Stevie Richards-Unforgiven 2004
  108. Kane vs The Great Khali-SummerSlam 2009
  109. The 2022 Women's Royal Rumble
  110. Rick Steiner vs Scott Steiner-Fall Brawl 1998
  111. The Extreme Elimination Chamber-December to Dismember 2006
  112. Hollywood Hogan vs The Giant-Hog Wild
  113. Hollywood Hogan vs The Giant-Souled Out 1997
  114. Dustin Rhodes & King Kong vs Awesome Kong & The Equalizer-Battlebowl
  115. Finlay & Little Bastard vs The Boogeyman & Little Boogeyman-No Way Out 2007
  116. Mr. Anderson vs Rob Van Dam-Victory Road 2011
  117. Hulk Hogan vs Sgt. Slaughter-WrestleMania VII
  118. Jake Roberts vs Andre the Giant-WrestleMania V
  119. El Gigante vs Nailz-G1 Climax 1994 (Day 1)
  120. Yokozuna vs King Mabel-In Your House 4
  121. Dusty Rhodes vs The Honky Tonk Man-SummerSlam 1989
  122. Sting & Hawk vs Meng & Kurasawa-Clash of the Champions XXXI
  123. The Hurt Business vs RETRIBUTION-WWE Monday Night RAW (10/26/2020)
  124. Mankind vs Paul Wight-WrestleMania XV
  125. Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage-Uncensored 1998
  126. Santino Marella vs Heath Slater-WWE Friday Night SmackDown (9/27/2013)
  127. Al Snow vs Big Boss Man-Unforgiven 1999
  128. Vince Russo vs Ric Flair-WCW Monday Nitro (6/5/2000)
  129. Allie vs Leva Bates-Fyter Fest 2019
  130. Mickie James vs Ashley-Royal Rumble 2006
  131. Antonio Inoki vs The Great Antonio-NJPW Sumo Hall Show (12/8/1977)
  132. Christy Hemme vs Big Fat Oily Guy-Against All Odds 2007
  133. New Jack vs Mustafa-Living Dangerously 1999
  134. Kenzo Suzuki vs Billy Gunn-The Great American Bash 2004
  135. The Big Show vs Erick Rowan-TLC: Tables, Ladders, Chairs 2014
  136. British Bulldog & Jim Neidhart vs The Dancing Fools-Fall Brawl 1998
  137. Stevie Ray vs Konnan-World War 3 1998
  138. Vampiro vs The KISS Demon-Bash at the Beach 2000
  139. Team WCW vs nWo Wolfpac vs nWo Hollywood-Fall Brawl 1998
  140. Vampiro vs Oklahoma-Starrcade 1999
  141. The nWo vs The Rock & Hulk Hogan-Monday Night Raw (3/25/2002)
  142. Steve Austin vs Scott Hall-Monday Night Raw (4/8/2002)
  143. Steve Austin vs Scott Hall-WrestleMania X8
  144. The Rock & Hulk Hogan vs Scott Hall & Kevin Nash-Monday Night Raw (3/18/2002)
  145. Diesel vs King Mabel-SummerSlam 1995
  146. Big Swole vs Penelope Ford, Rebel, and Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D.-AEW Dynamite (8/27/2020)
  147. Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant-WrestleMania III
  148. Scott Hall vs Bradshaw-Backlash 2002
  149. The Undertaker vs The Big Bossman-WrestleMania XV
  150. Jinder Mahal vs Randy Orton-Battleground 2017
  151. Van Hammer vs Terrance Taylor-Clash of the Champions XVI
  152. Goldberg vs KroniK-Halloween Havoc 2000
  153. Junkyard Dog vs Moondog Spot-Wrestling Classic
  154. The New Blood Gauntlet-WCW Monday Nitro (6/5/2000)
  155. Chris Jericho vs "Goldberg"-Fall Brawl 1998
  156. Jimmy Valiant vs Wayne Bloom-AWA SuperClash III
  157. Hulk Hogan vs Kevin Nash-WCW Monday Nitro (1/4/1999)
  158. Sting vs Hulk Hogan-Halloween Havoc 1999
  159. Hulk Hogan vs Jeff Jarrett-Bash at the Beach 2000
  160. Randy Savage & Sid Vicious vs Kevin Nash & Sting-Bash at the Beach 1999
  161. Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano vs EVIL & Dick Togo-The New Beginning in Hiroshima 2021 (Day 2)
  162. Glacier vs Mortis-Slamboree 1997
  163. Steve Austin, Bradshaw, and Ric Flair vs The nWo-Monday Night Raw (5/6/2002)
  164. The Junkyard Invitational-Bash at the Beach 1999
  165. Michael Nakazawa vs Alex Jebailey-Fyter Fest 2019
  166. The 1997 World War 3 Match
  167. The 2022 Men's Royal Rumble
  168. Roman Reigns vs The Undertaker-WrestleMania 33
  169. Konnan vs Stevie Ray-Slamboree 1999
  170. The 1998 World War 3
  171. The Undertaker vs Goldberg-Super ShowDown 2019
  172. Hiroshi Wajima vs Tom Magee-All Japan Pro Wrestling 1988
  173. Jim Duggan vs Big Boss Man-Royal Rumble 1990
  174. Meng vs Jim Duggan-Uncensored 1995
  175. Jim Steele vs The Equalizer-SuperBrawl IV
  176. David Flair vs Dean Malenko-Bash at the Beach 1999
  177. The Golden Truth vs Breezango-Money in the Bank 2016
  178. The Undertaker vs Giant González-WrestleMania IX
  179. Carmella vs Asuka-Extreme Rules 2018
  180. Sting vs Tony Palmore-Battle 7
  181. D-Generation X vs Brothers of Destruction-Crown Jewel
  182. Wendi Richter vs Leilani Kai-WrestleMania
  183. Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar-WrestleMania XX
  184. Hornswoggle vs Chavo Guerrero-WWE Monday Night Raw (7/20/2009)
  185. Edge vs Triple H vs Vladimir Kozlov-Survivor Series 2008
  186. Rosita & Sarita vs Angelina Love & Winter-Victory Road 2011
  187. Kevin Sullivan vs Dave Sullivan-SuperBrawl V
  188. Steve McMichael vs Brian Adams-Road Wild 1998
  189. Scott Hall vs Roddy Piper-SuperBrawl IX
  190. Boris Zhukov vs Paul Samson-Beach Brawl
  191. Roddy Piper vs Hollywood Hogan-Halloween Havoc 1997
  192. Kane vs The Great Khali-Breaking Point
  193. Hollywood Hogan & Dennis Rodman vs Diamond Dallas Page & Karl Malone-Bash at the Beach 1998
  194. PN News & Bobby Eaton vs Steve Austin & Terrance Taylor-Great American Bash 1991
  195. Scott Steiner vs Sid Vicious vs Jeff Jarrett vs Road Warrior Animal-Sin
  196. Hollywood Hogan vs Roddy Piper-SuperBrawl 1997
  197. The 2015 Royal Rumble Match
  198. Kazuchika Okada vs Gedo-New Japan Cup 2020 (Day 2)
  199. Batista vs The Great Khali-SummerSlam 2007
  200. Sting vs Hollywood Hogan-Starrcade 1997
  201.  Sable vs Tori-WrestleMania XV
  202. Super Invader vs Todd Champion-WrestleWar 1992
  203. Brock Lesnar vs Cain Velasquez-Crown Jewel 2019
  204. King Kong Bundy & Jim Neidhart vs Yokozuna & Jake Roberts-Heroes of Wrestling
  205. Sid Vicious vs The Nightstalker-Clash of the Champions XIII
  206. Mabel vs Savio Vega-King of the Ring 1995
  207. John Bradshaw Layfield vs Batista-The Great American Bash 2005
  208. Monty Brown vs Trytan-Destination X 2005
  209. The 8-Divas Tag Match-Survivor Series 1999
  210. The Fabulous Freebirds vs The Renegade Warriors-Halloween Havoc 1990
  211. The Knockouts Gauntlet-One Night Only: Live! 2016
  212. AJ Styles vs Frank Trigg-No Surrender 2008
  213. Rick Rude vs Masahiro Chono-Halloween Havoc 1992
  214. Mike Awesome vs Vampiro-Halloween Havoc 2000
  215. Bray Wyatt vs John Cena-Extreme Rules 2014
  216. Brothers of Destruction vs KroniK-Unforgiven 2001
  217. The Miss WrestleMania Battle Royal-WrestleMania 25
  218. Mabel vs The Undertaker-King of the Ring 1995
  219. Abdullah the Butcher vs Zeus-Capitol Sports Promotions 17th Aniversario 1990
  220. Wendi Richter vs The Fabulous Moolah-The Brawl to End it All
  221. David Flair vs Kimberly Page-Mayhem 1999
  222. The Truth Commission vs The Disciples of Apocolypse-Survivor Series 1997
  223. Daffney vs Miss Hancock-Bash at the Beach 2000
  224. The Bushwhacker vs The Fabulous Rougeaus-WrestleMania V
  225. Randy Orton vs "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt-WrestleMania 37 (Night 2)
  226. Lex Luger vs Sting-WWA The Retribution
  227. The Beverly Brothers vs The Bushwhackers-Royal Rumble 1992
  228. Savio Vega vs Rocky Maivia-WWF Monday Night Raw (4/14/1997)
  229. Teddy Long vs Eric Bischoff-Survivor Series 2005
  230. Adrian Adonis vs Uncle Elmer-WrestleMania 2
  231. Mike Sanders vs Ernest Miller-Halloween Havoc 2000
  232. Savio Vega vs Rocky Maivia-WWF Shotgun Saturday Night (1/25/1997)
  233. Greg Valentine vs George Steele-Heroes of Wrestling
  234. Abdullah the Butcher vs One Man Gang-Heroes of Wrestling
  235. Major Gunns vs Miss Hancock-New Blood Rising
  236. Vince Russo vs Booker T-WCW Monday Nitro (9/25/2000)
  237. Bradshaw & Trish Stratus vs Christopher Nowinski & Jackie Gayda-WWE Monday Night RAW (7/8/2002)
  238. The Countdown to Armageddon Match-WCW Thunder (10/18/2000)
  239. Rayo de Jalisco Jr. vs Blue Demon Jr.-AAA Triplemanía XXX: Monterrey
  240. Triple H vs Scott Steiner-Royal Rumble 2003
  241. Goldberg vs "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt-Super ShowDown 2020
  242. Mr. McMahon vs Pat McAfee-WrestleMania 38 (Night 2)
  243. Santina Marella vs Vickie & Chavo Guerrero-Extreme Rules 2009
  244. Kevin Nash vs Scott Steiner vs Goldberg-New Blood Rising
  245. Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker-WrestleMania XXX
  246. Hollywood Hogan vs The Warrior-Halloween Havoc 1998
  247. Mr. T vs Roddy Piper-WrestleMania 2
  248. The Royal Family vs Clowns R' Us-Survivor Series 1994
  249. The House of Horrors Match-Payback 2017
  250. The Blacktop Bully vs Dustin Rhodes-Uncensored 1995
  251. Buff Bagwell vs Roddy Piper-Bash at the Beach 1999
  252. Team Dos Caras vs Team El Canek-Leyendas Mexicanas 2017
  253. Pat Patterson vs Gerald Brisco-King of the Ring 2000
  254. The Wyatt Swamp Fight-The Horror Show at Extreme Rules
  255. The Four Doinks vs Team Bigelow-Survivor Series 1993
  256. Sting vs Jeff Hardy-Victory Road 2011
  257. Bret Hart vs Mr. McMahon-WrestleMania XVI
  258. WarGames 2000: Russo's Revenge-WCW Monday Nitro (9/4/2000)
  259. Oz vs Tim Parker-SuperBrawl
  260. Brock Lesnar vs Braun Strowman-Crown Jewel 2018
  261. Brock Lesnar vs Ricochet-Super ShowDown 2020
  262. Toru Yano vs KENTA-G1 Climax 2021 (Day 1)
  263. Konnan & Tygress vs Shane Douglas & Torrie Wilson-Halloween Havoc 2000
  264. The Fabulous Moolah vs Ivory-No Mercy 1999
  265. New Jack vs Vic Grimes-Living Dangerously 2000
  266. The Mighty Maccabee vs The Iron Sheik-Maccabiah Mania II: Shekel Slam
  267. Van Hammer vs Doug Somers-Halloween Havoc 1991
  268. Eddy Steinblock vs One Warrior Nation-DWA Wrestling Legends Tour 2010 (Day 2)
  269. Ultimate Warrior vs Andre the Giant-Saturday Night's Main Event (11/25/1989)
  270. Jeff Jarrett vs Sting-Halloween Havoc 2000
  271. The Doomsday Cage Match-Uncensored 1996
  272. "Donald Trump" vs "Rosie O'Donnell"-WWE Monday Night RAW (1/8/2007)
  273. Kane vs The Undertaker-Judgement Day 1998
  274. Toru Yano vs Jado-New Japan Cup 2020 (Day 1)
  275. Rebel vs Shelly Martinez-One Night Only: Knockouts Knockdown
  276. Sable vs Torrie Wilson-The Great American Bash 2004
  277. The Evening Gown Pool Match-Armageddon 1999
  278. Kaitlyn vs Maxine-NXT (10/19/2010)
  279. Sabu vs The Sandman-November to Remember 1997
  280. The 1996 World War 3 Match
  281. Seth Rollins vs "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt-Hell in a Cell 2019
  282. Michael Cole vs Jerry Lawler-WrestleMania XXVII
  283. The Bushwhackers vs Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff-Heroes of Wrestling
  284. James Storm vs Chris Harris-Lockdown 2007
  285. John Laurinaitis vs John Cena-Over the Limit 2012
  286. Hulk Hogan vs The Giant-Halloween Havoc 1995
  287. The Shark Cage Match-Big Time Wrestling (1976)
  288. Ultimate Warrior vs Goldust-In Your House 7
  289. Los Villanos vs Los Psycho Circus-Triplemania XXIII
  290. Jenna Morasca vs Sharmell-Victory Road 2009
  291. The Lingerie Street Fight Battle Royal-AWA SuperClash III
  292. Akira Maeda vs Andre the Giant-NJPW Big Fighter Series 1986 (Day 15)
  293. The 1995 World War 3 Match
  294. The Reina de Reinas Championship Four-Way-AAA Triplemanía XXV
  295. Butterbean vs Bart Gunn-WrestleMania XV
  296. New Jack vs Vic Grimes-XPW Freefall
  297. Yoshiko vs Act Yasukawa-Stardom Queen's Shout
  298. Mickie Knuckles vs Mike Levy-IWA Mid-South Queen of the Deathmatch 2008
Thanks for reading! Be sure to share if you enjoyed and leave any suggestions for matches you'd like to see covered on the Worst in the World in the comments. In two weeks, I'll kick off a Halloween-themed month of October with a match featuring the one and only WrestleMania match of The Boogeyman. Stay tuned...
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Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 17, 2023 at 7:16 PM

    I remember attending a local event in the mid 2000s and they announced Buff was going to be in the main attraction on the next show and some guy in the crowd yelled “Irrelevant since ‘97!” I still have his autograph from the show, he was cool with the fans. They booked him to defeat the champion clean in the main event but the company did a bait and switch move and announced their title could only change hands in 2 of 3 falls matches even though they announced his match would be for the title on the last show.

    Anyway, two recommendations I would like to make. A couple of matches that turned into shoots.

    Koji Kitao vs Earthquake WWF/SWS Supershow - April 1, 1991
    The Acolytes vs Public Enemy - Sunday Night Heat - March 7, 1999 (a potential red light candidate)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CJ BiddleSeptember 28, 2023 at 9:43 PM

      The Kitao/Earthquake match has been requested already, but I believe the Acolytes/Public Enemy one is new. I'll add it to the list. Thanks for the suggestion!

      Delete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 17, 2023 at 9:13 PM

    Here's a multi match idea from AEW All Out 2022 a ppv that was riddled with to many matches while most were good it did have an uninspiring kickoff, a tepid TBS title match where not even Athena could save, matches from two hot rivalries being short, a ladder match having a weird ending and the massive media scrum between CM Punk/Ace Steel vs The Elite!

    Sammy Guevera/Tay Melo vs Ortiz/Ruby Soho (pre show)
    Hook vs Angelo Parker (pre show)
    PAC vs Kip Sabian (pre show)
    The Casino Ladder Match
    Jade Cargill vs Athena
    Powerhouse Hobbs vs Ricky Starks
    Christian Cage vs Jungle Boy

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    1. CJ BiddleSeptember 28, 2023 at 9:43 PM

      I'll add them to the list. Thanks for the suggestions!

      Delete
  3. AnonymousSeptember 18, 2023 at 12:02 AM

    I got a match from Wrestlemania 39 Night 2 where Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler take a page out of Luigi's playbook and win by doing absolutely nothing!

    Fatal 4 Way Women's Tag Team Showcase

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CJ BiddleSeptember 28, 2023 at 9:44 PM

      I'll add it to the list. Thanks for the suggestion!

      Delete
  4. AnonymousSeptember 18, 2023 at 6:01 PM

    There was a TNA boxing match between Screech from Saved by the Bell and a timekeeper... you should probably watch that

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CJ BiddleSeptember 28, 2023 at 9:51 PM

      I'll add it to the list. Since that was on one of the weekly pay-per-views and I've got two other posts looking at matches from early TNA weekly pay-per-views (one for 1-5, and one for 6-10) so I might lump that in with other ones from 11-15.
      Also, I knew Screech had done this match and Hogan's celebrity wrestling show, but I wasn't aware he'd actually wrestled a few matches in the early 2010, and even on for relatively prominent indy promotion like AAW.
      Thanks for the suggestion!

      Delete
  5. AnonymousSeptember 19, 2023 at 2:27 AM

    Here's a couple of matches from Summerslam 1992!
    Shawn Michaels vs Rick Martel
    Natural Disasters vs Beverly Brothers

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CJ BiddleSeptember 28, 2023 at 9:51 PM

      I'll add them to the list. Thanks for the suggestions!

      Delete
  6. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2023 at 8:03 AM

    Here's a match from the wrestling promotion Stampede Wrestling where two wrestlers fight in a Football Helmet Match!

    Jim Neidhart vs Mike Sharpie (Stampede Wrestling 01-16-1981)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oxk4u7hlg9I

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    1. CJ BiddleSeptember 28, 2023 at 10:00 PM

      I'll add it to the list. Thanks for the suggestion!

      Delete
  7. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2023 at 7:53 PM

    Here's a prequel to an already bad match from Wrestlemania V!

    The Bushwackers vs The Fabulous Rougeaus (Royal Rumble 1990)

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    1. CJ BiddleSeptember 28, 2023 at 10:08 PM

      I'll add it to the list. Thanks for the suggestion!

      Delete
  8. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2023 at 9:01 PM

    Okay, there's an absolute GEM of bad wrestling you have to see.

    There was a promotion called the Confederate Wrestling Alliance that held one pay-per-view, and that pay-per-view only had one match. It was a "Football Rules" match with a strange scoring system, between two teams of six. It was designed to start a new wrestling career for Dominic Menaldi, an ex-security guard/bodybuilder/owner of a literal castle in Huntingdon Beach where he held Halloween haunts every year. They put him in with 11 local guys, including names you might recognise (John Hawk a.k.a. Bradshaw, Scott Putski, and top champion Firebreaker Chip). Menaldi got knocked out legit mid-match, and decided being a wrestler hurt too much so he never had a second match.

    This is an AMAZING curiosity and I will be sad if it never makes it to this list. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGUo5XpkrAo

    ReplyDelete
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    1. AnonymousSeptember 21, 2023 at 9:26 AM

      Oh yes! I watched that video last night and I definitely agree! Not only because of the match, but also the ridiculous music videos played such as “Alcatraz Rock” and “Bodyguard Slam”. That and presenting the show as recommended for adults only at the beginning when it was nothing but old school 80’s rasslin’ and no blood or excess violence happened. That’s a great find Anonymous!

      Delete
    2. CJ BiddleSeptember 28, 2023 at 10:08 PM

      I'll have to take a look at this. Thanks for the suggestion!

      Delete
  9. AnonymousSeptember 22, 2023 at 8:17 AM

    Here's a match where two great wrestlers that look like it should of been a great match on paper but was riddled with botches, awkward stalling and dissapointment
    Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Swerve Strickland (AEW Collision 6/24/23)

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    1. CJ BiddleSeptember 28, 2023 at 10:28 PM

      I'll add it to the list. It pains me to say it, but it seems like age & wear and tear have finally caught up to Tanahashi. He's still good, but he's not at his 2010s level anymore.
      Thanks for the suggestion!

      Delete
  10. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2023 at 7:43 AM

    Hello I am the guy that made a request of Wrestlemania 32 I noticed that Kalisto/Ryback's match was nomintated 1 1/2 stars I was wondering if it's ok if you want to nominate it aswell as Rock vs Erick Rowan if you want too?

    ReplyDelete
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    1. CJ BiddleSeptember 28, 2023 at 10:29 PM

      I might have added the Rock/Rowan match myself, but I don't think I had the Kalisto/Ryback match. I'll add it now. Thanks for the suggestions!

      Delete
  11. AnonymousSeptember 24, 2023 at 9:08 AM

    Here's another stinker from WCW The Great American Bash 1991 which basically shows why Jim Herd was a bad choice to lead WCW! It's bad when the world title match being changed of the fly because Herd stupidly fired Ric Flair two weeks before the show for not changing into a roman gladiator, taking a pay cut and refusing to lose the belt to Lex Luger since he was promised he'd lose the belt to Sting and what's funny is the world title match wasn't even the main event it was just a random tag team match it's a wonder why Herd was shown the door afterwards.

    Diamond Studd vs Z Man
    Ron Simmons vs Oz
    Richard Morton vs Robert Gibson
    Dustin Rhodes/Young Pistols vs Fabulous Freebirds
    The Yellow Dog vs Johnny B Badd
    Big Josh vs Black Blood
    El Gigante vs One Man Gang
    Missy Hyatt/Rick Steiner vs Arn Anderson/Paul E Dangerously(the main event)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CJ BiddleSeptember 28, 2023 at 10:30 PM

      I'll add it to the list. Thanks for the suggestions!

      Delete
  12. AnonymousSeptember 25, 2023 at 12:13 AM

    Here's a match where WWE tried to copy-paste the Alliance to End Hulkamania (minus the cages) by pitting over twice the amount of opponents against Monday Night RAW's Mega-Powers of 2008. It resulted in cementing who was going to be stuck in mid-card purgatory for life and the top two credible guys out of the 17 were no longer employed with the company after the following year's WrestleMania. Oh, and HHH got to stand tall at the end of this match as well since he was facing off against the guys at the disadvantage at the biggest show of the year.

    John Cena & Randy Orton vs. JBL & Umaga & 15 other guys (2 vs. 17 Handicap Elimination Match - Monday Night Raw, March 17, 2008)

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    1. CJ BiddleSeptember 28, 2023 at 10:31 PM

      Either that's already been recommended, or I added it myself, but thanks for the suggestion!

      Delete
  13. AnonymousSeptember 25, 2023 at 1:42 AM

    I got a couple of stinkers from Summerslam 1993!
    Bret Hart vs Doink the Clown
    Ludvig Borga vs Marty Jannety

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CJ BiddleSeptember 28, 2023 at 10:39 PM

      I'll add them to the list. Thanks for the suggestions!

      Delete
  14. AnonymousSeptember 26, 2023 at 3:45 AM

    Here's a match between two hall of famers that couldnt seem to click despite being relatively great!

    Sting vs Rick Rude (Spring Stampede 1994)

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    Replies
    1. CJ BiddleSeptember 28, 2023 at 10:49 PM

      I'll add it to the list. Thanks for the suggestion!

      Delete
  15. AnonymousSeptember 27, 2023 at 7:47 PM

    Here's a match during the rivalry between the Undertaker/Million Dollar Corporation!

    Undertaker vs IRS (Royal Rumble 1995)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CJ BiddleSeptember 28, 2023 at 11:01 PM

      I'll add it to the list. Thanks for the suggestion!

      Delete
  16. AnonymousSeptember 28, 2023 at 7:28 PM

    Based on this entry, I think you should cover matches with this exact same reputation, matches thay, in spite of having mediocre action and boring pacing, it's main issue is the crowd hostility that buries the entire match Regardless of what the wrestlers did, some good examples of this are Sheamus vs Randy Orton in the Raw after WM29 and Roman Reigns vs Samoa Joe in Backlash 2018.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. CJ BiddleSeptember 28, 2023 at 11:25 PM

      I like that idea. I kind of had a match like that on the list I added myself (Orton vs Cena at the 2014 Royal Rumble) so I'll definitely add that Sheamus/Orton match and Reigns vs Joe. Thanks for the suggestions!

      Delete
  17. AnonymousSeptember 28, 2023 at 7:29 PM

    Also, considering the thematic for this october, is the Hardy vs Jarret Chainsaw Texas Massacre match from this year's Fight ht for the Fallen on your plans?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CJ BiddleSeptember 28, 2023 at 11:30 PM

      Honestly, I didn't at first, but this comment reminded me of it, and since it was a request within 24 hours of it happening, I figure it's fitting.

      Delete
  18. AnonymousSeptember 28, 2023 at 9:29 PM

    Robbie E and Cookie vs. Jay Lethal and Taylor Wilde on Impact in 2010... two of the trademarks of TNA - the X Division and the Knockouts - buried by comedy badness. Taylor Wilde left Impact and retired after this match, she did not get to do one move. This was also, apparently, a second take! There's footage of a worse version of this match.

    Speaking of bad things to happen to the Knockouts, a retrospective of the 3 Rosie Lottalove matches (one on Impact, one on Xplosion, and one on only the international version of Impact for some reason) is long overdue.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CJ BiddleSeptember 28, 2023 at 11:31 PM

      I'll add them to the list. Thanks for the suggestions!

      Delete

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