The Wrestling Section

 Well, the 2021 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards have been released, and I have a problem regarding the Worst Match of the Year award. Not with the fact that the Zombie Lumberjack match won, because it absolutely deserved it, but because I've already covered the match previously, I don't have the opportunity to cover it again now that the awards have been announced. Covering the Worst Match of the Year winner is generally something I do, so now, I have to go back to the drawing board. And low and behold, I've got something, courtesy of New Japan Pro-Wrestling's resident Sublime Master Theif; Toru Yano. Like I said the last time Yano popped up in the series, Yano's not exactly a bad wrestler, and I do find some of his comedy spots funny, but when the bar for in-ring work is a lot higher like it is in New Japan, Yano's work is a lot worse by comparison. Case and point; Yano has three of the lowest-rated matches from Dave Meltzer in 2021, and two of the lowest-

(Special thanks to Frost & an anonymous user for suggesting this match. If you'd like to see a match covered on the Worst in the World, leave a comment down below.) In terms of parity, professional wrestling was in the absolute mud in 2001. WCW: Sold to the WWF and closed down earlier that year. ECW: Went bankrupt earlier in the year. New Japan: In the early stages of Antonio Inoki's push to blend mixed-martial arts and pro-wrestling (i.e. Inoki-ism) that damaged the company's reputation in the long haul. All Japan: Still reeling from the mass defection that led to the creation of Pro Wrestling NOAH. AAA & CMLL: Fairing well enough, but are noticeably not as hot as they were in their glory years. TNA & Ring of Honor: Still months away from opening. Basically, if you weren't the WWF or Pro Wrestling NOAH, you were struggling for attention. That lack of parity meant there was a massive opening for a hot new wrestling promotion to make a name for itself, and on

NOTE: Hey everyone, I just wanted to remind everyone to come back to the site on Saturday for the regularly scheduled post. Now onto this entry in the Worst in the World. Hope you enjoy! WWE has always gone out of its way to show its love for the United States of America. Whether it be their work on Tribute to the Troops, their frequent booking of heroic American patriots taking on the anti-American foreign heel (or, sometimes...just a foreign heel), and even building the main event of a WrestleMania around the Gulf War, with the WWF Championship being held by an American-turned Iraqi sympathizer in Sgt. Slaughter. The company has always worn its patriotism on its sleeve. That being said, the fact that one of the company's worst-ever pay-per-view cards happened to take place on their most American-themed pay-per-view is, quite frankly, hilarious. That show, of course, was the Great American Bash 2004. The Great American Bash '04 came a little over two years after the first WWE