Worst in the World: Gunner vs Garett Bischoff-TNA Against All Odds 2012

Rest in Peace, Don West, one of the voices of TNA whose enthusiasm, energy, and passion was unmatched.

(Special thanks to Frost for suggesting this match. If you'd like to see a match covered on the Worst in the World, leave a comment down below.)

Nepotism. Defined as "the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives, friends, or associates, especially by giving them jobs", a "nepotism baby" or a "nepo baby" refers to someone who has famous or prominent parents in a certain field that then also pursued a career in that field. Nepotism babies are everywhere, whether it be film, television, music, politics, and even sports. Professional wrestling is no different, as there have been plenty of wrestlers to follow in their parents footsteps. Hell, the top stable in WWE right now, The Bloodline, is made up almost entirely of nepotism babies, with the son of Headshrinker Sika as the leader, and the three sons of Rikishi under him (not to mention Sami Zayn grew up in an orphanage run by former Ring of Honor star El Generico.) This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as children of famous wrestlers can obviously go on to have lengthy, successful, and entertaining careers (like the aforementioned Bloodline), but there are also plenty of examples of people who have gotten a lot farther in the business than they should have, all because they already had a foot in the door thanks to their parent. The go-to example of a nepotism baby in wrestling tends to be Erik Watts, the son of former WCW booker Cowboy Bill Watts who received no shortage of pushes while his dad was booking the show, despite doing stuff like this. However, if you're looking for a more modern example, look no further than Garett Bischoff.

Garett, the son of former WCW vice president & then-TNA executive producer Eric Bischoff, first popped up in TNA in 2010 as referee Jackson James, a secret member of the heel Immortal stable his father co-led with Hulk Hogan. Less than a year later at Bound For Glory 2011, he'd be revealed as Eric's son and was kicked out of Immortal when he fairly officiated Sting & Hulk Hogan's match. Now a wrestler, a very green Garett entered into a feud with his father. Genuinely, his first match on Impact was his first match ever, according to Cagematch, so any polishing of his skills was going to have to be done on the job. Despite his inexperience, TNA made sure to feature Garett prominently, almost certainly because of that last name and who was producing the show. The Bischoff vs Bischoff feud concluded at Lockdown 2012 in the Lethal Lockdown match where, on a team featuring four of the company's top stars in AJ Styles, Austin Aries, Mr. Anderson, and Rob Van Dam, GARETT BISCHOFF was the team's leader. After Garett's team won and Eric (per the added "Loser Leaves TNA" stipulation) was sent packing on screen, Garett stayed in a top storyline when he joined the Aces & Eights in 2013, but nothing significant really came out of that before the group disbanded later that year. While I can't confirm anything, it's worth noting that the end of Garett's presence on television happened around the same time his father had been sent home by TNA to sit out the rest of his contract as a producer. Garett would be gone from the company in 2015 after not appearing for over a year.

In the end, Garett has gone down as one of the biggest examples of nepotism in wrestling, and a run that produced just a single pay-per-view singles match. That being his match with Gunner (the future Jaxson Ryker in WWE) from Against All Odds 2012. As part of the Bischoff family feud, Garett also started feuding with Eric's Immortal stablemate/new son(?) Gunner, wrestling the first three matches of his career against him and winning all three (one by DQ, two by pinfall) before Gunner kayfabe injured him with a piledriver on the exposed floor. Garett returned a month later to set up yet another match between the two at Against All Odds. A now-babyface Hulk Hogan was also revealed as Garett's trainer/new dad(?), and he'd be in Garett's corner for the match while Eric accompanied Gunner to the ring. Let's find out why El Hijo del Eric Bischoff was relegated to tag matches on pay-per-view for the rest of his career.

Garett Bischoff has some obscene sideburns:

I just had to get that out of the way. Also, not only does Garett come out to Hulk Hogan's music, but he is introduced before Hogan. Pushing Garett well beyond his abilities so early in his career was always going to make getting him over an uphill battle, but doing stuff like that probably didn't help either. Before the match starts, Gunner offers Hogan a towel to throw in for Garett. The match starts with Gunner shoving Garett twice. A third shove attempt sees Garett counter with a judo throw before hitting an arm drag followed by a dropkick. Another lock-up sees Gunner take Garett down with a waistlock before slapping him in the back of the head a bunch. Garett fires back with punches before taking Gunner down with another arm drag. Garett slaps on an armbar, working the arm for a while before Gunner breaks the hold with a headbutt. Gunner follows up with another headbutt before dragging Garett's face across the top rope.

Garett fires back with punches, but Gunner shuts down the comeback with a punch to the gut. Garett tries to fire up again with even more punches, but he gets tripped by his father when he hits the ropes, allowing Gunner to hit a double chop to Garett's throat. Gunner goes for a gorilla press slam, but Garett slips out and, after ducking a clothesline, hits a flying forearm. Garett follows up with a backslide for a two-count before taking Gunner down with a drop-toe hold. Garett slaps on a headlock, only for Gunner to power out and push Garett into the corner. Gunner charges at him, but Garett dodges and rolls him up for another two count before hitting an inverted atomic drop. Gunner retreats into the corner, luring Garett in so he can throw him face-first into the turnbuckle. Gunner follows up with a clothesline to the back before hitting an elbow to the back of the head for a two-count. Garett tries to fight back with more punches, but Gunner keeps control by choking him against the ropes. Gunner stomps away at Garett, who tries to fight back with even more punches. Garett is definitely wrestling like someone in the six months of their career in this match.

Gunner shuts down the comeback attempt with a knee to the gut before locking in a neck crank. Gunner continues working, hitting a nice slingshot suplex for a two-count, but Garett makes a comeback with a cool little twisting flapjack. The two trade blows before Gunner hits a nice spinning neckbreaker. Gunner starts choking Garett against the ropes before distracting referee Earl Hebner, allowing Eric to slap Garett. Hogan has seen enough, as he walks and clocks Eric. Meanwhile, Garett gets another two count off a roll-up, only for Gunner to catch him with a knee lift. Gunner follows up with a neckbreaker before continuing to target Garett's neck with stomps & elbow drops. Gunner goes for another neckbreaker, but Garett blocks it by grabbing the ropes. This brings us to a spot that probably should've gone before Garett countered the neckbreaker, as Hogan grabs the towel and contemplates throwing it in and ending the match. Garett waves him off, only to walk right in a snap DDT from Gunner who gets the three and the win.

The Verdict

Outside of a couple nice spots, not a very interesting match. Garett's inexperience really shows in this match, as he really doesn't do anything outside of punches and basic wrestling moves. It also doesn't help that this match is almost 13 minutes long, so the basic nature of the match stands out even more. It's far from the worst match I've ever seen, but it's still not really worth watching.

The Rankings (Best to Worst)

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

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 be taking a look at a match from Survivor Series 2021 that WWE said was celebrating the 25th anniversary of a future Hall of Famer's debut, but was really celebrating...Pizza Hut? Stay tuned.