Looking back, the professional wrestling career of the late Tom "Tiny" Lister is somewhat of an anomaly. In 1989, Lister, an actor of 10 years who would later be known best for his role as Deebo in Friday and its sequel Next Friday, would play Zeus, the monster antagonist in the WWF-financed film No Holds Barred opposite Hulk Hogan as Rip Thomas. By film standards, No Holds Barred is not good, but if you're looking for some good old cheesy 80's schlock cinema, then the movie is right up your alley. But that wasn't the end of Tiny Lister's involvement with the WWF. On the May 27th episode of Saturday Night's Main Event, less than a week before No Holds Barred would release, Zeus would debut, confronting Hogan as he made his way to the ring. Unhappy with losing to Hogan in the film and being billed under him, Zeus came after Hogan. It was weird, because it wasn't the actor Tiny Lister wanting to face Hogan, but the fictional character he played in the film.
Hogan & Zeus would feud throughout the rest of 1989, exclusively wrestling on opposite sides of tag matches to hide Zeus' limitations in the ring. This was for the best, as while they're not must-see matches by any stretch, Zeus's WWF matches are generally pretty passable. After the feud culminated at the very sillily named "No Holds Barred: The Match/The Movie" (a double feature of the film followed by a Tag Team Steel Cage match pitting Hogan & Brutus Beefcake against Zeus & Randy Savage), Zeus would leave the WWF, having wrestled just three matches. It wouldn't be until 1996 that Lister would pop back up on national wrestling television, as he would join The Alliance To End Hulkamania (a blend of the Four Horsemen and the Dungeon of Doom) in WCW, once again as part of a feud with Hogan, as Z-Gangsta. His one and only match in WCW would be the infamous Doomsday Cage match at Uncensored, one of the first matches I ever covered for this series, and a former holder of the titular "Worst in the World." Now it's not even in the bottom 25. Time flies. Lister would depart WCW following Uncensored, and that would be the last we'd see of him in professional wrestling.
In between his WWF & WCW runs, however, we would get this one incredibly random match featuring Lister, and the only time he would wrestle in a non-Hulk Hogan-related capacity. That match being Lister, as Zeus, taking on legendary hardcore wrestler Abdullah the Butcher at Puerto Rican-promotion Capitol Sports Promotions' (now known as the World Wrestling Council) 17th Aniversario in 1990. I genuinely have no idea why, or how, this match came about. This match currently sits at a 1.33/10 rating on Cagematch.net, with one commenter saying "Definitely not recommended, unless your marathoning the worst wrestling matches ever.", which is quite literally the premise of this series. Let's take a look.
Zeus jumps out of the ring as Abdullah makes his entrance, leading to a brawl. Fans chuck garbage at the two as Zeus lays into Abdullah with overhead clubs. Zeus begins choking Abdullah before going back to the clubs. Zeus follows up with a few headbutts before clubbing Abdullah in the back. Zeus gets in the ring and poses as Abdullah stirs on the outside. Abdullah gets in the ring, which leads to forty whole seconds of NOTHING. They just stand in the ring and circle each other. The two lock up, which sees Zeus force Abdullah into the corner. Zeus clubs away at Abdullah some more before choking him. Zeus then, pretty impressively, lifts the 360-pound Abdullah up into a bear hug, even if it's only for a few seconds before he sets him back down. Zeus eventually breaks the hold before forcing Abdullah back into the corner, where he goes back to choking and headbutting him. Zeus once again starts overhead clubbing Abdullah. Zeus definitely wrestles like a celebrity who had minimal training. He quite literally has two basic moves, and two kinds of strikes.
The overhead clubs go on for a good 30 seconds, with the occasional choke thrown in for good measure, before the referee pulls Zeus off. Three minutes in and Abdullah's already bleeding. The camera doesn't leave Abdullah and you can't see him blade, so it's entirely possible he got busted open the hard way. Abdullah lands his first bit of offense, catching Zeus with a palm strike to the throat. Abdullah follows up with another strike, knocking Zeus down to the mat. Zeus fires back with more overhead clubs before going back to the choke. More overhead clubs and more choking from Zeus before Abdullah catches him with another strike to the throat. Abdullah follows up with a headbutt before pulling his signature fork out of his boot. Abdullah tries to stick Zeus with the fork, but Zeus blocks it and rips it out of Abdullah's hands. Zeus does not proceed to use the fork, instead holding it sideways in his hand while he clubs Abdullah, and then just tosses it away. I don't know why he did that.
Zeus goes back to the bearhug, but Abdullah is able to break the hold by raking Zeus' eyes. Abdullah bites Zeus' forehead before striking Zeus in the throat. Abdullah does this two more times, knocking Zeus down. Abdullah waits for 10 seconds before hitting an elbow drop. Abdullah makes the cover, but Zeus kicks out. Abdullah whips Zeus into the ropes, which causes Zeus to hit them very daintily.A young Kelly Kelly takes notes. Abdullah hits Zeus with a shoulder block, but Zeus stays on his feet. Abdullah hits a running shoulder block, but Zeus still stays up. Zeus fires back with a clothesline, causing Abdullah to fall into the ropes. Zeus then runs over for...another choke. Zeus follows up with a headbutt before whipping Abdullah to the opposite side of the ring and hitting a clothesline.
Even more choking as Zeus forces Abdullah into the corner, where he locks in a bearhug. Abdullah again breaks the hold by raking Zeus' eyes before punching away at Zeus. Abdullah knocks Zeus down with a strike to the throat before stepping on his neck. Abdullah locks in a double shoulder claw (i.e. he holds his hands on Zeus' shoulders) before Zeus pushes him away. Zeus then hits what can only be described as the least athletic monkey flip of all time, never leaving the mat as Abdullah runs at him, only for Zeus to launch him with his feet.Zeus follows this up by choking Abdullah against the mat, briefly stopping to club away at him. Whether he's standing or on the mat when he chokes & clubs is really the extent of the variety you're gonna get from a Zeus match.
Abdullah manages to get a foot on the bottom rope to break the choke. We then get 20 seconds of Zeus waiting for Abdullah to get to his feet. Jesus Christ, just end the match. Abdullah punches Zeus directly in the penis, then does it again before opting to kick him in the penis. Abdullah kicks Zeus in the head before choking him against the ropes. Abdullah kicks & stomps Zeus before we get another extended period of one guy waiting for the other one to stand up. Why is this match still going? It's very obvious that neither of these guys are fit enough to work a match like this for this long.
Zeus fires back with more overhead clubs, but Abdullah fires back with strikes to the throat. The two trade blows before Abdullah headbutts Zeus multiple times, sending him out of the ring. Zeus hops up on the apron and bearhugs Abdullah. This goes on for about 30 seconds before Abdullah breaks the hold with a punch, knocking Zeus back off the apron. Zeus quickly drags Abdullah out of the ring, and the two exchange strikes at ringside. Zeus then grabs a podium or something and hits Abdullah with it, and the bell starts to ring.The two brawl to the back. All that for a fucking double countout.
The Verdict
Unsurprisingly, this is terrible. Zeus was obviously incredibly limited in what he can do, because he's not actually a wrestler. Abdullah the Butcher was pretty limited in what he could do...in general. Putting two limited guys in the ring together results in a bland, incredibly repetitive match that is an absolute chore to watch. Like I said, this had zero business going for almost 12 minutes. Both men get gassed, and even if they hadn't, plodding offense like the kind they're working with gets old quick. Avoid this match. It is not a fun time whatsoever.
The Rankings (Best to Worst)
- The Rock, Hulk Hogan, and Kane vs The nWo-Friday Night SmackDown (3/28/2002)
- Steve Austin & Bradshaw vs The Undertaker, Scott Hall, and X-Pac-Monday Night Raw (4/15/2002)
- Steve Austin & Bradshaw vs Scott Hall & X-Pac-Monday Night Raw (4/29/2002)
- Sgt. Slaughter vs Colonel DeBeers-AWA SuperClash III
- The Mexicools vs The Blue World Order-The Great American Bash 2005
- The nWo vs Steve Austin & The Rock-Monday Night Raw (3/11/2002)
- Jake Roberts vs George Wells-WrestleMania 2
- Jeff Jarrett & Owen Hart vs D'Lo Brown & Test-WrestleMania XV
- Tommy Dreamer vs Bully Ray-Victory Road 2011
- Corporal Cajun & Lt. Loco vs The Perfect Event-Halloween Havoc 2000
- Melina vs Torrie Wilson-The Great American Bash 2005
- Scott Hall vs Crash Holly-Sunday Night Heat (4/7/2002)
- Triple H vs Kevin Nash-TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs 2011
- Wrath vs Glacier-World War 3 1998
- The Rock's 25th Anniversary Battle Royal-Survivor Series 2021
- Hardcore Holly vs Billy Gunn vs Al Snow-WrestleMania XV
- Wendi Richter & The Top Gunns vs The Diamond Exchange-AWA SuperClash III
- Wahoo McDaniel vs Manny Fernandez-AWA SuperClash III
- Rick Rude vs Jake Roberts-WrestleMania IV
- Too Much vs Al Snow & Head-King of the Ring 1998
- Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns-Greatest Royal Rumble
- The Fatal 4-Way Intercontinental Championship Match-WrestleMania XV
- Ernest Miller vs Norman Smiley-Fall Brawl 1998
- The Concrete Crypt Match-The Great American Bash 2004
- Shane McMahon vs Eric Bischoff-SummerSlam 2003
- Mordecai vs Hardcore Holly-The Great American Bash 2004
- Luther Reigns vs Charlie Haas-The Great American Bash 2004
- The Tag Team Gauntlet-Extreme Rules 2010
- The Gimmick Battle Royal-WrestleMania X-Seven
- Hernandez vs Matt Morgan-Victory Road 2011
- Randy Orton vs Bray Wyatt-WrestleMania 33
- Vampiro vs Sting-Great American Bash 2000
- T&A vs Head Cheese-WrestleMania 2000
- Jake Hager vs Wardlow-AEW Dynamite (6/6/2021)
- David Arquette & Diamond Dallas Page vs Jeff Jarrett & Eric Bischoff-WCW Thunder (4/26/2000)
- Tyson Fury vs Braun Strowman-Crown Jewel 2019
- The Texas Tornado vs Dino Bravo-WrestleMania VII
- The Women's Tag Team Turmoil-WrestleMania 37 (Night 1)
- Triple H vs Sgt. Slaughter-D-Generation X: In Your House
- Konnan vs One Man Gang-SuperBrawl VI
- Ultimate Warrior vs Hercules-WrestleMania IV
- Candice LeRae vs Christina Von Eerie-PWG DIO!
- The Fabulous Moolah vs Velvet McIntyre-WrestleMania 2
- Rick Rude vs Hawk-Clash of the Champions XXV
- The Rock 'n' Roll Express vs The Stud Stable-AWA SuperClash III
- Ernest Miller vs Disco Inferno-Bash at the Beach 1999
- Shelton Benjamin vs Viscera-New Year's Revolution 2006
- Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar-WrestleMania 38 (Night 2)
- Carmella vs Asuka-Money in the Bank 2018
- Steve McMichael vs Reggie White-Slamboree 1997
- General Rection vs Lance Storm & Jim Duggan-Halloween Havoc 2000
- Chyna vs Ivory-WrestleMania X-Seven
- Lars Sullivan vs Lucha House Party-Super Showdown 2019
- The Last Rites Match-Destination X 2007
- Alexa Bliss vs Bayley-Extreme Rules 2017
- The Tag Team Fatal 4-Way Match-WrestleMania 13
- The Barbed Wire Christmas Tree Match-TNA iMPACT (12/20/2007)
- Gunner vs Garett Bischoff-Against All Odds 2012
- Tag Team Battle Royal-WrestleMania XIV
- EVIL vs Tomohiro Ishii-Wrestle Kingdom 16 (Day 1)
- The Chamber of Horrors-Halloween Havoc 1991
- Toru Yano vs Great O-Khan-New Japan Cup 2021 (Day 6)
- The Rock vs Scott Hall-Friday Night SmackDown (3/7/2002)
- Legion of Doom vs Power & Glory-WrestleMania VII
- Steve Austin & The Big Show vs Scott Hall & X-Pac-Monday Night Raw (4/22/2002)
- Corporal Kirchner vs Nikolai Volkoff-WrestleMania 2
- Glacier vs Wrath-The Great American Bash 1997
- The Mountie vs Tito Santana-WrestleMania VII
- The Natural Disasters vs Money Inc.-WrestleMania VIII
- Ivan Koloff vs Paul Jones-Clash of the Champions IV
- ODB, Taylor Wilde, and Roxxi vs The Kongtourage-Genesis 2009
- Kane vs Triple H-WrestleMania XV
- Rachel Evers vs Marti Belle-Mae Young Classic (Episode 2)
- Jake Roberts vs Rick Martel-WrestleMania VII
- Kazushi Sakuraba & Yuji Nagata vs Daniel & Rolles Gracie-Wrestle Kingdom 8
- Ivory vs Tori-SummerSlam 1999
- Giant Baba vs Bulldog Bob Brown-AWA WrestleRock
- The Reverse Battle Royal-Impact! (10/26/2006)
- The Undertaker vs King Mabel-In Your House 5: Season's Beatings
- Savio Vega vs Rocky Maivia-In Your House 14: Revenge of the Taker
- Jerry Blackwell vs Boris Zhukov-SuperClash II
- Nikita Koloff vs Bobby Eaton-Bunkhouse Stampede
- Alex Wright vs Steve McMichael-Halloween Havoc 1997
- The Great Khali vs Kane-WrestleMania 23
- Genichiro Tenryu & Koji Kitao vs Demolition-WrestleMania VII
- Savio Vega vs Crush vs Faarooq-Ground Zero: In Your House
- The Shockmaster vs Awesome/King Kong-Starrcade 1993
- Greg Gagne vs Ron Garvin-AWA SuperClash III
- Total Divas vs Other Divas-Survivor Series 2013
- The Undertaker vs Muhammad Hassan-The Great American Bash 2005
- Randy Savage vs George Steele-WrestleMania 2
- The Intercontinental Championship Elimination Chamber-Elimination Chamber 2015
- The Oddities vs Kaientai-SummerSlam 1998
- Paul Orndorff vs The Magnifcent Muraco-WrestleMania 2
- Team RAW vs Team SmackDown Men's Elimination Match-Survivor Series 2017
- Earthquake vs Greg Valentine-WrestleMania VII
- Scott Hall vs Spike Dudley-Monday Night Raw (3/4/2002)
- Rick Steiner vs Van Hammer-Bash at the Beach 1999
- Triple H vs Randy Orton-WrestleMania 25
- Hulk Hogan vs Sid Justice-WrestleMania VIII
- Paul Ellering vs Teddy Long-Capital Combat
- Dusty Rhodes vs Big Boss Man-Saturday Night's Main Event (10/31/1989)
- The First Blood DNA Match-Halloween Havoc 2000
- Konnan vs Scott Hall-Fall Brawl 1998
- Damian Priest vs The Miz-WrestleMania Backlash
- Tyson Tomko vs Stevie Richards-Unforgiven 2004
- Kane vs The Great Khali-SummerSlam 2009
- The 2022 Women's Royal Rumble
- Rick Steiner vs Scott Steiner-Fall Brawl 1998
- The Extreme Elimination Chamber-December to Dismember 2006
- Hollywood Hogan vs The Giant-Hog Wild
- Hollywood Hogan vs The Giant-Souled Out 1997
- Dustin Rhodes & King Kong vs Awesome Kong & The Equalizer-Battlebowl
- Finlay & Little Bastard vs The Boogeyman & Little Boogeyman-No Way Out 2007
- Mr. Anderson vs Rob Van Dam-Victory Road 2011
- Hulk Hogan vs Sgt. Slaughter-WrestleMania VII
- Jake Roberts vs Andre the Giant-WrestleMania V
- El Gigante vs Nailz-G1 Climax 1994 (Day 1)
- Yokozuna vs King Mabel-In Your House 4
- Dusty Rhodes vs The Honky Tonk Man-SummerSlam 1989
- Sting & Hawk vs Meng & Kurasawa-Clash of the Champions XXXI
- The Hurt Business vs RETRIBUTION-WWE Monday Night RAW (10/26/2020)
- Mankind vs Paul Wight-WrestleMania XV
- Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage-Uncensored 1998
- Santino Marella vs Heath Slater-WWE Friday Night SmackDown (9/27/2013)
- Al Snow vs Big Boss Man-Unforgiven 1999
- Vince Russo vs Ric Flair-WCW Monday Nitro (6/5/2000)
- Allie vs Leva Bates-Fyter Fest 2019
- Mickie James vs Ashley-Royal Rumble 2006
- Antonio Inoki vs The Great Antonio-NJPW Sumo Hall Show (12/8/1977)
- Christy Hemme vs Big Fat Oily Guy-Against All Odds 2007
- Kenzo Suzuki vs Billy Gunn-The Great American Bash 2004
- The Big Show vs Erick Rowan-TLC: Tables, Ladders, Chairs 2014
- British Bulldog & Jim Neidhart vs The Dancing Fools-Fall Brawl 1998
- Stevie Ray vs Konnan-World War 3 1998
- Vampiro vs The KISS Demon-Bash at the Beach 2000
- Team WCW vs nWo Wolfpac vs nWo Hollywood-Fall Brawl 1998
- Vampiro vs Oklahoma-Starrcade 1999
- The nWo vs The Rock & Hulk Hogan-Monday Night Raw (3/25/2002)
- Steve Austin vs Scott Hall-Monday Night Raw (4/8/2002)
- Steve Austin vs Scott Hall-WrestleMania X8
- The Rock & Hulk Hogan vs Scott Hall & Kevin Nash-Monday Night Raw (3/18/2002)
- Diesel vs King Mabel-SummerSlam 1995
- Big Swole vs Penelope Ford, Rebel, and Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D.-AEW Dynamite (8/27/2020)
- Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant-WrestleMania III
- Scott Hall vs Bradshaw-Backlash 2002
- The Undertaker vs The Big Bossman-WrestleMania XV
- Jinder Mahal vs Randy Orton-Battleground 2017
- Van Hammer vs Terrance Taylor-Clash of the Champions XVI
- Goldberg vs KroniK-Halloween Havoc 2000
- Junkyard Dog vs Moondog Spot-Wrestling Classic
- The New Blood Gauntlet-WCW Monday Nitro (6/5/2000)
- Chris Jericho vs "Goldberg"-Fall Brawl 1998
- Jimmy Valiant vs Wayne Bloom-AWA SuperClash III
- Hulk Hogan vs Kevin Nash-WCW Monday Nitro (1/4/1999)
- Sting vs Hulk Hogan-Halloween Havoc 1999
- Hulk Hogan vs Jeff Jarrett-Bash at the Beach 2000
- Randy Savage & Sid Vicious vs Kevin Nash & Sting-Bash at the Beach 1999
- Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano vs EVIL & Dick Togo-The New Beginning in Hiroshima 2021 (Day 2)
- Glacier vs Mortis-Slamboree 1997
- Steve Austin, Bradshaw, and Ric Flair vs The nWo-Monday Night Raw (5/6/2002)
- The Junkyard Invitational-Bash at the Beach 1999
- Michael Nakazawa vs Alex Jebailey-Fyter Fest 2019
- The 1997 World War 3 Match
- The 2022 Men's Royal Rumble
- Roman Reigns vs The Undertaker-WrestleMania 33
- Konnan vs Stevie Ray-Slamboree 1999
- The 1998 World War 3
- The Undertaker vs Goldberg-Super ShowDown 2019
- Hiroshi Wajima vs Tom Magee-All Japan Pro Wrestling 1988
- Jim Duggan vs Big Boss Man-Royal Rumble 1990
- Meng vs Jim Duggan-Uncensored 1995
- Jim Steele vs The Equalizer-SuperBrawl IV
- David Flair vs Dean Malenko-Bash at the Beach 1999
- The Golden Truth vs Breezango-Money in the Bank 2016
- The Undertaker vs Giant González-WrestleMania IX
- Carmella vs Asuka-Extreme Rules 2018
- Sting vs Tony Palmore-Battle 7
- D-Generation X vs Brothers of Destruction-Crown Jewel
- Wendi Richter vs Leilani Kai-WrestleMania
- Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar-WrestleMania XX
- Hornswoggle vs Chavo Guerrero-WWE Monday Night Raw (7/20/2009)
- Edge vs Triple H vs Vladimir Kozlov-Survivor Series 2008
- Rosita & Sarita vs Angelina Love & Winter-Victory Road 2011
- Kevin Sullivan vs Dave Sullivan-SuperBrawl V
- Steve McMichael vs Brian Adams-Road Wild 1998
- Scott Hall vs Roddy Piper-SuperBrawl IX
- Boris Zhukov vs Paul Samson-Beach Brawl
- Roddy Piper vs Hollywood Hogan-Halloween Havoc 1997
- Kane vs The Great Khali-Breaking Point
- Hollywood Hogan & Dennis Rodman vs Diamond Dallas Page & Karl Malone-Bash at the Beach 1998
- PN News & Bobby Eaton vs Steve Austin & Terrance Taylor-Great American Bash 1991
- Scott Steiner vs Sid Vicious vs Jeff Jarrett vs Road Warrior Animal-Sin
- Hollywood Hogan vs Roddy Piper-SuperBrawl 1997
- The 2015 Royal Rumble Match
- Kazuchika Okada vs Gedo-New Japan Cup 2020 (Day 2)
- Batista vs The Great Khali-SummerSlam 2007
- Sting vs Hollywood Hogan-Starrcade 1997
- Sable vs Tori-WrestleMania XV
- Super Invader vs Todd Champion-WrestleWar 1992
- Brock Lesnar vs Cain Velasquez-Crown Jewel 2019
- King Kong Bundy & Jim Neidhart vs Yokozuna & Jake Roberts-Heroes of Wrestling
- Sid Vicious vs The Nightstalker-Clash of the Champions XIII
- Mabel vs Savio Vega-King of the Ring 1995
- John Bradshaw Layfield vs Batista-The Great American Bash 2005
- Monty Brown vs Trytan-Destination X 2005
- The 8-Divas Tag Match-Survivor Series 1999
- The Fabulous Freebirds vs The Renegade Warriors-Halloween Havoc 1990
- The Knockouts Gauntlet-One Night Only: Live! 2016
- AJ Styles vs Frank Trigg-No Surrender 2008
- Rick Rude vs Masahiro Chono-Halloween Havoc 1992
- Mike Awesome vs Vampiro-Halloween Havoc 2000
- Bray Wyatt vs John Cena-Extreme Rules 2014
- Brothers of Destruction vs KroniK-Unforgiven 2001
- The Miss WrestleMania Battle Royal-WrestleMania 25
- Mabel vs The Undertaker-King of the Ring 1995
- Abdullah the Butcher vs Zeus-Capitol Sports Promotions 17th Aniversario 1990
- Wendi Richter vs The Fabulous Moolah-The Brawl to End it All
- David Flair vs Kimberly Page-Mayhem 1999
- The Truth Commission vs The Disciples of Apocolypse-Survivor Series 1997
- Daffney vs Miss Hancock-Bash at the Beach 2000
- The Bushwhacker vs The Fabulous Rougeaus-WrestleMania V
- Randy Orton vs "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt-WrestleMania 37 (Night 2)
- Lex Luger vs Sting-WWA The Retribution
- The Beverly Brothers vs The Bushwhackers-Royal Rumble 1992
- Savio Vega vs Rocky Maivia-WWF Monday Night Raw (4/14/1997)
- Teddy Long vs Eric Bischoff-Survivor Series 2005
- Adrian Adonis vs Uncle Elmer-WrestleMania 2
- Mike Sanders vs Ernest Miller-Halloween Havoc 2000
- Savio Vega vs Rocky Maivia-WWF Shotgun Saturday Night (1/25/1997)
- Greg Valentine vs George Steele-Heroes of Wrestling
- Abdullah the Butcher vs One Man Gang-Heroes of Wrestling
- Major Gunns vs Miss Hancock-New Blood Rising
- Vince Russo vs Booker T-WCW Monday Nitro (9/25/2000)
- Bradshaw & Trish Stratus vs Christopher Nowinski & Jackie Gayda-WWE Monday Night RAW (7/8/2002)
- The Countdown to Armageddon Match-WCW Thunder (10/18/2000)
- Rayo de Jalisco Jr. vs Blue Demon Jr.-AAA TriplemanÃa XXX: Monterrey
- Triple H vs Scott Steiner-Royal Rumble 2003
- Goldberg vs "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt-Super ShowDown 2020
- Mr. McMahon vs Pat McAfee-WrestleMania 38 (Night 2)
- Santina Marella vs Vickie & Chavo Guerrero-Extreme Rules 2009
- Kevin Nash vs Scott Steiner vs Goldberg-New Blood Rising
- Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker-WrestleMania XXX
- Hollywood Hogan vs The Warrior-Halloween Havoc 1998
- Mr. T vs Roddy Piper-WrestleMania 2
- The Royal Family vs Clowns R' Us-Survivor Series 1994
- The House of Horrors Match-Payback 2017
- The Blacktop Bully vs Dustin Rhodes-Uncensored 1995
- Buff Bagwell vs Roddy Piper-Bash at the Beach 1999
- Team Dos Caras vs Team El Canek-Leyendas Mexicanas 2017
- Pat Patterson vs Gerald Brisco-King of the Ring 2000
- The Wyatt Swamp Fight-The Horror Show at Extreme Rules
- The Four Doinks vs Team Bigelow-Survivor Series 1993
- Sting vs Jeff Hardy-Victory Road 2011
- Bret Hart vs Mr. McMahon-WrestleMania XVI
- WarGames 2000: Russo's Revenge-WCW Monday Nitro (9/4/2000)
- Oz vs Tim Parker-SuperBrawl
- Brock Lesnar vs Braun Strowman-Crown Jewel 2018
- Brock Lesnar vs Ricochet-Super ShowDown 2020
- Toru Yano vs KENTA-G1 Climax 2021 (Day 1)
- Konnan & Tygress vs Shane Douglas & Torrie Wilson-Halloween Havoc 2000
- The Fabulous Moolah vs Ivory-No Mercy 1999
- New Jack vs Vic Grimes-Living Dangerously 2000
- The Mighty Maccabee vs The Iron Sheik-Maccabiah Mania II: Shekel Slam
- Van Hammer vs Doug Somers-Halloween Havoc 1991
- Eddy Steinblock vs One Warrior Nation-DWA Wrestling Legends Tour 2010 (Day 2)
- Ultimate Warrior vs Andre the Giant-Saturday Night's Main Event (11/25/1989)
- Jeff Jarrett vs Sting-Halloween Havoc 2000
- The Doomsday Cage Match-Uncensored 1996
- "Donald Trump" vs "Rosie O'Donnell"-WWE Monday Night RAW (1/8/2007)
- Kane vs The Undertaker-Judgement Day 1998
- Toru Yano vs Jado-New Japan Cup 2020 (Day 1)
- Rebel vs Shelly Martinez-One Night Only: Knockouts Knockdown
- Sable vs Torrie Wilson-The Great American Bash 2004
- The Evening Gown Pool Match-Armageddon 1999
- Kaitlyn vs Maxine-NXT (10/19/2010)
- Sabu vs The Sandman-November to Remember 1997
- The 1996 World War 3 Match
- Seth Rollins vs "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt-Hell in a Cell 2019
- Michael Cole vs Jerry Lawler-WrestleMania XXVII
- The Bushwhackers vs Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff-Heroes of Wrestling
- James Storm vs Chris Harris-Lockdown 2007
- John Laurinaitis vs John Cena-Over the Limit 2012
- Hulk Hogan vs The Giant-Halloween Havoc 1995
- The Shark Cage Match-Big Time Wrestling (1976)
- Ultimate Warrior vs Goldust-In Your House 7
- Los Villanos vs Los Psycho Circus-Triplemania XXIII
- Jenna Morasca vs Sharmell-Victory Road 2009
- The Lingerie Street Fight Battle Royal-AWA SuperClash III
- Akira Maeda vs Andre the Giant-NJPW Big Fighter Series 1986 (Day 15)
- The 1995 World War 3 Match
- Butterbean vs Bart Gunn-WrestleMania XV
- New Jack vs Vic Grimes-XPW Freefall
- 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. And don't forget to click the link here and vote in the poll to decide the next edition of the Worst in the World, which will be posted in two weeks. Stay tuned...
My first time seeing this match was when Wrestlecrap reviewed it and after seeing the whole thing for myself I got to imagine if Vince saw this he was probably thanking the heavens he dodged the bullet that is a Hogan/Zeus match since he had Randy Savage to cover up Zeus pretty obviously bad wrestling.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Wrestlecrap I saw a match they reviewed that is fitting for this series, a match where it mostly consisted of lockups and the commentators crapping on the match (Tony Atlas vs Ted Arcidi WWF on NESN 9/8/1986). Wrestlecrap said the match is located in the WWE Old School section on Peacock.
A Hogan vs Zeus match definitely would've been rough. Maybe not as bad as this match with Abdullah, but still a bad time.
DeleteI'll also take a look at that Atlas-Arcidi match. Thanks for the suggestion!
Three random suggestions:
ReplyDeleteHornswoggle vs The Soaring Eagle from Friday Night SmackDown on December 10, 2010
The 1999 Royal Rumble match. I realize it told a story but it tainted the idea of the first and second participants lasting an hour since they only competed for maybe ten minutes. The first half of the participants in the match were mostly jobbers and midcarders and the re-debut of Mabel.
Roddy Piper vs Bad News Brown from WrestleMania 6. WWE Network has scrubbed this match from the history books for good reason. But speaking as devil’s advocate, Piper was trying to push a narrative in segments leading up to the match by saying that the black paint he was wearing symbolized that he was a champion for all races. Whereas Brown was a street thug who always turned his back on his friends and was a poor role model for his people. It was one of those ideas that was good in theory but executed awfully even for 1990 standards.
The '99 Rumble has already been recommended, but I don't think the Hornswoggle/Soaring Eagle match or the Piper vs Bad News Brown match has been requested. I'll add them to the list. Thanks for the suggestions!
DeleteZeus has a genuinely interesting career. Five matches total, all of which are absolute dog anus.
ReplyDeleteAs for my suggestions... I always thought there's a lot of awful lucha matches that don't get their due. So I went on the luchablog site and searched for various variations of "awful match", "horrible match", "terrible match", "worst match", and here's a few I found that seem to be... not good from what I've seen of them.
Euforia vs. Thunder - CMLL Arena Puebla 2015/11/02
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7TBca-LL5w - starts 1:08:00
Rush, Pierroth, Reapper vs. Shocker, Vangellys, El Terrible - CMLL Arena Mexico 2017/07/07
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9YCdSX2rqE - starts 48:00
Psycho Circus vs. Jeff Jarrett, Matt Morgan, Monster Pain - AAA TripleMania XXI
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2ius69 - starts 1:38:00
Vangellys vs. Pierroth, Hair vs. Hair - CMLL Arena Mexico 2017/07/14
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNNuvWB0lbQ - starts 1:29:00
Bengala, Metatron vs. Inquisidor, Apocalipsis - CMLL Arena Mexico 2017/02/21
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6oZMIcngKU - starts 3:00
Maligna, Lluvia, Avispa Dorada vs. Comandante, Amapola, Tiffany - CMLL Arena Mexico 2019/06/28
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPJVvpFJo80 - starts 18:00
Atlantis, Mr. Niebla vs. Angel de Oro, Cuatrero - CMLL Arena Mexico 2018/02/09
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHV45DV1BX0 - starts 57:00
Miss Janeth, Tania vs. Yuca, Dama Divina - Leyendas de la Lucha Libre 2015/02/22
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiY7MNfldVI - starts 6:30
Hope you "enjoy" some of these
I'll have to take a look at these. Thanks for the suggestions!
DeleteHere's a match request which was the first ever Hell in a Cell to end in ref stoppage
ReplyDeleteMankind vs Kane (Raw Aug 24 1998)
I'll add it to the list. I've got the tag Hell in a Cell between Austin/Taker and Kane/Mankind on the list also so I might put them together in one post. Thanks for the suggestion!
DeleteInteresting. I never expect to see Zeus in a wrestling match that didn't involved Hulk Hogan, let alone in a foreign promotion and with Abdullah The Butcher of all people.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised this happened too. People only ever really talk about his WWF and WCW matches, and never this one. I think I only ever found about it because it got talked about on an episode of Solomonster Sounds Off.
DeleteA short-lived promotion known as Lucha Libre Usa had in one of its programs a Mixed Tag Team Match
ReplyDeleteBetween Mascarita Dorada and Octagoncito against Pequeno Halloween and Tigresa Caliente (better known as Rhaka Khan in TNA), haven't watch it, but I've heaes it's pretty bad
I've never actually seen the match, but I remember they talked about it on the Bryan & Vinny show. Bryan Alvarez said it was "MINUS FIVE STARS, MAYBE TEN" and put it in the same category as Jenna Morasca vs Sharmell and The Bushwhackers vs Iron Sheik & Volkoff from Heroes of Wrestling. I'll definitely add it to the list. Thanks for the suggestion!
DeleteHere's a match where the only way to win is to hit a powerbomb!
ReplyDeleteKevin Nash vs Sid Vicious (Starrcade 1999)
That one has been requested already, but thanks for the suggestion!
DeleteHere's some bad matches from Wrestlemania 2000!
ReplyDeleteBig Bossman/Bull Buchanan vs Godfather/D-LO Brown
Hardcore Title Battle Royal
Terri Runnels vs The Kat (the only singles match on this card)
Kane/Rikishi vs X Pac/Road Dogg
Triple H vs The Rock vs Mick Foley vs The Big Show
I'll add these to the list. Thanks for the suggestions!
DeleteGiven how people (including myself) are responding to Gable Steveson's debut match against Baron Corbin, I think it's one for this series...
ReplyDeleteI'll add it to the list. It's been a while since I've gotten a request within 24 hours of the match happening, but based on the reviews, it's probably deserved. Thanks for the suggestion!
DeleteSince you took a look at Chyna/Ivory's match at Wrestlemania, can you take a look at their match at that years Royal Rumble since it did lead to a squash match with a clunky finish and it was the only worst match on an already great ppv.
ReplyDeleteI'll add it to the list. Thanks for the suggestion!
DeleteA couple of singles matches involving both members of the Godwinns….
ReplyDeleteHenry Godwinn vs Hunter Hearst Helmsley - Arkansas Hog Pen Match IYH December 1995
Naked Mideon vs William Regal - No Mercy 2000
Both of those matches are already on the list, but thanks for the suggestions!
DeleteHere's a match where Paul Heyman betrayed his most valuable asset to side with a big nasty bastard!
ReplyDeleteBig Show vs Brock Lesnar (Survivor Series 2002)
I'll add it to the list. Thanks for the suggestion!
Delete