Wrestling Matches That Didn't Live Up To The Hype 

you should do the reverse aka wrestling match that over delivered expectations despite little to no hype

Starcade 97 still hurts to this day because ALL they had to do was Sting start strong and explosive af, hogan gets control by "hulking up" sitng kicks out of the leg drop and wins clean in 3rd act come back. That's it, that simple and it would've been huge. It was so, so, so, ridiculously simple and somehow they screwed it up

Jimmy vs Jey Uso. Chemistry doesn't mean anything if neither one can carry a singles match. Also their time was cut which didn't help matters.

*Sting vs. Hulk Hogan at Starrcade ‘97 has to be one of my least favorite matches in the history of wrestling. They literally spent 18 pissing months building up to that match and it ended up being one of the most stupidly convoluted finishes of all time when they just had one simple thing to do: have Sting go over Hogan clean as a whistle. Sadly, due to Hogan’s ego and the incompetence of Eric Bischoff, that didn’t happen. They literally had just one simple thing to do, but nope, they just had to ruin it at the last minute. It makes it even more frustrating that they even had a more complicated follow-up after that event. It was just such a massive waste of everybody’s thanks to Hogan and Bischoff. SMH.*

Triple H v Orton at WM 25 should have been no holds barred. It was a match limited by its stipulation

I was so hyped for Nakamura vs. AJ too. It was so deflating. WM 34 as a whole was a big waste of time.

The 18 month build that led to Sting/Hogan immediately comes to mind.

That Nakamura x Styles match was criminal. You know they were told tone it down. Maybe Vince didn’t want those guys to overshadow the main event, which these two would do. Easily. What a disappointment.

That Goatee Sting was rocking at that time in the Wolfpack…🤦‍♂️ Yeesh!

When kane lost his mask 💀💀💀

*HIAC 2019 not 2013

Anyone who doesn’t know about the Steiner brothers in late 80s early 90s should go back and watch they were an awesome tag team

I don't know if it was an intentional nod, but I cannot imagine it was not; Dean Ambrose is from Cincinnati, OH. Cincinnati has a long standing radio station, WEBN, that throughout Ambrose's entire life has been a mainstream rock station with a veneer of wanting to be portrayed as counter-culture. WEBN's long standing nickname has been "The Lunatic Fringe of American FM" and I always figured that the WWE lifted that nickname for Dean. I actually listen to your shows while I drive, and caught this episode while driving not only through Cincinnati, but right past Heritage Bank Arena, the venue that the WWE (and AEW) air their locally filmed shows from. Got to watch Moxley have a heroes reception there the last time I caught some live wrestling. Thanks for another great upload!

The first Bobby Lashley vs Brock Lesnar match was very, very disappointing. In fact, every time they faced each other was a let down 😔

For me, it’s any Hogan/Flair match. The biggest WWF and NWA stars of the 80s never had a memorable match that matched their profiles.

Honestly, Bret Hart should’ve been the referee for the Sting vs Hogan match at Starrcade 97 from the start and whilst Sting locks in the scorpion deathlock, Hart calls for the bell immediately even though Hogan didn’t tap, a la the end of Survivor Series ‘97 which would’ve lead to a “Bret Screwed Hogan” storyline and would’ve been the beginning of the end of the nWo.

Mistico vs Rey Mysterio at one of the Rey de Reyes PPVs. Rey paused at one time to just stare at Mystico in disbelief, because Mystico was botching nearly every move.

In the dying months of WCW, Triple H vs Scott Steiner was at the top of my list of then current roster WCW vs WWF matches. I had images of Scott Steiner with his steel pipe and Midajah in his corner going against Triple H with sledgehammer and Stephanie in his corner going at it in some street fight main event of a PPV after a heated feud. It definitely tops my personal list of dream feuds/matches that were better left as just dreams.

That HHH vs Orton match just made no sense. It needed to be a no DQ clusterfuck with interference from Legacy, The McMahons, hell have Batista return a couple weeks early if you are dead set on HHH retaining since Orton was the one who took him out at the end of the previous year. Instead 'if HHH gets DQ'd he loses the title' stipulation just completely killed the match midway through the show when it was added.

I honestly feel like WWE told AJ and Nakamura to tone it down so Ronda can look good in her debut match.

I would put Goldberg versus glacier on this list. Solely for the fact that glacier should’ve went over. It’s no secret as to WCW floundered after the mismanagement of glacier. They let him melt away.

I was at wrestlemania 25 way back in 2009. I can personally speak to the crowd being exhausted emotionally after that Shawn Michaels / Undertaker match.

Cena vs Reigns at No Mercy 2017. Super Roman was ludicrous.

Hogan vs sting starcade 1997😂

That head shot at 1:19 😂

I'm still trying to figure out what a lunatic fringe is and why was Dean Ambrose even near being a lunatic. He just came off as not really caring about much, but never a lunatic

Bret vs Sting was quite a dud

HHH vs. Scott Steiner would have been awesome in 1999 or 2000.

HHH vs Sting was one of the most upsetting Matchs in history to me. They really did my boy Sting wrong

No Hogan v Warrior at Halloween Havoc

Brock Lesnar vs Cain Velasquez at Crown Jewel 2019

First one that pops in my mind is Hogan vs Sting 97 Starcade

Bret vs. Sting--I don't have a problem with the match at HH, rather the build up. Sting vs. Bret should have been a top of the line, ppv main event. But--due to incompetence from Bischoff and Hogan--the dream feud was relegated to the midcard & both guys were stuck in factions they had no business being in. The fact that Sting and Bret only had 3 "official" matches is sad testimony to how WCW misfired... 😢

One of the issues with Goldberg vs. Lesnar at Wrestlemania 20 was that Lesnar was a technical machine who had wrestled a 60-minute Iron Man Match with Kurt Angle the previous year. Goldberg had no stamina and had 5 moves in his arsenal. I don't know why anyone expected a great match.

Literally any Hulk Hogan match after Road Wild 96, and prior to Wrestlemania X-8, could make this list 😂

Sting vs Jeff Hardy where Hardy shows up on drugs has to be on there

Not even watched yet. But hart vs vince 2010 pops to mind 😢

Wait didn't the Rollins/fiend feud happenned in 2019 (not 2013) ? Anyways great vid brother as Always 👌

All Cena vs Orton matches could fit this, right? Crazy heated blood feud between the top face and top heel and then the matches feel underwhelming even for an episode of Raw

I can absolutely second the Kim Justice recommendation. Her coverage of Japanese wrestling is second to none. I was never into it either, but she does an extremely good job of filling you in. Great great stuff.

One other thing to factor about Bret Hart vs. Tiger Mask II/Mitsuharu Misawa that may have played into the match: Misawa did not like wrestling in a mask and being the Tiger Mask character altogether, so having to use a very different in-ring style instead of what he was best at. Also props to Kim Justice's vid and her excellent 4-part Misawa vs. Kawada series.

3:26 You weren't alone, my friend. You weren't alone.

Me wrestling with all of my bills...huge letdown and definitely ended up under-delivering.

Why do people always overexaggerate Scott Steiner's physical transformation? Yeah he became bigger, but he was always jacked even before he was Big Poppa Pump. Dude was massive even during his WWF run in '92, even then being bigger than most guys in the business.

Sting wasnt tan enough, brother.

AJ VS Jericho at Wrestlemania, (also known as that the reason for that Infamous Kevin Owens and Vince "are we good?" gorilla position clip) Man that match was so disappointing, that entire storyline was great up until towards end when KO lost the title to Goldberg in like a minute. Then he and Chris had a boring match at mania. Which led to that infamous clip at gorilla position where after the match KO asked Vince "are we good?" Vince said no.

I remember that Eddie Guerrero vs. Benoit match. You can see how Eddie is annoyed and he is just trying to go through the motions of the match, but not go out of his way to put on a great match. It was so disappointing to watch.

It's crazy that any of you thought the kane/taker v michaels/HHH was going to be good. I knew it was going to suck going in and it delivered

Excellent video

Suzuki, Okada, and Tanahashi were reportedly in the crowd for Shinsuke vs AJ, and they laughed at Shinsuke's heel turn.

Sting at Starrcade 97 and the Undertaker listing the steak immediately come to mind.

NOBODY expected steiner v. Triple h to be good in 2003.

In my head, DX vs BoD never happened and isn't cannon because it was at Crown Jewel, lol.

Bret vs Goldberg at Starrcade

Mr Perfect vs Lex Luger was a dream match for me in 1993. That's my first memory of being disappointed by a wrestling match.

Jimmy vs Jey Uso. I was there live. The fact that it was freezing cold and I had pneumonia amplified my disappointment for that match 😅💀

Sting vs Hogan was the best story buildup I ever seen

So you had a mayor, a injured deadman, a CEO and a multple time retired old man toy...what could possibly go wrong?

As Kevin Sorbo would say to these matches "Disappointed".

Great topic! I think this should be looked into even further. Love this idea!

Steve Austin vs Scott Hall Wrestlemania 18

Most of WCW matches from 1998 to 2001

18 months of build that led to sting vs hogan I remember every kid in school talking about that angle and match only to be disappointed like me in a match that was a mess and didn't resolve anything.

Hogan vs Warrior at Halloween Havoc 98!

Best Eddie v Benoit WWE match was Vengeance '03. Austin and Taker Rock Bottom match didn't work because they had moved on to different feuds and pushed back into facing each other to fill a gap in getting to Royal Rumble. The Fiend was pushed slightly early for title that year and Survivor Series was a better show to put him Fiend over. The lack of interference in WM 25 match between HHH and Orton took from it.

since you mentioned the change to Mania xix... Triple H vs Booker T, wwe wanted it to be wwe vs wcw but it went into wtf don't you see the implactions wwe, that we all thought the Mania match was going to be this brawl but turned out to a meh/subpar match with an ending that nails the implications wwe didn't wanted hard on this match.

I always saw the Bret Hart vs Sting as the big WCW vs WWF match in the 1990s. At least it happened. The two matches they had around Mayhem 1999 were good, but one happened on a random Nitro and the other was a screwy tournament matches (both very good). Halloween Havoc '98 was an incredible card on paper. The whole PPV is one big night of failed dream matches. And DDP-Goldberg, which was probably the best Goldberg streak match.

Wrestling bios you need to do video essay on Japan wrestling in general

Without question Hogan vs Sting Starrcade 97….that build up was so amazing for it to be wasted in a match like that 🤦🏾‍♂️ and they had it too. Hogan should’ve worked and actually wrestled, with some nWo shenanigans involved but Sting eventually overcomes and beat him clean but no 🤦🏾‍♂️

Bret Hart and Sting are two if my favorite wrestlers of all-time and two of the greatest of all time.

I do like most Austin vs Taker matches in 98-99. That buried alive match was disastrous.

The lunatic fringe is him paying homage to I guess our hometown Cincinnati. The local rock radio station calls itself the lunatic fringe.

Jericho vs. RVD 2002 at KOTR was pretty disappointing.

There was a sting/bret street fight on nitro which was a banger. However there was zero follow up. This it is often forgotten.

Nick Patrick: I was told not to fast count. Hogan, proven habitual liar: Nobody told Nick not to fast count. Honestly, Sting deserves some share of the blame for Starrcade. He was in the business for a decade at that point. He should’ve known to kick out if the ref wasn’t fast counting. And he also shouldn’t have let Hogan take the match the entire time, even if he had to go into business for himself.

The Fiend/Seth Rollins was the most pissed I'd been at a wrestling match in my entire wrestling fandom.

This could also become another series of videos

Love the shoutout to Misawa and especially to Kim Justice! I recently found Kim Justice's channel, and have been binging a lot of their content, especially their multiple hour-long videos on the Misawa/Kawada rivalry. Misawa is a legitimate contender for THE greatest in-ring performer of all time, and it's a real shame that his random match with Bret Hart (long before either wrestler truly came into their own) was a let down.

Some off the top of my head Stone Cold vs Scott Hall Cena vs Theory Vince vs Bret Nexus vs Team WWE Goldust vs Stardust Jeff vs Matt Hardy Mox vs Omega exploding ring Hogan vs HBK

I was at that Rock Bottom match between Stone Cold and Undertaker in Vancouver. When they went to the area with all the dirt for the burial, nobody could see anything, so people started throwing their drinks and stuff, WCW style. I remember a guy seated near us nailed Taker with an empty soda cup at one point. That show really sucked.

I thought Nakamura vs Styles at WM had so much potential and I thought it was underwhelming. That match could’ve been so much better in my mind. I didn’t hate the match but expected a little more. This is a great list. I do agree with all these matches misfiring and a lot of them were very well done leading up to the match. The only one I give a break to is the Orton vs Triple H. The life of that crowd was sucked out the room and the match had to close the show after the greatest match ever seen arguably.

Not to nitpick, but Sting would have quick dark matches after several Nitros well before Starcade '97 to send the fans home happy.

Sting Vs Triple H wrestlemania 31 Triple H vs Randy Orton wrestlemania 25 And most definitely Hollywood Hogan Vs Sting Starrcarde 97 Hollywood Hogan Vs Ultimate warrior Halloween Havoc 98

Sting vs. Bret Hart from ring perspective and storyline build. Breaks my heart that my favorite wrestlers from the '90s doesn't deliver some classics.

JYD vs Hacksaw Jim Duggan at the Tipsy Too Saloon in '88

One match that felt huge, but didn't feel like it met expectations for me was Triple H vs. Hollywood Hogan from Backlash 2002. Two huge names in the company going at it for Triple H's recently won Undisputed WWF Championship, just didn't feel like it was as great as it could've been once the final bell rang.

Now one that surpassed expectations…by a lot!

LoL @ Bret Hart suffering from jet lag before his match against Tiger Mask II.

Kim Justice is a great RU-vid channel BTW. Glad he is getting shouted out.

Awesome video. Agreed with all of these. Also, the WM 12 iron man match. Some people love it but watching it on ppv I was kinda bored. And it became evident they were gonna go 0-0 after about 15/20 min

I could really feel that something was wrong with Eddie vs benoit at one night stand. Eddie didn't feel happy nor well. Finally someone shed a light here regarding this match

Dx vs bros of destruction i believed was the turning point where Vince realized you can go to the attitude era one too many times

usually the matches that aren’t built up like the big matches are the best ones

Matt Hardy vs Edge at Summerslam 2005 is right up there for me. The real life issues between the two created some huge expectations, but the match itself was nothing special before the lame referee stoppage finish - Edge took most of the offence, when people wanted to see him take a pasting. They eventually got it right at Unforgiven, but by that point it felt just a tad too late.

Rocky Maivia vs The Sultan really let me down.

Great video pal. I would love to see the opposite video: matches that looked 💩 on paper, but turned out to be good, like HHH and Steph vs Kurt and Ronda.

I was in attendance for the Triple H match, against Scott Steiner. It definitely didn't live up to the hype.

Nice shout out to Kim Justices Wrestling Road channel. 1 of my favorites.

Sting wasn’t tan, brother!

3:18 The Undertaker vs Triple H end of an era match with Michaels as the referee should have been the last one those three were ever involved in.