If you’re a performer in WWE or anywhere else, your biggest priority is probably to not let your audience down. It wouldn’t be wrong to think of wrestlers as performers too. They’re after all wrestling for the fans only and nobody in their right mind would want the crowd to be disappointed with their work. But here’s the thing about wrestling: you’re not just responsible for pleasing the fans, but also for ensuring that your opponent is satisfied with your work.
Botch a promo, and you can turn one segment into a dull one. Mess up in the ring, and now everyone talks about that lackluster match and it overshadows everything else. Not only are the fans disappointed, but your co-workers are as well. While wrestlers are pros and they rarely mess up this big, the following wrestlers didn’t really have their best day when they let down their co-workers.
10 Goldberg & The Undertaker Nearly Kill Each Other At Super ShowDown 2019
Goldberg vs The Undertaker would have been one of the biggest dream matches in wrestling history if it had happened 20 years ago. They were still in good shape and could have had a much better storyline overall than the one they had in 2019. But, their match was inches away from being disastrous for them. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that this match was nearly deadly for both wrestlers.
9 MJF No Shows A Fan Meet & Greet Before Double Or Nothing 2022
MJF and Wardlow had an up-and-down relationship in AEW. It started with Wardlow working as the now AEW champ’s muscle, but their relationship ended after months of abuse given to him. They had a match at Double or Nothing 2022, but just 24 hours before the event MJF no-showed a Fan Fest event.
There were rumors that MJF might not show up to face Wardlow, but he did and lost. Nonetheless, him showing up at the show became a bigger deal than Wardlow getting his big moment.
8 Alicia Fox Takes Hair Of The Dog Before Her Match
Some years ago, there was an incident during a house show where Alicia Fox wrestled a match while being intoxicated. This led to the match producer Arn Anderson losing his job from WWE. Fox talked about this night on a Twitch stream recently and said this match changed her life and had her get to rehab for her alcohol issues.
7 Jeff Hardy Showed Up Intoxicated At Victory Road 2011
Jeff Hardy’s substance issues have been well-known to the wrestling world. In 2011, he showed up intoxicated at TNA Victory Road to face Sting. This was one of the most embarrassing moments in Hardy’s wrestling career. Hardy revealed that he had taken too many somas that night. He later went to rehab for around 4 months and returned to the company a few months later.
6 Neville Walks Out On WWE
During an Instagram live, Neville revealed why he left WWE years ago: “I was worth more than being jobbed out to jobbers, that’s why I left,” he said. Neville was talking about Enzo Amore here. They were feuding for the Cruiserweight Title before he unexpectedly disappeared from WWE for months and eventually got released. What happened behind the scenes was, WWE had asked him to drop the belt to Amore and Neville didn't want to do it.
5 Brock Lesnar Wasn't Excited About Match Against Dean Ambrose
Dean Ambrose has talked about his frustrations with Brock Lesnar during their rivalry leading up to WrestleMania 32. Ambrose had a ton of ideas for this match, but he didn’t think Lesnar even cared about any of it. Ambrose wanted to steal the show with this match, but he felt The Beast only wanted to do the bare minimum.
4 Hulk Hogan Ruins A Great Storyline Against Sting
The controversial Starrcade 1997 finish during Hulk Hogan and Sting’s match was a direct result of the Montreal Screwjob. Hogan and Sting had the best storyline buildup, and somehow WCW messed it up.
Now, that only happened because Hogan wanted a finish like this. A lot of fans wanted Sting to go over Hogan clean because that was the most sensible way to finish their story.
3 Steve Austin's Biggest Regret In Wrestling
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin famously walked out on WWE when they asked him to lose to Brock Lesnar. Austin had his reasons; he wanted more than just to lose to Lesnar. He wanted a proper storyline and didn’t want to rush things. He walked out on the company, and later they buried him on television. The Texas Rattlesnake later said that this walkout was his biggest regret in the business.
2 Austin Aries No-Sells The Starfish Pain
Controversial yet super talented, that was the kind of wrestler Austin Aries was. Years ago, he won the Impact World Championship after leaving WWE in 2017. He lost the title to Johnny Impact at Bound for Glory 2018 but overshadowed his victory by not selling the Starship Pain and leaving the arena arrogantly. They already had some real-life heat, and it didn’t help that they were taking shots at each other.
1 Shawn Michaels Oversells At SummerSlam 2005
It’s a matter of who fans choose to believe for this one. According to Hogan, Michaels went into business for himself, whereas other reports suggest Hogan refused to go according to the original plan because he didn’t want to have a face vs face feud. Either way, both wrestlers let each other down in some way. This was a dream match for wrestling fans, but because of their backstage issues, they robbed fans of this great spectacle.
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