When it comes to WWE’s PPV schedule, which offers more special shows than most professional wrestling promotions, there are some which tend to be bad events, or at least worse than they should be.
Some of these lackluster events have featured legends of the business, some of whom were well past their prime though some others were still in quite good condition. However, their booking and handling has been less than stellar on occasion, and this wasting of legends has sometimes contributed to a show being bad. Of course, all of this is subjective, as many of these events and booking decisions may even be liked by fans.
10 WrestleMania 1 & 2 - Bruno Sammartino
The very first WrestleMania may be one of, if not the most important and pivotal show in professional wrestling history, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it was good. In hindsight, the event does lack a bit of direction as it was clear that WWE weren’t entirely sure what the spectacle was going to be.
Bruno Sammartino is the most successful and dominant WWE Champion in history, but the way he was shunned at WrestleMania 1 was questionable. He was in the corner for his son’s match, playing a very small role. Things didn’t get any better at WrestleMania 2, where he was cannon fodder in a battle royal.
9 Crown Jewel 2018 - Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle’s in-ring run in WWE in the lead-up to his retirement was strange to say the least. He had a mixture of both high profile matches and forgettable ones, and one instance of the latter came at Crown Jewel 2018.
Angle was involved in the WWE World Cup, but was knocked out with ease in the first round to Dolph Ziggler. WWE failed to really build up Angle’s matches as significant ones, even though several dream matches could have been booked. This felt like a big slap in the face to an all-time great.
8 Fastlane 2017 - Goldberg
Goldberg may have won the Universal Championship at this event, but he was still wasted. Goldberg was good in small doses, but he should have been nowhere near a world title, especially when it came at the expense of a younger and fresher heel in Kevin Owens.
WWE changed their WrestleMania plans here, taking the Universal Title away from Owens and Chris Jericho which really hurt their feud. This was a case of a legend being wasted even in an instance where he was crowned as a world champion. Owens scoring a huge win over a legend would have been far better.
7 WrestleMania 9 - Randy Savage
His early years in WCW proved that Randy Savage still had a lot left in the tank following WWE’s attempts to lessen his role as an in-ring performer due to him being “too old”. At WrestleMania 9, Savage was resigned to the commentary desk, even though his involvement from an in-ring perspective would have no doubt helped a terrible card.
This event severely lacked star power, and Savage had that in spades. He deserved better than just sitting on commentary when it came to a WrestleMania event.
6 SummerSlam 2010 - Bret Hart
Bret Hart was a part of the Team WWE vs. Team Nexus match at SummerSlam 2010, which was an entire waste of a match in itself. The Nexus should have no doubt won the match, creating a group of stars instead of burying them.
When it came to Hart, he was disqualified in the match which seemed to be done to protect him. With Hart being the age he was, it would have been a far better decision to have someone like Wade Barrett pin the legend, getting bragging rights for being the last ever person to score a pinfall win over Hart. Instead, he was kept strong in a baffling call.
5 Survivor Series 1996 - Barry Windham
In the likes of WCW and Jim Crockett Promotions, Barry Windham was a household name who had tremendous feuds and classic matches. When he arrived in WWE, he was not treated in such high regard, especially when he competed under “The Stalker” gimmick.
Survivor Series is just one of several examples of WWE misusing Windham as nothing more than an undercard talent.
4 WrestleMania 18 - Steve Austin
It could be argued that WrestleMania wasn’t “bad”, as it did feature a classic in The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan, but much of the card was underwhelming. One instance of this was the use of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, who had a match with Scott Hall.
Austin was nearing the end of his in-ring career by this point, so in hindsight it felt like a huge waste to not book him in a match against a more prominent opponent. Scott Hall is a legend, but upon his return to WWE in the nWo, he was booked as the least important member.
3 King Of Ring 2000 - Pat Patterson & Gerald Brisco
Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco engaged in an Evening Gown match for Hardcore Championship in what was a travesty of a bout.
These two legends were involved in just a horrendous attempt at comedy which was excruciating to watch. Patterson and Brisco weren’t spring chickens, but surely there was something better they could do on the card than this embarrassment.
2 Greatest Royal Rumble 2018 - Chris Jericho
Even by the time 2018 rolled around, Chris Jericho was an all-time great and legend of the business (despite still wrestling today and not yet completing his legacy).
He was brought in for WWE’s first Saudi Arabia event, and instead of a high profile match, he entered into the 50-man Royal Rumble, lasted two minutes, then went home. It was a complete waste of someone with star power.
1 Survivor Series 2015 - The Undertaker
2015 was supposed to act as a kind of farewell tour for The Undertaker (although he would continue wrestling for another five years). At Survivor Series, he and Kane competed in what was a glorified squash over The Wyatt Family, which further buried the group.
When Wyatt reignited this rivalry with Undertaker, there was hope that he would score a star-making win. Instead, he was just dead wood for Undertaker’s 25th Anniversary at Survivor Series. Even though Undertaker won, his star power was wasted.
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