JerryvonKramer Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 The past couple of days have shown us that the worst booked match of all time is Royal Rumble 2015. But what are some other examples of atrocious booking for a match? Bret vs Yoko at Wrestlemania 9 springs to mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tofu_chipmunk Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Booking a Dusty Finish for the Road Warriors vs. Blanchard & Anderson tag title match on the first Crockett PPV in the Warriors' kayfabe hometown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantastic Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Numerous examples from 99/00 WCW, but the one that stands out for me is the tag team match for the World Heavyweight title on the April 26th 2000 Thunder... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Dusty/ Flair Starrcade 84 ending on cuts. Flair/ Nikita Starrcade 86 ending in a double dq. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chief Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Sting vs Hogan at Starrcade 97 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerpride Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Matt Hardy v. Edge, Summerslam 2005 Elimination Chamber, Summeslam 2003 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Ewiak Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Goldberg vs. Nash - Starrcade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 I agree with all of those answers but those were all matches of varying length & quality that had bad endings. Last night, as Dylan pointed out on the podcast, was one long 75 minute bad booking decision in continuous fashion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeCampbell Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Eddie vs. HHH from the Raw with the 2004 draft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Ewiak Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 I agree with all of those answers but those were all matches of varying length & quality that had bad endings. Last night, as Dylan pointed out on the podcast, was one long 75 minute bad booking decision in continuous fashion. Well, I'm sure there were WCW Russo-booked shows that was 120 minutes of bad booking decisions in continuous fashion, they just weren't in one match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smack2k Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Dusty/ Flair Starrcade 84 ending on cuts. Flair/ Nikita Starrcade 86 ending in a double dq. Holy shit yes to Dusty / Flair .....these were storyline payoffs at Crockett's BIGGEST shows of each year and they ended in a bullshit way. Dusty / Flair was worse as the match was getting going at that point and Frazier stops it....in the MAIN EVENT of your BIGGEST show...what a fuck up...even if they wanted Frazier / Dusty (*why I dont know) as a possible feud, have Joe screw him in the end...fuck, I hated this... Flair / Nikita was also really really bad, but thinking about it, I dont know how else you would have done that finish....neither guy could take the pin with what they needed for 87 with Magnum gone...Nikita isnt gonna be world champ and you cant have Flair beat him and end the mystique...so I dont know how you'd do that one honeslty. Couple others... Booking The entire Starrcade 87 in Chicago ...that helped kill Crockett quickly (Keep that shit in Greensboro or Hotlanta) along with the WWF doing their part.. Warriors getting screwed out of the titles at the same show...as mentioned above Flair vs Luger at WCW Bash 88 Luger vs Windham - WCW Bash 91 Hogan vs. Bockwinkel - AWA Super Sunday '83 Goldberg vs. Nash - Starrcade This one I am not so sure about...WCW's ratings were HUGE the next two weeks after this (including 1/4)..it was the follow up that happened starting on 1/11 that started things downhill in a hurry. I'd say the follow-up booking was the issue...Nash gets a big pop when he wins...and honeslty, Goldberg's streak was gonna end at some point..Having him start his chase back for it by running through the new NWO one by one (lower guys on Nitro / Thunder, Tags, etc.. and then the bigger guys on PPV's leading to getting the belt back) and then winning the title back could have made things really really good....damn..Fuck you WCW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamthedoctor Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 The past couple of days have shown us that the worst booked match of all time is Royal Rumble 2015. But what are some other examples of atrocious booking for a match? Bret vs Yoko at Wrestlemania 9 springs to mind. Bret/Yoko is redeemed by WWE suprising the fans by having Hogan walk out with the title. Worst booking has to be the Rumble Orton won. This one I am not so sure about...WCW's ratings were HUGE the next two weeks after this (including 1/4)..it was the follow up that happened starting on 1/11 that started things downhill in a hurry. I'd say the follow-up booking was the issue...Nash gets a big pop when he wins...and honeslty, Goldberg's streak was gonna end at some point..Having him start his chase back for it by running through the new NWO one by one (lower guys on Nitro / Thunder, Tags, etc.. and then the bigger guys on PPV's leading to getting the belt back) and then winning the title back could have made things really really good....damn..Fuck you WCW. How would you go about booking this? Dont forget you had the Georgia Dome in January and the fans would have been pissed had Goldberg not won the belt back. Mind you they were pissed anyway by the end of the night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoS Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 The past couple of days have shown us that the worst booked match of all time is Royal Rumble 2015. But what are some other examples of atrocious booking for a match? Bret vs Yoko at Wrestlemania 9 springs to mind. Bret/Yoko is redeemed by WWE suprising the fans by having Hogan walk out with the title. Worst booking has to be the Rumble Orton won. This one I am not so sure about...WCW's ratings were HUGE the next two weeks after this (including 1/4)..it was the follow up that happened starting on 1/11 that started things downhill in a hurry. I'd say the follow-up booking was the issue...Nash gets a big pop when he wins...and honeslty, Goldberg's streak was gonna end at some point..Having him start his chase back for it by running through the new NWO one by one (lower guys on Nitro / Thunder, Tags, etc.. and then the bigger guys on PPV's leading to getting the belt back) and then winning the title back could have made things really really good....damn..Fuck you WCW. How would you go about booking this? Dont forget you had the Georgia Dome in January and the fans would have been pissed had Goldberg not won the belt back. Mind you they were pissed anyway by the end of the night. Sure they redeemed the finish.....except fans did not care about Hogan and house show attendance dropped immediately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBadMick Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 The past couple of days have shown us that the worst booked match of all time is Royal Rumble 2015. But what are some other examples of atrocious booking for a match? Bret vs Yoko at Wrestlemania 9 springs to mind. Bret/Yoko is redeemed by WWE suprising the fans by having Hogan walk out with the title. Worst booking has to be the Rumble Orton won. This one I am not so sure about...WCW's ratings were HUGE the next two weeks after this (including 1/4)..it was the follow up that happened starting on 1/11 that started things downhill in a hurry. I'd say the follow-up booking was the issue...Nash gets a big pop when he wins...and honeslty, Goldberg's streak was gonna end at some point..Having him start his chase back for it by running through the new NWO one by one (lower guys on Nitro / Thunder, Tags, etc.. and then the bigger guys on PPV's leading to getting the belt back) and then winning the title back could have made things really really good....damn..Fuck you WCW. How would you go about booking this? Dont forget you had the Georgia Dome in January and the fans would have been pissed had Goldberg not won the belt back. Mind you they were pissed anyway by the end of the night. Doctor, did you really think Hogan coming in and winning the title at WM9 was a good thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 WCW had a match (Nash vs Goldberg vs Steiner) where Goldberg refused to go up for a power bomb and do the job so he walked out. Afterwards the announcers had to talk about how unprofessional Goldberg was and now how Nash and Steiner had to improvise and come up with a finish on the fly. That is the worst booking in the history of wrestling and there is no comparison at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 WCW had a match (Nash vs Goldberg vs Steiner) where Goldberg refused to go up for a power bomb and do the job so he walked out. Afterwards the announcers had to talk about how unprofessional Goldberg was and now how Nash and Steiner had to improvise and come up with a finish on the fly. That is the worst booking in the history of wrestling and there is no comparison at all. "What are they gonna do now ? Improvise ?" http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/19237-wcws-highway-to-hell/?p=5561658 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantastic Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Oh yeah, add to the list: Booker T vs Triple H at Wrestlemania XIX. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tofu_chipmunk Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Also submitting the Doomsday Cage match from WCW Uncensored '96. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Guitar Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 War Games from Fall Brawl '98 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcmmnx Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 I was telling my brother the Rumble match was the worst booked match of all time, and that was before Mizdow got dumped in 30 seconds, and Kane and Big Show made all the faces look like dopes. Nothing tops that gem. I'll go with Booker T/ HHH at Mania for obvious reasons. Also Austin turning heel at 17 that was basically the end of an era. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smack2k Posted January 28, 2015 Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 The past couple of days have shown us that the worst booked match of all time is Royal Rumble 2015. But what are some other examples of atrocious booking for a match? Bret vs Yoko at Wrestlemania 9 springs to mind. Bret/Yoko is redeemed by WWE suprising the fans by having Hogan walk out with the title. Worst booking has to be the Rumble Orton won. This one I am not so sure about...WCW's ratings were HUGE the next two weeks after this (including 1/4)..it was the follow up that happened starting on 1/11 that started things downhill in a hurry. I'd say the follow-up booking was the issue...Nash gets a big pop when he wins...and honeslty, Goldberg's streak was gonna end at some point..Having him start his chase back for it by running through the new NWO one by one (lower guys on Nitro / Thunder, Tags, etc.. and then the bigger guys on PPV's leading to getting the belt back) and then winning the title back could have made things really really good....damn..Fuck you WCW. How would you go about booking this? Dont forget you had the Georgia Dome in January and the fans would have been pissed had Goldberg not won the belt back. Mind you they were pissed anyway by the end of the night. What I am saying is that Nash beating Goldberg for the title isn't the BAD booking decision, its what they did afterward. The post said the worst booking decision was Nash going over... If they did things right afterward (almost Austin like) where Goldberg chases through the NWO (you can even reform it, just keep the belt on Nash) on his way to getting back to Nash and winning the title back.. Their ratings after Starrcade, including 1/4 were still really big (12/28 - 4.6 and 1/4 - 4.9, so people wanted to see what was coming next)…have the 1/4 rematch at the Georgia Dome with Goldberg getting screwed somehow and Nash winning by the skin of his teeth (shit, have Hogan come back to the NWO and fuck Goldberg, just don't give him the title (I know, not very likely)…its on TV (World Title Changes don't happen all the time on TV and the belt JUST CHANGED HANDS TO NASH)..I know its at the dome, but giving them the rematch and a good match with that ending wouldn't hurt….fans can be pissed, but not the pissed that makes them run away... If it sounds stupid and "wouldn't work" as some would / may say, its not that different than what they did with Austin after he lost the title at Survivor Series 98 as he got screwed the next night in his match vs. Rock and then had to come back from there and people ate that shit up….same thing with Goldberg….you can do it different as well (Austin had Taker to get Rumble, then Vince after Rumble) as the NWO has WAY more guys to go through and you can draw it out longer…. So the actual Nash vs. Goldberg Starrcade booking wasn't bad at all…….it was the disaster after disaster that followed for booking decisions... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaufman316 Posted January 28, 2015 Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 How about Uncensored 1995? It's a pick'em of bad match booking: one match got everyone involved fired (Bully/Dustin along with road agent Mike Graham); another saw the TV Champ knocked out in a gimmick match (Arn/Badd); a "hardcore" tornado tag match involved cotton candy and lots of mustard, to the exclusion of other "international objects" (Heat/Nastys); a no-DQ match ends...in a DQ...when a top-drawing heel interferes disguised in drag (Savage/Tenta along with "retired" Ric Flair); said heel, still wearing mascara, somehow jobs despite not being in the match - oh, and lest we forget THE RENEGADE~ (Hogan/Vader not-yet-yappapi strap match). Good grief, what a cluster; surely the "Samurai Cop" of PPV cards, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smack2k Posted January 28, 2015 Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 WCW had a match (Nash vs Goldberg vs Steiner) where Goldberg refused to go up for a power bomb and do the job so he walked out. Afterwards the announcers had to talk about how unprofessional Goldberg was and now how Nash and Steiner had to improvise and come up with a finish on the fly. That is the worst booking in the history of wrestling and there is no comparison at all. "What are they gonna do now ? Improvise ?" http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/19237-wcws-highway-to-hell/?p=5561658 At this point, I was trying SO HARD to stay into WCW as the guys they had COULD have had a great run into the Summer of 2000 but man, this one was REALLY hard to get by…this match….no words….I can't even imagine what someone who wasn't on newsgroups / message boards / IWC / Smarts / etc was thinking during that clusterfuck... I just let it slide the next night and kept waiting and the main event did get better after that (I know no one agrees, and that is cool, but I still LOVE the Late Summer 2000 - 2001 Main Event scene in WCW)…but this one match could be the WORST BOOKING DECISION EVER! Its another example of why ANYONE looking back at history would look to Russo today in 2014 / 2015 (TNA, lookin at you) and think, IN ANY WAY.."Yeah, that guy will be great to get us moving…" Why did he get so many chances after ROYAL fuck-ups like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Commander Posted January 28, 2015 Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 Flair v. Muta from Starrcade 89 has to be mentioned, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamthedoctor Posted January 28, 2015 Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 The past couple of days have shown us that the worst booked match of all time is Royal Rumble 2015. But what are some other examples of atrocious booking for a match? Bret vs Yoko at Wrestlemania 9 springs to mind. Bret/Yoko is redeemed by WWE suprising the fans by having Hogan walk out with the title. Worst booking has to be the Rumble Orton won. This one I am not so sure about...WCW's ratings were HUGE the next two weeks after this (including 1/4)..it was the follow up that happened starting on 1/11 that started things downhill in a hurry. I'd say the follow-up booking was the issue...Nash gets a big pop when he wins...and honeslty, Goldberg's streak was gonna end at some point..Having him start his chase back for it by running through the new NWO one by one (lower guys on Nitro / Thunder, Tags, etc.. and then the bigger guys on PPV's leading to getting the belt back) and then winning the title back could have made things really really good....damn..Fuck you WCW. How would you go about booking this? Dont forget you had the Georgia Dome in January and the fans would have been pissed had Goldberg not won the belt back. Mind you they were pissed anyway by the end of the night. Doctor, did you really think Hogan coming in and winning the title at WM9 was a good thing? Yes! I loved it and from the PPV all the fans who attended that PPV loved it. They all cheered Hogan on because they didnt want heel Yokozuna walking out with the belt. I dont recall any boos at all and it was a nice pop too. The past couple of days have shown us that the worst booked match of all time is Royal Rumble 2015. But what are some other examples of atrocious booking for a match? Bret vs Yoko at Wrestlemania 9 springs to mind. Bret/Yoko is redeemed by WWE suprising the fans by having Hogan walk out with the title. Worst booking has to be the Rumble Orton won. This one I am not so sure about...WCW's ratings were HUGE the next two weeks after this (including 1/4)..it was the follow up that happened starting on 1/11 that started things downhill in a hurry. I'd say the follow-up booking was the issue...Nash gets a big pop when he wins...and honeslty, Goldberg's streak was gonna end at some point..Having him start his chase back for it by running through the new NWO one by one (lower guys on Nitro / Thunder, Tags, etc.. and then the bigger guys on PPV's leading to getting the belt back) and then winning the title back could have made things really really good....damn..Fuck you WCW. How would you go about booking this? Dont forget you had the Georgia Dome in January and the fans would have been pissed had Goldberg not won the belt back. Mind you they were pissed anyway by the end of the night. What I am saying is that Nash beating Goldberg for the title isn't the BAD booking decision, its what they did afterward. The post said the worst booking decision was Nash going over... If they did things right afterward (almost Austin like) where Goldberg chases through the NWO (you can even reform it, just keep the belt on Nash) on his way to getting back to Nash and winning the title back.. Their ratings after Starrcade, including 1/4 were still really big (12/28 - 4.6 and 1/4 - 4.9, so people wanted to see what was coming next)…have the 1/4 rematch at the Georgia Dome with Goldberg getting screwed somehow and Nash winning by the skin of his teeth (shit, have Hogan come back to the NWO and fuck Goldberg, just don't give him the title (I know, not very likely)…its on TV (World Title Changes don't happen all the time on TV and the belt JUST CHANGED HANDS TO NASH)..I know its at the dome, but giving them the rematch and a good match with that ending wouldn't hurt….fans can be pissed, but not the pissed that makes them run away... If it sounds stupid and "wouldn't work" as some would / may say, its not that different than what they did with Austin after he lost the title at Survivor Series 98 as he got screwed the next night in his match vs. Rock and then had to come back from there and people ate that shit up….same thing with Goldberg….you can do it different as well (Austin had Taker to get Rumble, then Vince after Rumble) as the NWO has WAY more guys to go through and you can draw it out longer…. So the actual Nash vs. Goldberg Starrcade booking wasn't bad at all…….it was the disaster after disaster that followed for booking decisions... Yeah I wasent keen on that screwjob. By all means do the match and do the same ending but the finger poking just seemed wrong especially on a massive crowd. Personally I wouldnt have had the Georgia Dome booked that close, maybe have it for a March event. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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