WWF/WWE worst matches ever - a depressing journey

[Ricky Jackson]

So funny they ran Moolah v Richter here with Richter as the heel only 2 months before their big MTV match in the same building. Shows how late that whole deal must've been put together 

[tcg91]

Chief Jay Strongbow vs Paul Orndorff (7/23/84)
Wow, this was bad. It took Orndorff ages to get undressed, and that was by far the best part of the match, if you can ignore Strongbow being so antsy that even Monsoon told him to chill for a bit. It took them 3 minutes just to touch each other and that was followed by another 3 minutes of very uninspiring action. After a few rest holds, they collided and Strongbow fell out of the ring, ringing the bell as he fell down, which was hilarious and I wish the camera angle was better . Strongbow then proceeded to no-sell Orndorff's offense before the heel finished him off with an ugly clothesline that probably hurt like hell, but looked more like a strange forearm. 1/4*

[tcg91]

David Sammartino vs Mr. Fuji (10/14/84)
Yeah, this sucked. This was obviously designed to make Sammartino look like an underdog who would suffer against veteran before showing his skills, but the problem is that Fuji's offense looked so horrible that selling it just made David look weak. Apart from David selling Fuji's bad strikes like he was dying, this mostly consisted of meaningless rest holds that went nowhere and quite rightly drew a loud "boring" chant from the crowd. It wasn't completely terrible, as it at least had a purpose, but Sammartino's "flashy" win didn't do much for him when he had spent more than 10 minutes getting his ass kicked by an old, frail man. Monsoon even claimed that this had been David's strategy all along, which is such a stupid statement. 1/4*

[tcg91]

Rick McGraw vs Mad Dog Vachon (10/22/84)
Vachon couldn't really go here and this was a bit of a mess. Nothing much happened during the first few minutes as they traded dull holds, but the match became mildly entertaining once Mad Dog started biting his opponent. I don't think McGraw did much to save this, and there were miscommunications on both sides, such as during a dropkick spot, where Vachon clearly didn't want to sell the move that McGraw used as a babyface last lifeline. There were also several pinfall attempts with no heat or believability, as Vachon never made McGraw look like a legitimate threat when he was on top. Mad Dog went over with a piledriver, but he didn't make a good impression. 1/2*

[tcg91]

Swede Hanson vs Bob Orton (11/26/84)
Bless Orton, he tried, but not even Ric Flair could have dragged Hanson to a good match in 1984. The worst part of this was the complete lack of continuity and follow-up. Hanson went from a bearhug to a wrist lock to an armbar in the same minute, without any logic. Later on, he drove his full weight onto Orton's sternum, only to apply a chinlock instead of capitalizing on the chest damage in another way. Orton's offense was obviously better, but Hanson didn't bump enough for him, forcing the Cowboy to get creative. Orton's finishing splash looked quite weak, especially since Hanson had to slowly climb to the top rope by himself before taking it, which could have been avoided. 1/4*