WWF/WWE worst matches ever - a depressing journey

[David Mantell]

On 9/17/2026 at 8:28 AM, tcg91 said:

The Junkyard Dog vs Ron Bass (5/27/88)
This main evented MSG for some reason

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WWF @ New York City, NY – Madison Square Garden – May 27, 1988 (16,000)

Televised on the MSG Network – included Rodger Kent & Superstar Billy Graham on commentary (Graham’s debut as a commentator); included Bobby Heenan coming to the ring saying he had signed an open contract to face anyone and he didn’t care who it was, gloating over his victory over Koko B. Ware earlier in the night and at WrestleMania IV; later in the show when announcing the following month’s card, Howard Finkel announced that Heenan would face the Ultimate Warrior and that Warrior would be bringing a weasel suit he had made and would stuff Heenan inside it; the announcement caused Heenan to return the ring:

Prime Time Wrestling – 6/6/88: The Conquistador pinned SD Jones at 9:13 when the momentum of a flying crossbody put the Conquistador on top

Greg Valentine defeated George Steele via disqualification at 5:54 when Steele brought the timekeeper’s hammer into the ring and pushed the referee down; Steele then chased Valentine backstage before returning to the ring and chasing the referee away after the decision was announced

Prime Time Wrestling – 6/6/88: Jacques & Raymond Rougeau defeated Jim Powers & Paul Roma at 14:26 when Jacques pinned Powers with a small package after Raymond reversed Powers’ small package behind the referee’s back

Prime Time Wrestling – 6/20/88: Brutus Beefcake fought the One Man Gang to a double count-out at 10:20 when both men fell over the top to the floor as Beefcake was on Gang’s back with the sleeper applied; after the bout, Beefcake was able to cut part of Gang’s hair

Haku, High Chief Afi (sub. for Tama) & Bobby Heenan defeated Koko B. Ware, Davey Boy Smith, & the Dynamite Kid at 14:10 when Heenan pinned Koko after hitting him with brass knuckles

Prime Time Wrestling – 6/6/88: Iron Mike Sharpe pinned Jerry Allen at 6:26 with an elbow drop

WWF World Champion Randy Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) defeated Ted Dibiase (w/ Virgil) via disqualification at 11:55 when Virgil interfered and prevented the pinfall after the challenger hit an unprotected turnbuckle head-first; after the match, Savage was double teamed and thrown to the floor but later cleared the ring with his title belt; as Savage celebrated with Elizabeth on his shoulder, Dibiase & Virgil returned to the ring and attacked Savage from behind until several referees pulled them off, when Savage came to he ran backstage to look for Dibiase & Virgil (Macho Madness)

Prime Time Wrestling – 5/30/88: Jim Neidhart pinned Don Muraco (w/ Superstar Billy Graham) at 6:22 after reversing a roll up attempt by sitting on Muraco’s chest; Lord Alfred Hayes did guest commentary for the match, subbing for Graham

Dino Bravo (w/ Frenchy Martin) pinned Ken Patera at 7:15 with the side suplex after Patera became distracted by Frenchy Martin on the ring apron (Best of the WWF Vol. 17)

Prime Time Wrestling – 8/8/88: The Junkyard Dog pinned Ron Bass at 8:15 by reversing a powerslam attempt into a cover

Savage Vs DiBiase was the Main Event, this was just the last bout on.  MSG had been putting the big World title main event on halfway through the show since Bruno's days (back then often ending the night with a big 6 or 8 man tag with Andre and/or Haystacks Calhoun captaining the babyface side.). Even Hulk's big win over the Iron Sheik was not the last match on - after he won the title they cut back and forth between celebrations in the dressing room and more matches in the ring.

[tcg91]

On 9/19/2026 at 11:14 AM, David Mantell said:

Savage Vs DiBiase was the Main Event, this was just the last bout on.  MSG had been putting the big World title main event on halfway through the show since Bruno's days (back then often ending the night with a big 6 or 8 man tag with Andre and/or Haystacks Calhoun captaining the babyface side.). Even Hulk's big win over the Iron Sheik was not the last match on - after he won the title they cut back and forth between celebrations in the dressing room and more matches in the ring.

I forgot where I heard this, it may have been a Kayfabe Commentaries DVD back in the day, but apparently this started with Buddy Rogers because he wanted to beat the traffic or something like that.
I am not against a non WWF Title bout going last, if you give that spot to a Rockers vs Hart Foundation match and put a throwaway Hogan defence against Dino Bravo in the middle of the card, just to make things up, but this JYD/Bass deal was sad to watch.

[tcg91]

Hulk Hogan vs Andre The Giant (7/31/88)
This was a little better than 'Mania IV, but still a bad match. I'd argue the cage set up didn't protect them enough and actually kind of made this worse, being a roadblock more than a resource. Andre choked Hogan with his own shirt, before using a headlock for a couple of minutes. Andre also tied Hogan to the cage with that shirt, which looked very preposterous as it was all torn apart, but thankfully Hogan broke free quickly. Andre pulled off one of the turnbuckles, as I guess having a STEEL CAGE around him wasn't good enough, and threw Hogan into it for a little blade job. Usual Hogan comeback, as he took care of both Andre and the interfering Heenan, and the Giant took a very sad bump on a clothesline. With both his enemies down, Hogan looked at the cage door in front to him, but decided to climb out instead just for the sake of it. DUD

[David Mantell]

17 hours ago, tcg91 said:

I forgot where I heard this, it may have been a Kayfabe Commentaries DVD back in the day, but apparently this started with Buddy Rogers because he wanted to beat the traffic or something like that.
I am not against a non WWF Title bout going last, if you give that spot to a Rockers vs Hart Foundation match and put a throwaway Hogan defence against Dino Bravo in the middle of the card, just to make things up, but this JYD/Bass deal was sad to watch.

It seems to mostly happen with main events where a big heel World title win happens so they put something lighter on to end the night and send the crowd home happy. Examples include Survivor Series 1991 (Undertaker's win from Hogan) GAB 1991 (Lex turns heel to win his first World title) and Summerslam 92 (until days before, Warrior was due to sell out to Mr Perfect and become Heel World champion.).  And then you get people SERIOUSLY calling Missy and Rick Vs Arn and Paul E the main event of GAB 91!!!

And then there's SNMEs where the World title went on first and a TV squash match finished offze slot and STILLfor example  Kerry Vs Buddy Rose gets cited as main event over all 3 mens' titles.
 

[tcg91]

Ken Patera vs Bad News Brown (8/29/88)
They started this quickly, putting over Brown's aggression, and his strikes were decent, but Patera was not on form and proved it immediately with a horrible clothesline. Patera looked either very unmotivated or inept at this point, as he was selling Brown's stuff terribly, wobbling in an uncoordinated way, and even Monsoon buried him for his regression. Patera used a weak-looking bearhug, with no setup or logic, before trying to switch it to the full nelson. However, Brown avoided it twice in a very robotic and clumsy sequence, that didn't do him any good. Brown was Irish-whipped to the corner and did a bad-looking spin that made a very slow Patera catch him in the corner anyway, before Brown used his finisher to win. The camera angle switched to hide that the move wasn't hit properly too, just like pretty much everything else in this match. -*