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Gimmick matches are a staple of professional wrestling. The idea of adding something a little bit different to freshen up a wrestling match is nothing new, and over the years, the WWE, along with plenty of other promotions, has produced some excellent gimmick matches. For every Hell in a Cell or Elimination Chamber match though, there is also a Punjabi Prison and Kennel from Hell match.
Bad gimmick matches are often memorable for all the wrong reasons and while there is a certain element of 'so bad, they're good' to some of these match types, a lot of them are just outright terrible.
While the modern WWE product tends to avoid these ridiculous match gimmicks, the history of the WWE is littered with terrible, often one-time gimmicks, so with that in mind, let's take a look back at 10 of the worst gimmick matches in the history of the WWE.
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#10 Anything on a Pole match
Okay, so this match-up is much more synonymous with the work of Vince Russo in WCW, but the WWE has also hosted the occasional 'something on a pole' match in its time, and no list of the worst gimmick matches in history would be complete without it.
While nothing quite competes with Buff Bagwell's mom for the prize of most ridiculous thing to be put on a pole in a match-up, the WWE has still given it a good go, hanging everything from envelopes to fluffy dice on the pole during their flirtations with the ill-fated match-type.
#9 Stairs match
Remember the stairs match that took place between The Big Show and Erick Rowan at TLC 2014? Of course, you don't.
It is still baffling to this day why the WWE decided to add a stairs match to their TLC PPV in 2014, but thankfully, they haven't bothered revisiting the gimmick since.
The match gimmick made little sense, with the competitors using the ringside stairs as weapons throughout the match, though, there was no clear reason for them doing so.
Both Big Show and Erick Rowan used the stairs at several points throughout the encounter and the finish came when Show hit Rowan with a KO punch and then put the stairs on top of him for the pin.
#8 The Pudding match
Effectively, the WWE's answer to mud-wrestling, the pudding match sums up everything that was wrong with the diva's era in the WWE.
The women of yesteryear were treated to some horrendous match types in their time, and while Bra and Panties were incredibly derogatory by today's standards, the sight of two professional wrestlers grappling it out in an oversized paddling pool full of chocolate pudding is something wrestling fans should never have to see.
Melina and Candice Michelle met in an extreme pudding match at One Night Stand back in 2007, and 11 years later, I'm still not really sure what the rules of the match were. The two women flopped about in the pudding for five minutes before Candice forced Melina to submit by attempting to drown her in chocolate pudding. Needless to say, women's wrestling has come a long way since this.
#7 Blindfold match
What could be more entertaining than two full-grown men wandering around a wrestling ring, blindfolded, trying to attack one another? As it turns out, lots of things.
There have been several blindfold matches throughout the WWE's illustrious history, with the most famous coming at WrestleMania VII when Jake Roberts defeated Rick Martel in a match that went nearly 10 minutes.
While there are some who defend the gimmick, the idea of two trained professionals fumbling around each other in a ring is one that the WWE should not both revisiting anytime soon.
#6 Hogpen match
It may seem crazy to a modern audience, but there was a time when Triple H was not considered to be a hot commodity by the powers that be in the WWE.
So much so, in fact, that the WWE decided to book The Game, then known as Hunter Hearst Helmsley in an Arkansas Hogpen match against Henry O Goodwin at an In Your House event in December 1995.
The rules of this match were simple, the winner must throw his opponent into a hogpen positioned at the top of the entrance ramp to win. Needless to say, the gimmick never caught on.
There have been a few more examples of this match over the years, with the most notable being between Vickie Guerrero and Santino Marella in 2009.
#5 Hardcore Evening Gown match
Is there a better way to treat two of the most respected figures in the world of wrestling than to have them dress up in evening gowns and fight each other in a hardcore match? Probably, yeah.
For some reason, back at King of the Ring 2000, Pat Patterson put his hardcore title on the line against Gerard Brisco in the first, and thus far, only, hardcore evening gown match.
The whole match was an utter embarrassment for both men, and just to add more insult to injury, Crash Holly ran down at the end of the match and pinned Patterson to rob either man of the chance of victory.
#4 Live Free or Die Concrete Crypt Match
The Great American Bash 2004 is widely considered to be one of the worst WWE PPVs of the 21st century.
Not only did the event see JBL defeat Eddie Guerrero to become the new WWE champion but it also featured one of the most ludicrous main events in the company's history.
The Undertaker took on The Dudley Boyz in a handicap concrete crypt match, which saw Paul Bearer positioned on the entrance in a glass tank hooked up to a concrete mixer. The stipulation was simple, if The Dudleys won the match, then Bearer would be buried in concrete and killed on live television. The Undertaker won the match, but decided to go ahead and kill Paul Bearer anyway.
The whole thing was utterly preposterous and thankfully, we have never been treated to a match like this again.
#3 Punjabi Prison
This match was designed specifically to be the trademark match type of The Great Khali, and if that doesn't tell you all you need to know about the gimmick, then nothing will.
Just to make this stipulation even more comical, The Great Khali couldn't even compete in the first-ever match of its kind due to elevated liver enzymes and was replaced by The Big Show, who then went on to lose to The Undertaker.
The match has become something of a punchline in the WWE, and the company foolishly decided to wheel the gimmick back out in 2017, pitting WWE champion, Jinder Mahal against Randy Orton in the encounter.
Mahal would win the encounter thanks to a needless appearance from The Great Khali and hopefully, that is the last we will ever see from this gimmick.
#2 House of Horrors
While the history of the WWE may be littered with outrageous match gimmicks, the modern product tends to shy away from such ridiculousness and the WWE rarely attempts to bombard us with too much nonsense these days.
Unfortunately, someone failed to get that memo back at Payback 2017 when the WWE decided to go ahead and book a house of horrors match between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt.
From the opening shot of Randy Orton turning up to Bray Wyatt's house in the back of a taxi topless, to the ridiculous fight that took place between the two men throughout the house itself, this whole thing felt a farcical throwback to the heydays of Vince Russo in WCW.
Thankfully, Bray Wyatt has yet to challenge anybody else to a similar type of match-up, though, that's probably because the first one effectively killed any credibility he possessed as a main event performer.
#1 Kennel from Hell
The Attitude Era has a fond place in the hearts of wrestling fans but when people reminisce about that special time in the WWE, the image of dogs defecating at ring-side while Al Snow and Big Bossman wrestled in the middle of the ring is not what immediately comes to mind.
The first, and thankfully, only kennel from hell took place at Unforgiven 1999 and was the culmination of a feud that featured Al Snow feeding Big Bossman his dead dog as a pepper steak.
The match was effectively a cage match, but with one ingenious twist- there were also dogs surrounding the ringside. To win the match, the wrestler must first get out of the ring, and then get past the vicious dogs and escape the cage. The only problem was, the dogs weren't remotely interested in the match and spent the whole time making a mess of the ringside.
