5 Worst Wrestling Matches Of 1997

4. Triple H vs. Sgt. Slaughter – Boot Camp Match – D-Generation X: In Your House

Triple H was altogether a different wrestler before 2000

This was, to put it simply, a weird match. Triple H was in the midst of his rise to the top alongside Shawn Michaels as D-Generation X. He was past the point of his immense burial over the Curtain Call Incident and was enjoying solid booking.

So why on earth was he getting destroyed by a 49-year-old Sergeant Slaughter on this PPV? No one knows, but it certainly looked awkward and unusual.

The first five minutes (you know, the part of the match during which both wrestlers are in prime condition and haven’t spent much energy) had Slaughter throwing HHH around like he was a rookie, beating him with weapons and choking him with his belt. It made Triple H look phoney and unrealistic, given that he was twenty years younger than Slaughter and in prime shape.

He had to sell in such a cartoonish fashion that it made the match stand out in all the wrong ways during a period defined by ‘blurred lines’ and more realistic stories. Although not the worst match of the year by any stretch, it’s still a weird contest and stuck out like a sore thumb in terms of structure and logic.