5 Worst Wrestling Matches Of 2004

In 2004, WWE was in an odd place. On one hand, WrestleMania XX concluded with one of the most emotionally satisfying moments in the company’s history, and the company looked like they were taking the company in a new (and exciting) direction.

On the other hand, both rosters (and especially SmackDown) were in critical need of new stars. Both Goldberg and Brock Lesnar left the company, and Kurt Angle was in desperate need of time off to heal. This left both rosters bereft of fresh main-eventers, which caused WWE to reshuffle their creative directions in a panic.

The result of these changes was a series of really bad matches. Wrestlers that hadn’t really main-evented before were suddenly thrust into important positions, which lead to disappointing main events.

Lower mid-carders were pushed up the card faster than anticipated, which exposed those wrestlers flaws to the fans. Finally, one wrestler, in particular, was stuck wrestling some truly bad opponents, to the point that it almost completely tarnished his reputation.

So who were the wrestlers responsible for these wrestling atrocities? Read on to find out…

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5. John Cena vs. Booker T – SummerSlam 2004

This match took place at a time when John Cena was still a rising star and had not yet found his comfort zone as a wrestler. He was still green in many respects and couldn’t hit a lot of big moves. Unfortunately, those flaws were painfully obvious in this match.

Both Booker T and Cena failed to deliver an impressive match on this night. The chemistry between them was off and the in-ring action was sluggish. Worse, Booker T made a complete idiot of himself by hitting a match-ending move and then his Spinaroonie (despite being the heel), instead of covering immediately as any sane wrestler would. That momentary lapse in judgment allowed Cena to win just barely.

For a match meant to be the first in a series of five matches, this was a bad way to do so. It was horribly underwhelming and exposed Cena for being less skilled. Although he’d make his way to the top eventually, it would take a tremendous effort from both WWE and Cena himself to get bad matches like this out of fans’ minds.

4. The Undertaker vs. JBL – SummerSlam 2004

This match was an enormous disappointment, and this is coming from a self-professed Undertaker fan. SmackDown in 2004 was a barren place, with few believable top stars. This led to JBL, who was previously known as a mid-card brawler, to undergo a radical image change and become a WWE-champion-caliber level.

Sadly, JBL wasn’t always known for putting on the most exciting of matches, and this match was proof. Both ‘Taker and JBL spent most of the match brawling, but the offense and selling from both of them left a lot to be desired. The Toronto audience was apathetic and decided to entertain themselves by doing the Mexican wave and cheering the Spanish table.

The reason this match makes the list is that both men were capable of doing better, but apparently not with each other. It’s a good thing this wasn’t the show-closing match; otherwise, SummerSlam 2004 would’ve made history as the first WWE show that ended with fans doing the Mexican wave and jumping on JBL’s limo.

3. Kenzo Suzuki vs. Billy Gunn – Great American Bash 2004

Kenzo Suzuki was the reason so many top Japanese wrestlers stayed as far from WWE as possible whenever they tried to lure those wrestlers in with big money contracts and false promises.

Suzuki was turned into a terrible Japanese stereotype (because, Vince McMahon), although his WWE run could’ve been somewhat salvageable if he fit the one Japanese stereotype that actually mattered in wrestling: that he could grapple.

Ironically, WWE brought in the one Japanese wrestler free at the time that actually sucked at wrestling. That was proven in this match, as Suzuki put on one of the most boring matches of the entire year. Everything Suzuki did in this match was boring: his chops, his knees, his 30-second nerve hold, his signature moves, everything.

He even won the match with a move that Christian had used a thousand times before and had never won with. This match was so boring you could actually see many fans leaving the arena to the concession stands, which proved how smart those fans really were.

As further proof of WWE’s poor judgment, WWE was forced to choose between signing Kenzo Suzuki and another Japanese wrestler to a WWE contract. That other wrestler? Hiroshi Tanahashi. Yes, THAT Hiroshi Tanahashi.

2. Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg – WrestleMania XX

On paper, a match between two of the most unstoppable forces in the world at the time seemed like a license to print money. But reality loves to throw curve balls, as seen with news leaking out that not one but both participants in this match would be leaving after it took place.

Once this news became common knowledge, the audience proceeded to absolutely destroy this match. They booed both Lesnar and Goldberg mercilessly, chanted horrible things at them, cheered for Steve Austin (who was the referee) and for people in the audience cosplaying as different wrestlers.

Lesnar and Goldberg seemed to notice this seething hatred, yet didn’t do much in response. The in-ring action between them was almost non-existent, given that it took them minutes to actually lock up and do anything athletic.

The match only had a handful of actual power moves, before Goldberg scored the pinfall. But when he won, the fan response was lukewarm at best, toxic at worst. The only time there were cheers were when Austin stunned both guys, which brought this bizarre and painful match to a merciful end.

1. The Undertaker vs. The Dudleyz – Concrete Crypt Match – Great American Bash 2004

Poor Undertaker. He must be the most unfortunate soul in WWE history for being shoe-horned into some of the dumbest gimmick matches of all time. The ‘concrete crypt’ match was one such a mistake.

It was a handicap match between ‘Taker and the Dudleyz, with the stipulation being that if Undertaker lost, his then-manager Paul Bearer would be buried in cement (and Bearer was actually shown in said ‘crypt’, which was a Plexiglas cube).

Yet despite sounding like a big deal, the wrestling match that it was based on didn’t have fans watching with anticipation. This was because the wrestling was slow and plodding, and the Undertaker looked dominant for almost the whole thing.

At no point did the Dudleyz ever look credible against him, despite being one of the best tag teams in WWE history. Undertaker beat them in what amounted to an elongated squash match and did so with the barely passable offence. The match also suffered from extensive stalling from all three wrestlers and interference from Paul Heyman, who taunted Undertaker throughout the match.

Then, after all, was said and done, it was Undertaker himself that pulled the lever and ‘killed’ Paul Bearer by burying him in cement. The angle was despicable, the match dreadful, and the crowd was dead.

There’s a real ‘3-D’ for you.