5 Worst Wrestling Matches Of 2012

What happens when you run a company with such a hatred for competition that you do whatever it takes to drive them out of business until you’re the only one in town? You eventually stop caring about your own quality and get lazy with your product. That is precisely what happened with WWE in 2012.

WWE in 2012 barely cared whatsoever about putting on something truly ground-breaking or memorable. A lot of the matches showcased throughout that year were either forgettable or downright bad. This isn’t because no one was trying; they were. It’s just that there was much less effort on the part of many people in the company because the risks were so low.

If a WWE superstar had a bad match or had a segment that caused ratings to drop, what risks did the company face? None. There was no concern that viewers would switch to a competing wrestling program.

And even if ratings did drop, WWE didn’t have much to worry about. PPV numbers were still decent and the company was working on the WWE Network, the latter eventually becoming so successful that a lot of people now argue that TV ratings no longer matter whatsoever.

All of that apathy and general lack of effort from both athletes and creative forces came together in these five dreadful wrestling matches. Read and watch at your own risk.

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5. Layla vs. Nikki Bella – Extreme Rules 2012

This match took place during the dark ages known as the Divas era. The women that ‘wrestled’ during this period had short, nothing matches for a ghastly title shaped like a butterfly. Unlike today, matches like this one featured very little action, no story and minimal athleticism.

Of course, part of that was because Divas were clearly designated ‘bathroom break match performers’, so they couldn’t do anything special.

These two women tried to make as much as they could out of the two minutes they got, but that was virtually impossible. The crowd was completely dead for this match and didn’t care at all about anything that took place inside the ring. The Bellas did try to get the audience somewhat interested by trying their ‘twin magic’ gimmick, but not even that could get anyone to care.

This match wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either. It was a forgettable nothing match that showed how little WWE cared about their own performers at this time.

4. Santino Marella vs. Ricardo Rodriguez – Tuxedo Match - No Way Out 2012

There are some kinds of matches that simply should not happen ever, and disrobing matches involving non-wrestlers is one of them. Despite being a trained wrestler, Ricardo Rodriguez was not presented as such. Yet he was booked in a ‘comedy’ match with Santino Marella, who could be funny if he had the right material.

He didn’t have any good material here, as he was trying to pull off Rodriguez’s pants and shirt. This isn’t a match that most people really want to see on regular WWE programming, much less on PPV. It’s an embarrassing type of match that doesn’t really help anyone involved.

In fact, I honestly don’t know of any fans that actually enjoy watching men getting stripped by their opponent in a wrestling ring, especially on a show that’s supposedly PG. Santino tried his best, but even with a Cobra sock puppet on his foot, he couldn’t make this entertaining whatsoever.

3. Big Show vs. Cody Rhodes - Extreme Rules 2012

For years, WWE have given the Big Show schizophrenic booking. One minute, he’s a destructive, unstoppable force that cannot be beaten by any normal man; the next he’s the token ‘bumbling idiot’ or gentle giant. This match was an example of the latter, whereby Big Show lost because of his own weight.

In this match, Big Show entered as defending Intercontinental Champion. He faced Cody Rhodes in a Tables match, and this was his first defense after winning the title at WrestleMania one month earlier.

One of the questions that surrounded this match was, ‘how would Cody get Big Show to go through a table?’ Well, they could’ve come up with some possibly unique finish or some kind of dramatic sequence that would’ve helped elevate Rhodes as a superstar that could beat the seven-foot giant.

Instead, WWE went with the booking equivalent of ‘Big Show, you big doofus’. As Show stood on the apron trying to get back into the ring, Cody kicked him, which sent him off his feet. One of those feet caused the table below to break, because Big Show is so…big. The referee saw this and ended the match.

So to summarize, Big Show lost the title he won in his only WrestleMania singles victory due to a scripted accident. That ending was deflating enough to put this match on this list. It made everything Cody had done insignificant, and WWE instead tried to portray Big Show as a big moron that cannot help but break things around him.

Talk about terrible character development.

2. Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan - WrestleMania XXVIII

How this match didn't start a riot is a mystery

18 seconds. That is how long it took Sheamus to beat Daniel Bryan in one of the worst opening matches in WrestleMania history.

Don’t get me wrong; one-sided squash matches have their value in wrestling, as long as the person being squashed isn’t someone you need for the future. Daniel Bryan was one such a wrestler, an outstanding grappler who could have great matches with anyone, and was someone that was slowly climbing up the ladder in the company.

Bryan lost to Sheamus, a pale, chiseled Irishman with supposedly close ties to Triple H, after one kick.

Not only was this match perceived as downright robbery even by fans who wanted to see a competitive match between these two wrestlers, but fans were upset over the symbolism of this loss. Bryan – a small, bearded technical wrestler billed as an ‘indy darling’ – was destroyed by Sheamus, a muscular ‘WWE creation’.

People perceived this creative direction as Vince McMahon telling everyone what he thought of anyone who didn’t fit his image of a star or anyone that succeeded without his direct involvement.

Regardless of whether these things are true or not, this match set the tone for WrestleMania XXVIII, and not in a good way. Not only was it the opening match for the biggest show of the year, but it also devalued the Royal Rumble, as the winner of that match was basically the curtain jerker for the show instead of being in its main event.

1. John Cena vs. Jon Laurinaitis - WWE Over The Limit 2012

In 1996, Johnny ‘Ace’ Laurinaitis wrestled in a match voted the Wrestling Observer’s (Best) Match of the Year. Sixteen years later, that same man became one of a tiny handful to also have the Worst Match of the Year for 2012. This was because his match with John Cena was, to put it lightly, a waste of time.

I mean that literally. This match went way too long, and felt more like an attempt to waste time than tell a story.

‘Big Johnny’ was brutalized by Cena so easily that Cena resorted to comedy bits. From putting himself and Laurinaitis on commentary for a second, to getting the fans to count as he locked Laurinaitis in the STF, it was supposed to be funny but wasn’t. Laurinaitis’ only offensive moves consisted of a few arm-based attacks, before he ran away.

Now, these things alone could’ve been forgiven were it not for how the ‘match’ ended. As Johnny ran away, he was dragged back by the Big Show, whom Laurinaitis had fired only a week or so prior. Yet as Show brought Johnny back into the ring, he attacked Cena instead, which was enough for Laurinaitis to beat Cena and keep his job.

The story was weak, the heel turn inexplicably stupid, the action virtually non-existent, and the humor mediocre at best. Yet this was promoted as a high-profile match on one of WWE’s PPVs. It was, without a doubt, a waste of both time and money.