5 Worst Wrestling Matches Of 2016

DISCLAIMER: These are the opinions of the writer and do not reflect those of Sportskeeda

Pro wrestling legend and wrestling genius Keiji ‘The Great Muta’ Mutoh once said that North American wrestling fans are ‘match producers’. What he meant by this is that these fans play a much greater role in a match than their Japanese counterparts.

This is because Japanese fans mostly watch quietly and studiously, making little noise out of respect for the wrestlers. They only start making more noise when they’re truly invested in the wrestling match and are really enjoying themselves.

North American fans are more vocal both in their praise and in their dislike of something, which affects how a match is perceived.

This was on full display throughout 2016, particularly in WWE. As fans became increasingly hostile towards certain wrestlers and creative directions, the company even went out of their way to censor fans by taking away signs, muting the crowd, and editing footage.

Of course, this only added more fuel to the fire, which led to some really bad matches in 2016. In fact, this contempt towards die-hard wrestling fans manifested itself in not only the above-mentioned tactics but also with the booking of some truly awful wrestling matches.

Oh, and for those that think we like to single out WWE, TNA is back again for managing to showcase one of the funniest awful matches of all time…

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#5 Brock Lesnar vs. Dean Ambrose - WrestleMania 32

There were many problems with WrestleMania 32, and this was definitely one of them. In the build-up to this match, Ambrose looked like he actually stood a chance against Lesnar, and ended several confrontations between them looking like the stronger performer.

But when it actually came to fight in the ring, the two of them…failed to deliver. The match was a by-the-numbers Lesnar match, with very little in terms of move variety or drama.

Worse, Ambrose was a rising star that needed a big win to prove that he was worth his top billing in the company. Instead, he got fed to Lesnar and became just another upper mid-carder without much going for him.

Later, Ambrose cut a scathing shoot promo on Lesnar, deriding ‘the Beast’ for perceived laziness. Even if Ambrose hadn’t said those things, they were on full display in this match, as Lesnar didn’t do anything really different from his usual matches.

#4 Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho – Asylum Match - Extreme Rules

This match was supposed to be a serious and violent brawl inside a cage with weapons inside. What we got instead was a boring match that went WAY too long and had fans chanting for Seth Rollins halfway through…despite Rollins not even being on the show.

Then again, what would you expect for a match that was built on a plant being ‘killed’ and a jacket being destroyed?

From the very beginning, the actual violence felt more like slapstick comedy than anything too serious. Everything felt slow and uninteresting, especially as the weapon spots looked like jokes. From using a mop and Nunchucks to Jericho trying to lock Ambrose in a straightjacket (get it? Because he’s crazy), this match went downhill fast. The fans only cared for two things in this match: Jericho being dropped onto a bed of thumbtacks, and Ambrose’s Dirty Deeds (the latter being because it brought the end of the match).

Don’t be surprised if such a match never occurs again. the match had all the wrong elements working against it: poor in-ring action, a lame premise, a bad spot on the card (it went on right after the Intercontinental title Fatal-4-way match, which was great), and went for twenty-seven minutes yet felt like double that length. It was an utter failure of a match if there ever was one.

#3 Roman Reigns vs. Triple H - WrestleMania 32

Never before in WWE history has an audience hated a show conclusion more than on this night...

This match was a first in WWE history: it marked the first time that an audience attending WrestleMania went home angry. The fans in attendance were overwhelmingly opposed to a Roman Reigns title coronation, but WWE’s top brass went with that decision all the same.

The match itself was clunky, plodding and bereft of much drama, and the fans attending live did not care at all for much of it. They booed both Reigns’ and Triple H’s biggest moves for the most part, cheering only when Stephanie McMahon got hit.

But when the referee counted three, the fans – who had sat through countless hours of earlier matches, promos and entrances, voiced their displeasure with such passion that Triple H and Stephanie – the heels – had to try and placate them as they left. While the wrestlers did try their best to make this match work, it simply didn’t.

The atmosphere was tarnished by tens of thousands of angry fans that wanted something other than the foregone conclusion. As for the in-ring action, the blame falls equally on both Reigns and Triple H for failing to craft a match exciting enough to even try to mitigate the onslaught of fan anger leveled against them.

#2 The Undertaker vs. Shane McMahon – Hell in a Cell – WrestleMania 32

This might not be the longest HIAC by time, but it certainly went on for an eternity. That’s because the in-ring action was so boring, especially compared to previous HIAC matches. The problem here was that WWE once again wanted to promote Shane as a capable wrestler, despite not being anywhere near a wrestling ring for years.

Yet fans were expected to believe that Shane was credible enough to beat ‘Taker at WrestleMania, which is a feat that only the freakish Brock Lesnar could do. Shane’s offense in the entire match was so unbelievable and unrealistic that the match’s booking almost required some kind of outside interference to make it watchable.

That would’ve been the perfect way to make the story of this match more interesting, and WWE could’ve booked one of many wrestlers to interfere on Shane’s behalf. Alas, no one came, and the match progressed at a snail’s pace until Shane did the one thing he’s actually good at, jumping off high places.

That jump off the top of the cell all but saved this match from being a complete snooze-fest and was one of those ‘moments’ WWE loves to make (often at the expense of match quality and storytelling).

So while this isn’t the worst Undertaker WrestleMania match, it is arguably his most disappointing, as it could’ve been so much better with the simplest booking changes.

#1 Shelly Martinez vs. Rebel - TNA

There are some matches out there that are so bad that it makes you embarrassed to be a wrestling fan. Then there are those bad matches that are so bad they’re funny. This is in the latter category, as Rebel & Shelly Martinez put on one of the most botch-ridden and hilariously-bad matches of all time.

Now, neither of these women was a rookie when this match happened. Rebel was a two-year veteran and Martinez was an 11-year veteran. As such, there was an expectation that they would, at the very least, hit their moves correctly. This did not happen.

Instead, Martinez and Rebel botched one move after another, including both an Abdominal Stretch and…well…whatever submission hold came after it.

This was followed by one of the worst running moves ever executed (and Rebel just dropped Martinez effortlessly, looked as equally confused as the fans watching), and then culminated in the single-worst wrestling spot of the year. Rebel tried a suicide dive but somehow ended up tangled in the ropes, despite running at 0.5mph. Then Rebel somehow gets a pin, before the camera cuts to the crowd, with many fans having exasperated looks on their faces.