5 WWE Superstars who openly admitted to botching in high stakes matches

Mistakes in WWE acts are bound to happen every now and then. It could be a timing miscalculation, or in some cases, slide out of the hands of the wrestler. Despite this, seasoned veterans are known to keep themselves and their opponents safe.

Ronda Rousey is the first name to pop up in our minds on account of her recent antics. The SmackDown Women's Champion addressed the DDT spot with Shotzi at WWE Survivor Series.

“It’s the first time I ever did it, I was really concerned with keeping Shotzi safe and I made it look bad and you know what? I’m sorry, okay. F*cking shoot me."

The Baddest Woman on the Planet had the guts to point out her mistake and move on. It takes a confident wrestler to openly admit and take accountability for their part in a situation.

Here's a look at five other WWE superstars who addressed their botches in a high stakes match.

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#5, #4 & #3. Triple H, Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker on their tag match at WWE Crown Jewel 2018

Shawn Michaels had the most poetic retirement any wrestler could ask for. In the main event of WrestleMania 2010, he went out on his back, losing to The Undertaker in a match that could be deemed the greatest 'Mania main event of all time."

So when the Heartbreak Kid was offered a huge sum of money to compete in a "glorified house show" as he put it, Michaels was expected to turn it down, much like he did in the years prior.

I know that’s not the same and I know nobody will understand it - but in my mind, it was like a glorified house show live event. I don’t mean that to be intellectually insulting to the wrestling fan but in my mind, it was not the same.

With the benefit of hindsight, Shawn Michaels spoke to Scott Yager on the Challenge Mania Podcast about why he chose to come out of retirement.

I got asked. It was almost like, as a favor (laughs). And again, Hunter and I [did] the DX thing, a tag match. It felt like a totally separate entity than the other and that’s why I felt okay doing it.

Triple H, 'Taker and Michaels voiced their displeasure in The Last Ride documentary, blasting the match and admitting that things didn't turn out as they had hoped.

'Taker went on to say that he would have considered it his last match had it gone well. Triple H let the fans in on how Michaels reacted. "You're kidding me," exclaimed the Heart Break Kid, when he realized that his partner had suffered an injury. A clip of Kane's mask flying off after Michaels hit him with a few punches remains an everlasting memory.

"It couldn't have gone any worse," Triple H said. "It was a total train wreck, it was a disaster," Undertaker said."Whoa, goodness. It totally blew," Shawn Michaels said.

The tag team match is considered to be one of the worst of all time, filled with numerous mistimed spots and sloppy moves. "We're getting old for this" was what The Heartbreak Kid was overheard telling Triple H

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#2. The Undertaker and Goldberg take accountability for Jeddah match in 2019

The Undertaker versus Goldberg may have looked good on paper, but the match itself was a disaster

Billed as a once-in-a-lifetime clash, the Undertaker-Goldberg match created genuine intrigue among the WWE Universe, with their earlier interactions drawing great reactions from the crowd. The bout they at WWE Super Showdown 2019, however, will be remembered as a botch-filled mess that nearly led to serious injuries for both stars.

In the fourth installment of The Last Ride documentary, The Phenom recalled their bout being really close to "catastrophic."

"I'm just like, man, maybe it's time. Maybe you are out of gas," Undertaker said. "You got a wife and kids. Am I risking permanent injury? All of that stuff comes flooding into your head after stuff like that happens.

The Phenom's late-career Last Outlaw character, albeit interesting on paper, produced some really embarrassing matches.

On the Pat McAfee Show, Goldberg called their bout a "debacle."

"...It’s a wonder that we both didn’t get smashed during that match. It was a very bad missed opportunity. Hey, at the end of the day, I was just trying to provide a better show for everybody else.”

Whilst the match started out fine, an immediate ram onto the ring post led to Goldberg being busted open, and in turn the former Universal Champion dropped 'Taker with a Jackhammer that could have broken the latter's neck. In the end, 'Taker had to call an audible, change plans and hit the weakest looking chokeslam to finish the contest.

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#1. Kofi Kingston's near-elimination spot at Royal Rumble 2022

Kofi Kingston is a WWE veteran and a former world champion, among other multiple accolades. But he is best known for his innovative Royal Rumble near-elimination spots.

Every year, the WWE Universe tunes into the annual event and expects to see The New Day star perform another one of his schemes to avoid elimination during the contest.

Perhaps inspired by John Morrison's incredible near-elimination in the 2011 bout, Kofi Kingston's Rumble highlights began in 2012 when The Miz thought he had managed to eliminate him. However, Kingston managed to do a handstand and walked across the floor all the way over to the steel steps to save himself from elimination.

Kingston's Rumble highlight reel continued from 2013 to 2019, having been saved by his New Day stablemates Big E and Xavier Woods on many occasions along the way.

The streak ended in 2020 at the hands of Brock Lesnar, and Kingston didn't participate in the subsequent 2021 Rumble.

The 41 year old was hoping to get back in the game and resume his crafty spots in 2022. Unfortunately, he mistimed it and ended up being eliminated, thus ruling out the possibility of him coming back.

He later tweeted about the unfortunate turn of events. Here's hoping that the new year brings some joy to the star. Kofi Kingston was revealed as the first entry to the 2023 Royal Rumble, officially made the announcement on WWE SmackDown, further proclaiming his desire to win the bout.