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In the world of pro-wrestling, botches happen quite often--particularly if the maneuver is not executed with proper form. Speaking of which, as for the person who caused it, the botch more often than not leaves them red-faced in the heat of the moment.
Regardless, these botches inevitably make the rounds on social media.
They go viral quicker than anything else in the world! Now more accessible than ever before, with video streaming and social media expansion, GIFs and videos of these botches routinely go on to draw tens of thousands of likes, retweets, and upvotes.
In 2018, these botches have transpired right from the Royal Rumble all the way down to the latest editions of Smackdown Live. In this list, we will take a look at these botches and the one who were unfortunately involved in it.
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We've seen such a vast array of botches in 2018, that the examples within this listicle don't even scratch the surface. Hence, please do not shy away from sharing your favorites in the comments section below.
What are the most embarrassing WWE botches of 2018? Read on to uncover them!
#8 Sin Cara fumbles in the air
After weeks of waiting for former friends Andrade "Cien" Almas and Sin Cara to meet in the ring, Sin Cara collided with Almas at the Extreme Rules PPV--a matchup in which Almas emerged victorious. This match was meant to be an appetizer for the WWE Universe, as it was scheduled to be on the Kick-Off show.
While wrestling Almas, Sin Cara got a little too ambitious and botched an aerial maneuver right in the middle of their match. There was a sequence where Sin Cara was meant to deliver a Hurricanrana on Almas, however, it didn't go as well as expected.
Almas was standing on the apron as Sin Cara scaled the turnbuckles, when in the heat of the moment, he completely miscalculated the Hurricanrana--falling short. It could've turned out to be a dangerous move for both men, if not for the quick-thinking of Almas as he revamped the Hurricanrana into an arm-drag which likely covered up the fact that the move was actually a botch.
The match was in fact a fantastic one. It did better than expected and the botch didn't get in the way of both of the two Luchadores delivering an exciting match.
#7 Botched lines
Earlier this year, after an episode of 205 Live transpired, exclusive footage on a rather intriguing angle was uploaded on WWE.com showing Buddy Murphy, 205 Live General Manager Drake Maverick, and an official in a backstage segment.
In the aforementioned segment, Maverick started off, saying, "Buddy, by the terms of your agreement in the co. (company)," before losing his train of thought, flubbing out, and apologizing.
Regardless, he moved on--clapping his hands, and saying "Let's do it again 3-2-1". He then followed up, saying, "As terms of your participation in the WWE Cruiserweight Championship tournament...".
The first thing that ought to be made clear in this segment is Maverick wasn't at fault here, since the WWE's editing team weren't meant to put forth the unedited footage in its exclusive video package. This footage was uploaded not only as a part of the TV broadcast, but also in the video-on-demand upload.
This isn't a problem in itself, but the fact that WWE's usually razor-sharp editing team completely missed it, makes it one of the year's more notable production botches.
#6 Whisper In The Wind
Jinder Mahal faced Jeff Hardy for the US title at the Greatest Royal Rumble PPV in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. While the match was relatively decent, a hilarious botch which happened in the match makes it one to be remembered rather fondly.
In the closing moments of the match, Hardy climbed the turnbuckles and attempted to fly off the top rope with his Whisper In The Wind signature move, while Mahal for some reason rose to his feet.
Hardy then landed square on the canvas, with the Modern-Day Maharaja at least a meter away from him. Though no one was hurt in the botch it was Mahal's decision of taking a bump when Hardy clearly didn't connect, which made the sequence stand out.
The former WWE champion must have left a mark on the Saudi Arabian fans' minds with his botch, but this wasn't even the most-embarrassing botch on the show. We'll get to that later.
#5 Loosely locked-in Headscissors
It was indeed a pleasure to see several former female WWE performers return, partaking in the first-ever WWE Women's Royal Rumble Match this year. Said performers included Kelly Kelly.
She was the 19th entrant in the match and quickly found herself opposite Michelle McCool.
Kelly committed her first botch of the match, coming off the ropes with negligible momentum. Then, she followed it up by botching her Headscissors on McCool.
The botch forced McCool to awkwardly hold Kelly in position while she took a few seconds to adjust it. Then, McCool was left spinning herself around in slow-motion while Kelly swayed, before they both fell to the mat.
Although it was a small part of one of the year's longest matches, it is indeed unforgettable for anyone who happens to have watched it.
#4 Twist Of...What?!
2018 hasn't exactly been a great year for the Hardy brothers. Matt and his team-mate Bray Wyatt have been coming up on the losing end on several occasions, whereas Jeff has dealt with injury issues several times this year.
This past June, after an episode of SmackDown Live transpired, Jeff Hardy vs. Eric Young was scheduled to be the dark match for the night. As seen, SAnitY was around the ring while the match was taking place.
In the closing moments of the match, a botch was committed by Jeff Hardy--which was as much Jeff's fault, as it was his opponent's.
During the match, Hardy was seen to be going for his signature move Twist of Fate--which ended up badly. As Hardy was going for his move, he abandoned his first Twist of Fate attempt when Eric wasn't positioned correctly.
He couldn't quite get his hands around Young's head on the second attempt either--And when Hardy finally executed the move, he did so on his own. Eric then fluttered down to the ground and snapped himself downward as though Hardy had a hold of him all along, perpetuating another unintentionally hilarious botch.
#3 The Undertaker vs. John Cena
This one gets extra points because it took place on the biggest PPV of the year, and featured two of the most iconic and prestigious performers in the history of WWE. After the weeks of calling out the Deadman, John Cena finally received an answer on the Grandest Stage Of Them All--a thunderous answer at that!
At WrestleMania 34, Cena faced The Undertaker in a squash match--at the end of which, The Undertaker came out out atop. However, during the match, a major botch was committed by 'Taker and Cena--one that is rather hard to forget.
During the match, Undertaker was seen to be going for The Big Boot at Cena's head, however, needless to say, that didn't go as expected.
While delivering the move one can clearly see Cena was inches away from the Undertaker's boot and he sold the move anyway, taking a bump on the mat even though he was not hit at all. He barely touched Cena's arms, let alone his face--and while the duo did well to immediately move on from it, the mistiming and miscommunication resulted in a rather memorable botch.
While it was a fun, dream matchup come to fruition for the WWE Universe, the botch made by these superstars ensured that their encounter shall be remembered for more reasons than one.
#2 Black misses it completely
Aleister Black walked into perhaps the toughest test of his NXT Championship reign, when he defended his title against the monster known as Lars Sullivan. It wasn't necessarily the best match on the card, however, both men put forth a great account of themselves prior to the closing stretch--which was where the battle reached a crescendo.
This was Sullivan's first crack at the NXT Championship, but one in which he made a rather hilarious mistake that many in the WWE Universe quickly picked up on.
The then-NXT Champion Black went for his signature match-ending move the Black Mass kick. He swung his boot, missing Lars completely.
In fact, it's clearly noticeable that when Black threw the kick at Sullivan, it missed the latter by several inches--with the monster selling it regardless.
As Sullivan bumped on the mat in came the commentary team who tried to cover up the botch saying: "he didn't get any of it."
The incident would've been a whole lot worse had this been the finish, however, fortunately Sullivan kicked out.
#1 Titus O'Neil's epic entrance
This one is undeniable, folks!
This one was as funny, as it was embarrassing. The botch of the year in Saudi Arabia without a doubt deserves the no.1 spot in this list, and no matter what happens for the rest of the year, Titus' Greatest Royal Rumble trip won't be dethroned.
The "Titus Worldwide" leader strode down the ramp for his entrance into the night's headlining match. Unfortunately for him, he tripped at the bottom of the ramp, and fell to the ground--with his momentum carrying him all the way under the ring.
Nevertheless, being the thorough professional that he is, O'Neil shrugged it off and continued the match anyway.
Speaking of which, the commentary team ensured that O'Neil's epic entrance would be remembered even after the match was over and the winner was crowned--with all members of the broadcast team repeatedly harping on the botch; replays galore!
The announcers were unable to contain their laughter as was everyone else who witnessed the epic sliding botch.
