2014 Awards: Worst Match of the Year
Again, we might as well just name this after one of the Divas.
The problem with this award is how do you define bad. What makes a match worse than another? I mean, if a match lasts a minute and is horrible, is that worse than a match that lasts ten minutes but is just a hair higher quality? Is a match worse if it bombs on a big stage than if it’s a nothing match on some random TV show? For me, the lengths plays a role. I’d much rather sit through an atrocious four minute match than some 14:34 disaster that exists to promote a reality show.
In case you find that very specific, I think you can tell where I’m going. For me, this belongs to the Divas elimination match at Survivor Series 2014. This match went on FOREVER and featured more botches than a Sin Cara highlight reel. It’s clear that most of these girls could barely survive on a taped show so the solution was to throw them out there in front of the world? I know they need ring time, but make sure they know what they’re doing before they’re on the freaking Survivor Series.
To keep this from being short, here are a few other common answers that I didn’t select for one reason or another.
A popular pick is Undertaker vs. Lesnar, but I can’t call a match with that kind of historical significance that elicited that powerful of a reaction (more on that later) the Worst Match of the Year. Yeah it was horrible with Brock’s head not even coming close to the mat on the Tombstone, but I can forgive a lot of that with the Undertaker being injured early in the match.
Brock vs. Cena was much more of an angle than a match. Yeah it was a squash, but tell me you weren’t freaking out watching that. That made Lesnar look stronger than ever and blew my mind as I was watching it. I actually shouted NO WAY at my screen when he hit the F5 30 seconds in. It may have been dull, but it certainly got a response.
The last match I keep seeing was Orton vs. Cena at the Royal Rumble, which is much more bizarre than bad. It’s no masterpiece but it’s far from horrible. They know each other incredibly well and the fans really calm down after the first two or three minutes. It was much more an example of the fans rejecting something rather than it actually being bad. They even threw something new out there with the stealing finishers. It’s something I NEVER want to see again, but it’s certainly not the worst.
That Divas tag though is just a disaster. Cameron is somehow getting worse in the ring and dragging down the talented girls. Can’t we just have Naomi being the female Shelton Benjamin and Paige doing all her awesome stuff while Natalya and Alicia are in the background being passable? No, instead we have to watch the girls botch everything and then talk about how hard they work to get here and gain respect or whatever the latest Diva creed that Stephanie has come up with is.
When you have Charlotte vs natalya, Charlotte vs sasha banks, Paige vs AJ then no way should Cameron get a free pass because she’s a diva…
You always seem to pick Divas matches for this. That’s fine, it’s your site. I just think they should be held on a different level. They don’t try to book them in a good match. Was the tag match the worst of the year? Probably, but I feel like everyone knew that going into it.
having said that, off the top of my head, I can’t think of what else would get it. I certainly don’t agree with the other honorable mentions you listed. I thought Show/Rowan this month was terrible.
Those weren’t meant to be honorable mentions in this case. Those were matches I’ve heard thrown around for this uh….honor.
As for the Divas matches getting these, they’re on the same shows and often get more time than other matches. We’re constantly told how important the Divas are and if I have to sit through matches designed to make me watch a bad reality show, they’re subject to the same criticisms.