The pro wrestling industry has been entertaining fans across the globe for many generations and the moments it has created over the years remain fresh in the hearts of every wrestling fan.
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Certain feel-good moments created by the wrestling promotions have become childhood memories for the fans, which they still rekindle in their minds to this day. However, some moments were initially intended to be impactful but got derailed due to some glaring botches. Such botches have happened multiple times over the years across various promotions like WWE, AEW, and WCW, and let's take a look at ten of those instances in the list below.
10 Jack Swagger Struggling To Unhook The MITB Briefcase
Winning the Money in the Bank ladder match is a career-defining moment for those who got their hands on the contract, as they not only receive a future world championship opportunity but also immortalize their names in history.
A majority of the MITB winners went on to capture the world titles, and Jack Swagger is one of them as he cashed in his contract to win the World Heavyweight Championship. However, the moment of him winning the MITB ladder match at WrestleMania 26 would've been more impactful had he not botched the ending by struggling to unhook the briefcase for nearly a minute with millions of people watching him.
9 Custody Of Dominik Ladder Match
Dominik Mysterio might be all toughened up after his own father sent him to jail, but the same father fought for his custody in a ladder match against Eddie Guerrero at SummerSlam 2005.
The planned finish for the match was to have Vickie Guerrero knock Eddie Guerrero down off the ladder as he climbed up to retrieve the briefcase. However, an untimely botch that looked like Vickie Guerrero missing her cue left Eddie Guerrero with no choice but to prolong time by struggling to retrieve the briefcase. However, Vickie Guerrero talked about the supposed botch on Twitter and said that she was told to wait because Mysterio was still under the ladder when it was time for the spot. Either way, the delay made what could've been a perfect finish look a bit dragged out.
8 The Shield Walking Out To The Total Divas Theme
The Shield was one of the most iconic factions in WWE history, and their legendary entrance among the crowd is one of the highlights of the trio. Their entrance music and the sight of them making their way through the crowd has a separate fanbase, and WWE once turned that moment into a laughingstock in 2014.
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On the February 10, 2014, episode of Raw, The Shield made their usual entrance through the crowd section, but a production botch saw the Total Divas theme music play out instead of their Special Op theme. Dean Ambrose couldn't hold his laughter, and the fans were also perplexed, but WWE edited it out of the network footage, but those who saw the episode live had to see The Hounds of Justice walk out to the Total Divas theme song.
7 The Shockmaster's Debut
The Shockmaster's WCW arrival in 1993 is still considered among the pro wrestling fraternity as the worst debut of all time. That single botched moment derailed his entire momentum before he could even do anything for the company.
WCW planned his debut during the "A Flair for the Gold" backstage segment at the 1993 Clash of the Champions event. The plan was to have him break through a sheetrock wall as Sting introduced him, but The Shockmaster tripped on a piece of lumber in the wall's frame and fell forward through the structure, much to the ridicule of all the fans.
6 Batista's Royal Rumble Win
The Animal Batista's rise to main event status began at the 2005 Royal Rumble PPV when he won the titular match to earn a world championship opportunity at WrestleMania 21.
Batista and John Cena were the last two superstars in the ring, and Cena was supposed to go over the top rope. However, a last-minute botch saw Batista lose balance as he lifted Cena for a Batista Bomb, resulting in both of them going over the top rope at the same time. After some confusion, Vince McMahon angrily strutted down to the ring and restarted the match, which ended with Batista throwing Cena over the top rope to win. However, those who were watching live saw that it was Batista who hit the ground first during the botch.
5 The Mega Powers Explode
The end of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage's tag team, The Mega Powers, is one of the most important storylines in WWE history. After dominating the landscape of the company for over a year, Hogan and The Macho Man broke ties after undergoing weeks of tension following the 1989 Royal Rumble match. After Hulk Hogan abandoned Randy Savage during their match with the Twin Towers on the February 3, 1989, episode of Main Event to take an injured Miss Elizabeth backstage, Savage turned on Hogan.
Things got nasty in a backstage segment, where Savage attacked Hogan after accusing him of trying to take Miss Elizabeth and the WWE Championship away from him. The planned spot was to have Hogan's buddy Brutus Beefcake stop Savage's attack on the Hulkster at the end of the segment, but he missed the cue and came it a bit early and had to awkwardly back out of the camera.
4 The Entire Goldberg Vs. The Undertaker Match
Goldberg and The Undertaker faced off in what was considered a once-in-a-lifetime match at the 2019 Super ShowDown PPV. Since the two never faced off against each other during their prime years, the fans were also excited to see the legends in action. But what was supposed to be a legendary moment turned into a total botch fest after Goldberg got concussed during the match after running into the ring post.
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The WCW legend couldn't snap out of the effects of the blow and botched most of his moves, including the Jackhammer. The Undertaker looked visibly upset and had to end the match with a weak Chokeslam on Goldberg and get the win.
3 Jon Moxley Vs. Kenny Omega - Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch
Jon Moxley challenged Kenny Omega for the AEW World Championship at the 2021 Revolution PPV in an Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch. The fans had high expectations for the bout as it had been a long time since they witnessed a match with such a stipulation in a major PPV. While the two wrestlers delivered a good back-and-forth match, a production botch, in the end, made their efforts worthless.
After Kenny Omega defeated Moxley, he left the latter lying in the ring as the timer counted down for the explosion. Eddie Kingston came out and covered Moxley to protect him from the impact, but the explosion turned out to be no better than a normal firecracker, which made the entire match into a laughingstock.
2 Roman Reigns Vs. Kevin Owens - Royal Rumble 2021
Roman Reigns defended the Universal Championship against Kevin Owens in a Last Man Standing match at Royal Rumble 2021. The two put on a decent back-and-forth match that lasted almost 25 minutes, and Reigns came out victorious in the end.
However, a botch in the final moments of the match saw Paul Heyman struggling to release Roman Reigns from a handcuff as the referee came very close to a ten count. The referee had to count slowly after realizing the situation, and Reigns had to improvise by shoving the referee into the lighting trellis he was handcuffed to, stopping the count.
1 Sting Vs. Hollywood Hogan - Starrcade 1997
Sting challenged Hollywood Hogan for the WCW Championship at the 1997 Starrcade PPV, which was the highest-grossing PPV in WCW history.
The planned spot for the match was to have the referee Nick Patrick do a fast count to favor Hogan, which would prompt Bret Hart to come out and restart the match. But Patrick forgot the cue and did a normal count, which resulted in Hogan pinning Sting clean. Despite the clear botch, Hart came out and restarted the match, which ended with Sting getting the submission victory.
