"Worst Match Of The Year" has been awarded by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter since 1984. It's often been considered one of the most controversial awards WON gives out since it's included matches that are considered "classics" like Hulk Hogan vs. André the Giant at WrestleMania III.
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Matches that are universally considered awful, like Hogan Vs. Ultimate Warrior at Halloween Havoc 1998, has also been awarded "Worst Match" with much less polarity. But what are the worst matches rated by Dave Meltzer's publication in recent years? This list will examine the last ten matches voted as "Worst Match Of The Year" ranked from bad to worst.
10 Braun Strowman Vs. "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt - The Horror Show at Extreme Rules (2020)
Everyone suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic. The swamp match between Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt was supposed to provide some relief to wrestling fans during this crazy moment in world history, but it ended up being another flat cinematic match.
It's hard to call this match "bad" since it was much more of a short film than a match. It was likely awarded "Worst Match Of The Year" because it was flat. There wasn't enough wrestling action in this bout to justify its existence in the storyline and a simple promo would have set up SummerSlam just as well.
9 John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt - Extreme Rules (2014)
Bray Wyatt's insane creativity either lands him in some of the best segments of his career or in the conversations for the worst match of the year. This match ended up being a three-on-one handicap bout between him and Cena. Luke Harper and Erick Rowan made sure there was no way Cena would walk out victorious, which really made this match feel pointless.
It felt like a "makeup" match for Wyatt's loss at WrestleMania 30 against John Cena. In all honesty, Cena ended up looking stronger in this bout than in their WrestleManiamatch thanks to The Wyatt Family. The match, itself, was below average, but not awful. Also, Wyatt scored the victory, which felt like the right booking at the time.
8 True Divas v Total Divas - Survivor Series (2013)
Easily one of the most rushed matches in the history of the Survivor Series. 12 eliminations in 12 minutes is likely what led to this match receiving "Worst Match Of The Year." The action between eliminations is not "bad" it just all feels so pointless.
Jojo, a ring announcer, had never wrestled before this match and she shined the most. It speaks a lot for the entertainment value of this elimination match that went at lightning speed.
7 Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton - WrestleMania 33 (2017)
Anyone who remembers this match likely remembers the insects, that's not a reference to Randy Orton or Bray Wyatt, there were actual projected images of insects on the ring during this match. The camera was transfixed on them and there's a lot about the entertainment value of the match itself.
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Wyatt and Orton are much too talented to be having a match like this and at Wrestlemania of all events. Orton got the win in another poor booking situation for Bray. This feud was bad, this booking was bad, and this match was very bad.
6 Los Psycho Circus Vs. Los Villanos - Triplemanía XXIII (2015)
This was supposed to be a great retirement match for Villano III. Putting him against one of the biggest fan favorites in Mexico at the time, Psycho Circus (Psycho, Murder, and Monster Clown), did him no favor in terms of "feels" from fans in attendance. The match, overall, was also pretty lackluster.
This entire AAA event was not a top-tier production. There were a ton of noise issues and the overall pay-per-view event suffered from the lack of high audio and video quality. The match was nothing special and Villano III wrestles well for a person in his 50s. It wasn't the spectacle everyone wanted and that led to this match being a low point for AAA in 2015.
5 D-Generation X Vs. Brothers of Destruction - Crown Jewel (2018)
Although D-Generation X vs. Brothers of Destruction at Crown Jewel is often in the mix for "worst match of all time," Undertaker and Shawn Michaels at their worst still shine brighter than a ton of talent at their best. That's not to say this match was good. It definitely wasn't.
Like every Crown Jewel, this event needed to have a spectacle of some kind, and two legendary tag teams filled the slot in 2018. Most fans of DX or the Brothers of Destruction just pretend like this bout never even happened. All four men in this match were way past their prime, but the nostalgia factor prevents this bout from being the "worst match ever."
4 Shelly Martinez Vs. Rebel - TNA Knockouts Knockdown (2016)
The only issue with calling Shelly Martinez vs. Rebel "Worst Match of the Year" is that the accolade uses the word "match" to describe what happened between the two. They spent the first minute yelling at each other. Rebel started hiding behind the ref.
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In all honesty, the pair did not look comfortable in the ring. Their groundwork was also abysmal. It's become infamous for its awfulness and if it weren't for its low-profile wrestlers at a down company, it would be even more well-known for how poor of a match it was.
3 John Cena Vs. John Laurinaitis - Over the Limit (2012)
This match would be far less well known if it hadn't been the MAIN EVENT of a pay-per-view that people paid their hard-earned money for. Calling "John Cena Vs. John Laurinaitis" a "match" is a big stretch.
It was a 15-minute act of comedy that randomly got aggressive at times. Big Show predictably turned heel to help Laurinaitis earn a pointless victory in an awful match that MAIN EVENTED Over the Limit 2012.
2 Seth Rollins Vs. "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt - Hell in a Cell (2019)
Any match that looks like it takes place in a room where polaroids are developed ends up being bad. Seth Rollins Vs. "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt found a way to make it an absolute nightmare. Only a few times in WWE history have two stars at the level of Wyatt and Rollins put on such a horrible bout.
The ending to the match was also horrible. It ended in a "no contest due to match stoppage" which just means they didn't want either star to lose, but also couldn't DQ either person since it was a Hell in a Cell match. It seemed for a long time like nothing would ever be worse than this bout, but then The Miz wrestled Damian Priest at Backlash 2021.
1 The Miz Vs. Damian Priest - WrestleMania Backlash (2021)
The Lumberjack Zombie match between The Miz and Damian Priest was an ambitious venture that died a quick death. Everything about this match feels pointless. Priest and Miz already had plenty of zombieless battles with each other that fans were already tired of.
The WWE definitely lost some fans (and respect from fans they didn't lose) after this bad match. It was less than seven minutes long but felt like a lifetime on television. Hopefully, this match stipulation is dead and will never rise again.
