Overated Matches

Nicked from 606 but just the concept, not the matches.

My choices would be:

The Rock Vs Austin, Wrestlemania X7
Loved this PPV and every other match on it but I couldn't help feeling this was quite a let down, even at the time. The rest of the card was magnificent with the TLC match, HHH fighting Undertaker and the Gimmick Battle Royal (, twas mint). This had such a huge, perfect build up but I felt these two were quite ordinary on the night. the crowd also kept booing The Rock which was expected but still annoying, it also made the heel turn a bit weird too.

John Cena Vs Shawn Michaels, Raw 2007
This match seemed so contrived to me. There was no real need for it to go on for an hour and if they concentrated on having a good match rather than a long match it could have been a whole lot better. Michaels had to work twice as hard too as Cena isn't really up to doing one hour matches. In fact, without Michaels I think it would be impossible for him to go an hour with anyone else. Dull, mediocre match imo.

Sting Vs Hollywood Hogan, Starrcade 97
Very similar to the Wrestlemania X7 match this one. The build up and story was absolutely amazing with Sting getting this new image and not wrestling for like a year. He'd come back and began haunting and messing up NWO stuff and this was the proper big showdown between the two. Everything was perfect really. Even the entrances were probably two of the greatest ones I've ever seen. But then the match started . It was genuinely painful to watch. It basically consisted of wristlocks and headlocks with a few basic low impact moves chucked in there. Then came the hideously botched ending where Nick Patrick apparently made a "fast count" (he didn't) and then Bret Hart came in and somehow had the authority to restart the match and then count Hogan out. Very ugly ending for WCW's biggest ever match.

Hulk Hogan Vs Andre the Giant, Wrestlemania 3
The fella that did this article chose this too and it's not a surprise. This match has been elevated to legendary status in wrestling folklore but it truly was a pile of crap. Andre was well past it then, the poor fecker could barely move and the match was slow (even for the time) and you would need a calculator to count the number of botches made. The iconic body slam on Andre just isn't enough to save this match I'm afraid.

Razor Ramon Vs Shawn Michaels, Wrestlemania 10
Honestly don't see why this match is considered one the greatest ladder matches ever let alone the best match. Didn't like Ramon at all, thought his style (particularly taking punches) was way too over the top along with his Brazilian accent. The match itself was indeed unique for the time and did change ladder matches a lot but surely now people can look beyond this a realise how many ladder matches were better.

Mick Foley Vs Edge, Wresltemania 22
Hardcore for the masses I'm afraid. After watching the old Japanese hardcore videos this appeared very tame and was still sugar coated in the usual WWE style. Foley was too out of shape as well and didn't appear fit enough to be taking on such a big match but Edge made it very watchable. The sight of fire and other weapons in such a tame period is why this match is thought so highly of but it really just masked an average hardcore match. If Al Snow and Viscera were allowed to this stuff as opposed to using cookie trays then I'm sure some of their encounter would be more enjoyable too.

Randy orton v john cena -unfrgven 207

Ramon v Michaels at WrestleMania X was fantastic, I don't know if it was the best ladder match, I always liked the SummerSlam95 rematch, I thought they worked fantastically well and the psychology of the match was immense, the timing was perfect and the outcome was designed to get Ramon over as a top face and undisputed champion and move Michaels onto the main event scene, I think most of that worked to perfection

Well that was a match on the list I was never actually around for so that always makes a huge difference in your opinions of a match.

All I've seen is the match itself and that's all I'm basing my opinion on and the match just never excited me at all. It seemed really dated unlike some of the other timeless classics which seem as good now as they ever were. I appreciate how much it revolutionised the ladder match concept but that match just wasn't for me.

The problem I have with this is that I'm not good at telling whether a match is considered 'classic' and thus qualifies for 'overrated'.

But my pick would be Steve Austin vs. Triple H Survivor series 2000
It was supposed to be the pay-off match to the big "Austin assassinated" storyline that started ca. a year prior with a mystery man hitting Austin with a car, sidelining him for a while. The story was pretty good at times, except when it involved Rikishi, who "did it for the Rock".
Anyways, Triple H revealed himself as the mastermind who orchestrated the whole thing, and in the prelude to Survivor series he was made out to be the most epic heel I have ever seen.
The match itself was basically just Triple H getting his ass handed to him by Austin and the most anti-climatic ending ever. Think parking lot shenanigans.

I alway's thought the 6 man HIAC match at Armageddon 2000 was overated only big bump I can think of was 'taker chucking 'Kishi on that truck load of hay, which looked shit, and the Elim Chamber matches, never saw one 'till this year's, and they were shit, both of 'em.

Seconding the Armageddon HiaC. It was basically 3x 1vs1 in a cell, with Rikishi falling off the cell, into a truck that was conveniently parked there. And it was shortly after SurvSer 00, so it also had Superheel Triple H who did nothing except being brutalized by Austin.

Aye, definitely the HIAC.

And wasn't that truck filled with like hay or something?

Should have been brilliant considering the amount of talent and a gimmick too. Just shows you can have too much of a good thing.

MaFish wrote:

I alway's thought the 6 man HIAC match at Armageddon 2000 was overated only big bump I can think of was 'taker chucking 'Kishi on that truck load of hay, which looked shit, and the Elim Chamber matches, never saw one 'till this year's, and they were shit, both of 'em.

you should watch the one with goldberg, Haitch Y2J Orton i think batista and HBK (not sure about the last 2.)

or the extreme rules elimination chamber, always a good one IMO

my msre fuckedp :S ill thank you here quickly chers for that torrent ,r.pans

Yeah the best thing about that match was the Angle promo, "Im in there with an Eyebrow, a nose, a redneck, a fat ass, and a bad ass!"

Disco I know what you mean, I think if you watch the match back now, it may not look as good, compared to what you might have seen at the height of the attitude era or anything a TLC might have produced, however at the time this was groundbreaking stuff, so while it might not look that much now, compared to any ladder match that happened previous to this then it was an absolute classic and raised the bar for any future matches

The reason why the WWE say how great the Razor Ramon vs Shawn Michaels match is, is because it was the first ever..The match in my opinion was just ok....not great

MaFish wrote:

I alway's thought the 6 man HIAC match at Armageddon 2000 was overated only big bump I can think of was 'taker chucking 'Kishi on that truck load of hay, which looked shit, and the Elim Chamber matches, never saw one 'till this year's, and they were shit, both of 'em.

I didn't like the HIAC either, they spent most of the match outside the cell near the cars by the entrance ramp which makes the Cell look pointless. The Taker/Kishi bump looked crap as well.

The early Elimination Chambers were brutal and were highly entertaining IMO. Even though it looked so fake, the Goldberg spear on Jericho through those "unbreakable" pods was awesome. I don't understand why they build those pods up to be "unbreakable" when at least one of them are broken every Chamber.

They started getting poor with the New Year Revolution 2007 Chamber. The one where Edge cashed in the MITB after the match. However, I did enjoy the RAW one at No Way Out this year which I can still remember clearly thanks to Umaga's double Samoan Drop.

pathhh wrote:

The reason why the WWE say how great the Razor Ramon vs Shawn Michaels match is, is because it was the first ever..The match in my opinion was just ok....not great

Lots of people think that but the concept had been invented long before this. The first one in WWE was Bret Hart and Michaels but it was just at some house show. It was Bret Hart who thought of it too because his old promotion used to have them, Stampede Wrestling. Must have really pissed him off knowing that HBK has become synonymous with them now lol.

pathhh wrote:

The reason why the WWE say how great the Razor Ramon vs Shawn Michaels match is, is because it was the first ever..The match in my opinion was just ok....not great

It wasn't the 'first ever', I don't know where you heard that but its clearly not true, It wasn't even the first ladder match in the WWF

I recall Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart having a ladder match for the IC title in 1992 some two years before this so called "FIRST EVER"

I think the HHH vs Cactus Jack No DQ match at the Royal Rumble a few years ago was overrated. The story of the match was good but the action wasn't that great.

I will probably get slaughtered for this although I based my opinion solely on the match itself, not the build up.

What Disco said

Rocky wrote:

I think the HHH vs Cactus Jack No DQ match at the Royal Rumble a few years ago was overrated. The story of the match was good but the action wasn't that great.

I will probably get slaughtered for this although I based my opinion solely on the match itself, not the build up.

Really?

Thought that was a brilliant match. Had a really good gritty feel to it and HHH was outstanding, at his very best imo. Foley was great in that one too. Real shame he didn't just end his career there.

Their following HIAC match was a bit wank. It was just like a cheap parody of every other HIAC match just not as good. That bit where he went through the top, through the ring was crap. Especially since it was him who took the classic HIAC bumps, that's never gonna be topped.

Discopants wrote:

Rocky wrote:

I think the HHH vs Cactus Jack No DQ match at the Royal Rumble a few years ago was overrated. The story of the match was good but the action wasn't that great.

I will probably get slaughtered for this although I based my opinion solely on the match itself, not the build up.

Really?

Thought that was a brilliant match. Had a really good gritty feel to it and HHH was outstanding, at his very best imo. Foley was great in that one too. Real shame he didn't just end his career there.

Their following HIAC match was a bit wank. It was just like a cheap parody of every other HIAC match just not as good. That bit where he went through the top, through the ring was crap. Especially since it was him who took the classic HIAC bumps, that's never gonna be topped.

I always prefered the HIAC even if the ending was wank. The No DQ match just seemed too slow for my liking and it just wasn't as good as I expected. Both men played their roles superbly though, I just felt the action was a letdown.

The best HIAC match for me was Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker and that is not including the debut of Kane. HBK was fantastic in that match.

I think Eddie Guerrero vs Kurt Angle at WM 20 was overrated, it was a good match, but not a classic and nowhere near as good as the Triple Threat match that followed it.

I'd have to chuck in...

Bret Hart / HBK, Ironman match at Wrestlemania 12. I always found this match to be slow, and dull as hell, until the last 5 minutes. I know no-one could be expected to go at a high pace for the full hour, but it was just so bloody dull. I think if it had a been a 30 minute ironman it would have been better. The hour just got monotonous.

The HBK / Razor ladder match at mania 10 was amazing. It was the first time WWF had gone for a ladder match at such a high profilwe event, and for a kid like me growing up in Devon, the stuff they did in that match I'd never seen before. It does look tame now over time, especially after the stuff Jeff Hardy and co have done since, but at the time, it was mind-blowing. I became a huge HBK fan after that, I was well pissed off when he went face the following year.

Grecian, I was a huge Rockers fan and it took me a long time to 'forgive' Michaels after the Rockers split, I was always a Jannetty fan, however Mania X was the night I too became a Shawn Michaels fan!

Shawn Michaels v Bret Hart - Iron Man Match

I think this was the first in the WWF, obviously watching it for the first time I thought it was a good match, one thing though, I could never watch it back again, its just so boring.

I don't think it needs to be high paced but I think there surely had to be a few pin falls and submissions in the match to make it better than in was

I think that ladder match is one that if you saw it at the time, it's amazing, cos the high spots they did had never been done before. Now, when you've seen Mick Foley go off the top of a cell, seeing Shawn do a splash off a ladder seems very tame in comparison. At the time, though, it was incredible.

Agreed and unlike the Iron Man match, I could watch that match again at any time, I thought the rematch was excellent too