With WWE NXT Halloween Havoc in the history books, one match on the spooky card has been described as having “ruined that entire show.”
The match in question was Naraku vs. Shiloh Hill, which started with a backstage attack, before going on a psychedelic trip throughout the show that featured plenty of Halloween tropes, before they eventually made it to the ring.
According to Dave Meltzer, there was a feeling in WWE that the match disappointed behind the scenes, but it’s not the first time experimental has taken a disappointing turn:
Disappointing internal reaction
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer gave the backstage reaction to the match, saying:
“By the way, I heard from some people there, and it was interesting, their comments to me because it was like their basic comment was, ‘Yeah, Shiloh Hill and Naraku ruined that entire show.'”
Such a match, with much of what went down not being actual in-ring action, was always going to be a bold swing for the fences and a challenge for anyone to deliver. It’s something that has been seen before, with mixed results, from praise to failure.
The Firefly Funhouse match at WrestleMania 36
One of two cinematic matches to take place on the first two-night WrestleMania, April 2020 saw the Firefly Funhouse match between Bray Wyatt and John Cena as a relatively successful experiment and journey through the career of the veteran WWE star.
Unlike the Shiloh Hill vs Naraku NXT match, the WrestleMania outing was pre-taped and shot offsite, with the Boneyard match between The Undertaker and AJ Styles being the other on the PLE to be handled in such a way.
WrestleMania 36 took place during an unprecedented time for WWE, professional wrestling and the world at large, with COVID-19 restrictions firmly in place.
The match currently sits at an 8.65 rating on Cagematch, with one commentator stating, “Not so much a match as it is a post-modern deconstruction of what wrestling is” and others praising its creativity.
The Zombie Lumberjack match
A tie-in with the movie Army of the Dead, WrestleMania Backlash in 2021 saw Damien Priest defeat The Miz in a Lumberjack match.
These were not regular lumberjacks, however, but zombie-themed variants, being wrestlers dressed up in appropriate garb while fan reaction was piped in due to, once again, those COVID-19 restrictions. It was always going to be a challenge to pull such a match off in a satisfactory way, even with a crossover between professional wrestling and horror fans, but this felt like too much of an ask when it comes to suspending disbelief to embrace the entertainment.
Sitting at a 1.16 rating on Cagematch, it was also awarded Worst Match of the Year in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards.
Punjabi Prison Match
The Great American Bash in 2006 featured a Punjabi Prison Match, with the bamboo structure containing The Undertaker and The Big Show. The stipulation would return at No Mercy the following year, with The Great Khali facing Batista, with Battleground in 2007 being the final outing as Jinder Mahal took on Randy Orton.
The initial outing inside the two-layer structure is rated 2.55 on Cagematch, while Khali vs. Batista would fare slightly better at 2.67, and Mahal vs. Orton dropping to 1.29.
A “combined one mile of reinforced steel bamboo”, perhaps the most notable thing about the structure is that it obstructed the view of the fans in attendance and made it difficult for the camera crew to capture the action when compared to the more familiar steel cage, Elimination Chamber or WarGames stipulation.
Success is never guaranteed
Sometimes, the only to test if a concept is going to be a success is to try it. Sure, there are internal teams who are tasked with looking into the future and seeing what might work, and focus groups able to crystalize such an approach, but on occasion there’s a need to risk before the reward.
The John Cena Classic is one such concept, with the veteran star himself saying it “might be a total failure“. A lot of work obviously goes into these concepts, and abandoning them outright would rob fans of the opportunity to experience some of the more unusual creative concepts that pass through the minds of the team.
Were there other matches that ruined a WWE show? Nominate your picks in the comments below.
Transcript from SEScoops.
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