Five Star Expectations That Didn't Live Up

[The Brain]

We all love to talk about our favorite matches. Whether you want to give it an A+ or ***** we’ve had the pleasure of watching many great matches over the years. Sometimes we had high expectations and a match delivered and other times we were pleasantly surprised and got more than we expected. Unfortunately there have been times where our expectations were not met and something we thought would be a five star match (or A+) came up short. I want to know what matches you had five star expectations for that did not deliver. The match you list could still be a good match; just not as good as you thought it would be.

My pick is Shawn Michaels vs. Mr. Perfect from SummerSlam 93. When I hear Shawn Michaels vs. Mr. Perfect for the Intercontinental title at SummerSlam I think likely match of the year. That’s not what happened. While the match was good it was not the five star classic I expected. Given the time and attention the IC matches at the previous two SummerSlams received, one involving Mr. Perfect, I figured the IC title was going to steal the show again. This time other matches took priority and the IC match wasn’t given the necessary time to deliver the classic I wanted. The count out ending thanks to outside interference didn’t help matters either. So even though Michaels vs. Perfect was a pretty good match I best remember it for the classic that wasn’t.

 

[Elementz of Fear]

Good choice for a topic. I can't choose one so here are my top 3.

Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan WrestleMania 27.
The worst part about this match is that it basically didn't happen (I was at the event and saw the "lumberjack" match turned battle royal, terrible) and everyone was expecting an excellent showing from the both of them on the big stage. Instead we got that god awful 6 man tag and a match with Snooki. This match could have been a show stealer but WWE just didn't put it on the card.

Undertaker vs CM Punk Hell In A Cell 2009.
Kind of a biased list here as I was at this event in Philly too Everyone knows Undertaker & Triple H are the best when it comes to Hell In A Cell and I thought putting him against CM Punk was a great idea. Punk can work absolutely any style and he would have been a great fit for the HIAC match if they let him have his way. Unfortunately that was yanked from him and we got a shortened glorified Undertaker squash match. Thankfully the DX vs Legacy match made up for lack of a 5 star HIAC match.

Rey Mysterio vs Sabu ECW One Night Stand 2006
Surprisingly I wasn't at this event despite it being in my hometown NYC lol. But this match, under extreme rules, could have been INCREDIBLE. The worst part about this match was the absolutely inexcusable finish. A no contest? With too high flying guys who can work extreme matches? At an ECW PPV? Terrible. Not much else to say about this match other than it was only given 9 minutes and it flopped.

My list is biased obviously but it's more of the way booking ruins awesome matches more show than the guys in the ring. That is probably more often the case than the other way around.

 

[legendkillerbsal]

Chris Jericho vs Edge at WM26 for the WHC. With talent like that its crazy that the match didnt live up to expectation. Both of those men have great conditioning and could have gone for awhile doing a fast paced exciting match. It had a rather boring ending too with the title hit to Edge then a Codebreaker to the 123.

 

[poppycock]

Well as far as wrestling goes it was never going to be 5 star but one match that comes to mind is Vince Mcmahon Vs Bret Hart. Obviously there were huge limitations on both parts so as I stated I never expected much on a technical level seeing as one is a cripple and one is not a wrestler. I just wanted something more or nothing at all after years and years of waiting.. bit of an anti climax but maybe I was expecting too much.

 

[RkoMachine]

Chris Jericho vs Edge at WM26 for the WHC. With talent like that its crazy that the match didnt live up to expectation. Both of those men have great conditioning and could have gone for awhile doing a fast paced exciting match. It had a rather boring ending too with the title hit to Edge then a Codebreaker to the 123.

Totally agree here! this was also my pick but since you already picked it i will go with my second pick

Matt Hardy Vs Jeff Hardy at WrestleMania 25

Though i am not and have never been a fan of either of the Hardy's i expected a great match here because i know the 2 can put on a good show when given enough time... but sadly this was not the case and they put on a very forgettable match at a very forgettable mania that is only remembered for HBK vs Taker

 

[ugotpwned999]

Lesnar vs Goldberg WM 20.

Ok, while its pretty obvious it wouldn't have been magnificient in the ring it was a match between 2 of the most popular big guys in the company. It was something worth waiting for, we hadn't seen it before and these guys could have put on a solid, entertaining Match.

Instead we got a 5 minute staredown and one pushing the other around the ring. They couldn't have given a damn about the fans and it was really dissapointing.

 

[Blue Chipper]

A couple matches come to mind. One has already been mentioned.

The Goldberg/Lesnar match could have been a very compelling match, I was hyped for it, but we get a complete bomb from beginning to end. The pacing was awful, the transitions were awful, the storytelling was awful, the flow wasn't there, and it was just a spot to spot match and it was ugly. Everything good about wrestling was amiss that night. They could've and should've had an entertaining bout. But, they definitely didn't.

Another match was Undertaker/Edge HIAC. I thought it was going to be a decent gimmick match. Instead we got a match that was one spot to the next, no logical transitions, bad pacing, and the storytelling wasn't there (much like the match noted above). Horrible match that had potential.

 

[brighamosity]

A recent example that comes to mind is Cody Rhodes vs Rey Mysterio at this past Wrestlemania. I think the buildup for it was great and I was really expecting this to be an incredible match. But it was just all right. Maybe I was wrong for having my expectations so high, but I was expecting it to steal the show.

 

[Nate DaMac]

Chris Jericho vs Edge at WM26 for the WHC. With talent like that its crazy that the match didnt live up to expectation. Both of those men have great conditioning and could have gone for awhile doing a fast paced exciting match. It had a rather boring ending too with the title hit to Edge then a Codebreaker to the 123.

While I do agree that the match kinda fell short of expectations, the bolded part is where I take issue. Normally both Edge and Jericho have excellent conditioning, but you're forgetting that Edge was only 2 months removed from returning from a severe Achilles injury. He wasn't even in the best shape when he came back in the Rumble. Given the circumstances, I think they performed fairly well.

One match that comes to mind is the legendary ladder match "For the Custody of Dominic" between Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio at Summerslam 05. These 2 have put on some fantastic matches hell, the best Cruiserweight match of all time was their match at Halloween Havoc 97 in my opinion. But for whatever reason, this one just didn't live up to the hype. There were a bunch of noticeable botches, I'm still shocked that Rey even survived with his spine in tact. Then there was Vickie missing her cue and fucking up the whole ending. Were not even going to discuss the horrible build up to the match.

Don't get me wrong, the match was still very good. But with the ability and chemistry that these 2 have together, this should have been a classic.

 

[Hourani777]

Triple H vs Undertaker Wrestlemania 27
It wasn't that bad of a match but it certainly didn't live up to the hype. We had Undertaker and Triple H going back and forth for about 10minutes then Triple H takes Complete control and hits so Many finishers on taker and then gets reversed into a hells gate and it over . Really? I know it was to make it believe that the streak was going to end and taker was injured but they could of still put abit more action into it to make it feel like a match and not a beating.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

Steve Austin vs Undertaker SummerSlam 1998.

The build up to this match ranks amongst the best that I have ever seen. This match was towards the beginning of the huge conspiracy angle that was about to keep us tuned into the WWF for the next year. I do not think that words can do justice to the promo video of this match. So let's have a look at it before we proceed.

[YOUTUBE]-8BsNMQpFnA[/YOUTUBE]

I don't think anyone would have expected anything less than a five star match after that promo. On top of that Austin had had pretty good matches in recent times with the likes of Foley and Kane and Undertaker had had the same with similar opponents. They had participated in a pretty good match the previous year at IYH: Cold Day in Hell.

The eventual match turned out to be decent but no where near five star level. The match began slowly and it looked like both guys were building up for a huge finish. But then this spot happened where Undertaker leg dropped a prone Austin lying on the announcer's table from the top rope and Austin looked really dazed after that. I think I even saw him spitting out blood after that. The ending was also very abrupt with Austin countering Undertaker's Old School rope walk attempt into a Stunner. It definately did not meet the high expectations that I had regarding this match. I had expected that there would be multiple nearfalls and finishers hit in this match and maybe even a memorable spot or two. Undertaker's flying leg drop came close but even that could not salvage this match much. I expected it to be the match of the year but it turned out to be just a good Raw main event like match.

Any HBK vs HHH match after Summerslam 2002, except for their match n the last Raw of 2003

All the matches except for their match at Summerslam 2002 had something amiss about them and never reached the same level. Mostly it was a case of overbooking. The 3 stages of hell match was mostly a spotfest and even the spots looked highly convoluted. The LMS match had them bleeding at the slightest provocation and the ending was really shit. The HIAC match was very boring at 47 minutes.

Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio Ladder Match at Summerslam 2005.

Dumb storyline and even the match was not as good as their previous encounters the most notable of them being their match at Hallowen Havoc in 1997. With the given gimmick, it had the potential to be even better than their previous encounters but it was mostly the silly run-ins of Dominick that took a lot away from this match.

 

[Heartachetonight926]

The Undertaker vs. Kane- Hell in a Cell 2010- World heavyweight championship.

When Undertaker returned last year to feud with Kane over the WHC, I was actually exicited and looking forward to the feud, unlike a lot of other people. I for one LIKED their match at Night of champions, and was really looking forward to what kind of awesome thing's they were gonna show us in the Devil's playground

I mean come on...It's UNDERTAKER and KANE in a HELL IN A CELL MATCH! even under the PG rules this match should of been more hardcore and brutal, I'm not talking about blood, I mean more weapons and "OMG" spot's in general..


Instead, we got a match that told a good story, but was boring from start to finish with a really lame ending.

Ugh.

 

[Skairipa Matrix]

i can think of a few matches off the top of my head here some more recent others a little bit older

1. Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan-Wrestlemania 27 i was expecting a really good match out of them and instead we got a lame battle royal...what a shame

2. The Hardy Boyz vs The Dudley Boyz vs E&C -TLC II after TLC 1 i was expecting another insane and crazy match with these 6 guys and it was still really good but compared to the first TLC match it was just nowhere near as good...and i HATED the interfearence from Rhino,Lita and Spike Dudley! i really didnt see a reason for it and it ruined the match for me.

3. John Morrison & R-Truth vs ShoMiz- Wrestlemania 26 this match just sucked and with the renewed fued of morrison and miz i thought it would atleast be good! i thought morrison & truth were gonna get a chance with the titles here but i was happy ShoMiz retained looking back but the match was too quick and too forgettable to me.

and im gonna go pick 1 from TNA/Impact Wrestling here just for the hell of it.

4. Motor City Machine Guns vs Generation Me Full Metal Mayhem...these 2 teams put on some amazing matches during there fued and it was easily my favorite fued of last year but the end of the match (the table bridge on top of the ladders) and the fact tht MCMG retained again ruined it for me...the match itself was awesome but the end of the match was just bad IMO i thought this was a good time to give Generation Me a run with the tag team titles i dont get y there werent given a chance! plus they shouldnt have copied WWF/E with the table bridge....so yeah thts it lol

 

[THEpapachamp]

Shawn Michaels vs. Hulk Hogan - Summerslam 05'

[YOUTUBE]cR9PPgX6INw[/YOUTUBE]

The buildup was amazing, with them teaming together and Shawn Michaels epic heel turn Sweet Chin Music. But the match and feud were forgotten shortly after. Having Hogan win this match was terrible. Hogan refused to job to Shawn Michaels and put him over. Could have been alot of a better match.

 

[relentless1]

Hogan vs Sting starrcade 97, shouldve gone colpetely the other way, sting shouldve DOMINATED, put hogan out with the death drop, tapped him out clean with the deathlock, 7 miniutes tops, nuff said, wcw revenge, instead we get the cluster fu8ck that was.... whatta shame, beginning of wcws end IMO

 

[Cats Pajamas]

Lesnar vs Goldberg WM 20.

Ok, while its pretty obvious it wouldn't have been magnificient in the ring it was a match between 2 of the most popular big guys in the company. It was something worth waiting for, we hadn't seen it before and these guys could have put on a solid, entertaining Match.

Instead we got a 5 minute staredown and one pushing the other around the ring. They couldn't have given a damn about the fans and it was really dissapointing.

Exactly! Thank you, my friend, this post is right on the ball. Two guys who had stories & could even sell their stories. Goldberg is a name that pretty much speaks for itself. Everyone knows the Bill Goldberg story.

Then you have Brock Lesnar, who was an AMAZING wrestler, who's matches with Angle gave us wrestling we've never been so lucky to see in WWE programming or any other show for that matter (excluding matches with the name "Funk" in them).

Instead, what us paying fans got was a few minutes of Lesnar/Goldberg insulting the wrestling biz because they had "so many great opportunities".

I'm a true Goldberg fan; I'm a die hard Lesnar fan (above most anything else) but both of those guys used wrestling for publicity and, in the end, cheated the fans out of their hard-earned.

Truly two gentleman that should be ashamed of themselves.But they're not, they're just rich instead. One more reason to just say F it, then smoke some crack.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

I don't watch much of WWE so I'll just name something from TNA.

Any of Mr.Anderson's title wins. I don't know, I kind of sort of like the guy (less and less every week), I appreciate what he USED to bring to TNA when he came along, but every time he won the belt it felt ... well it didn't "feel", that's the issue. Such a flop.

But if I HAVE to name something from WWE I'd say HBK's run since coming back from his injury. HBK didn't lose a step in the ring, but he came back different. Now I know, he's religious now, blah blah, but still I never got to see the original HBK back. No more dancing around, no more badass awesome heel stuff, no more Heart Break Kid. Real let down for me. He never got back to that level of promo work, charisma and in-ring work too if you ask me. I like his pre back injury matches more. He just turned into a different guy and that sucked for me.

 

[jdolla417]

Lesnar vs Goldberg and Austin as the spec ref......shoulda been good match but both men could care less about the company at the time so it turned into a shoving match and dissapointed a lot of fans....

 

[VinnieSunshine]

For me it'd have to be Lesnar vs Goldberg.

Here you had the biggest guy in the WWE who was the modern day Goldberg, against the REAL Goldberg who was just as hot in his day.

This match was a total wash and horrible for both competitors as well as WWE. Its a shame it turned out the way it did.

 

[darthbonkeys]

I think you all are forgetting one match that had the build to be a true classic randy orton vs triple h wrestlemaina 25. It had the perfect build-up and the perfect reason to fued. But then on night they turned it from a classic into a normal match. I was expecting an all out brawl and like the batista triple h match at mania instead i got a normal match that i wouldn't have called going out of first gear. I just think it really lacked and should have been a match we shouldn't have forgotten about

 

[Ytoojae]

Most of the NWO Vs Rock/Austin/etc. save for Hogan Vs Rock at Wrestlemania the rest of it was pretty much a suckfest.

For the most part I was highly underwhelmed by the whole Invasion angle. While there was some great wrestling matches in it none of it ever felt anywhere near as big or as important (industry changing) as what it could (and should) have been.

 

[The Perfect Max]

All of the original Hulk Hogan's Matches
Every single Hulk Hogan match before his retirement in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2008 was billed the main event. Is it me or did Vince McMahon shit himself at the thought of Hogan not being in the main event? WrestleMania in Indiana, Sid vs Hogan. Yippie-ky-ay. I would've rather seen Doink the Clown vs Eugene (it would've been epic).

Every TNA Match
The title says it all.

Bret Hart vs Mr McMahon in a No Holds Barred Lumberjack Match from WrestleMania XXVI
Look, I new this wasn't gonna be Match of the Year, but, I was expecting a beat down similar to the one at WrestleMania 22 between McMahon and Michaels. But no, a couple of "brutal" chair shots and a Hart Attack which was royaly fucked up really put the "fighter" McMahon down. Bullshit.

Sheamus (c) vs Daniel Bryan in a Singles Match for the United States Championship at WrestleMania XXVII
This match was the one on the lower-mid card I was looking forward too. Both men would have put on a Match of the Year candidate type match because Daniel Bryan is awesome and Sheamus and Bryan really work well together. After the event began and I found out it had already been on, I was then looking forward to the 8-Man Tag Team Match... (oh, and by the way, I have the DVD and I watched it and what a surprise once again Teddy Long ruins something)

Triple H vs The Undertaker in a No Holds Barred Match at WrestleMania XXVII
Is it only me that feels in todays age whenever a guy like Triple H or The Undertaker are in a match, even if it is with Yoshi Tatsu, the match is rated 10/10. That to me is unfair. Don't get me wrong, it was a good match, but I would've given it more like 8/10. It certainly wasn't perfect and I feel the last 5 minutes were predictable and shitty.

 

[Rampage Bentley]

Taker vs. Michaels 2.

It was a good match, don't get me wrong, but after the first one they had combined with it being moved to the main event and sprinkled with Shawn Michaels retirement angle, it should have been better than the previous one... it was not.

 

[Wolf Pac]

Pretty much every Ultimate X match after the LAX vs. AJ & Daniels UX match. Ultimate X used to have exciting action, exciting highflying & exciting spots and good endings, a few examples being the LAX vs. AJ & Daniels, Daniels vs. Truth vs. Skipper vs. AJ, AJ vs. Petey vs. Sabin, the second Ultimate X match which Sabin won. But after LAX vs. AJ & Daniels, all of that just faded away slowly as the Ultimate X matches went on.

I would also pick Elimination Chamber matches cause they started sucking after the New Years Revolution 2005 one but in all fairness to WWE they started putting crappier wrestlers in the chamber and you can't pull off much in that type of cage.

We have Rey Mysterio vs. Sin Cara. Personally I don't believe it's gonna be 5 star. If this happened way back when he was in WCW or ECW then yeah it would've lived up to the hype but since Rey has been in WWE, his highflying just never has been the same plus he's too muscular to pull off the awesome moves he did back then and Sin Cara has been botching lately plus he's been doing the same old shit every match since his debut but that could be due to WWE making him hold back as they tell every other mid-card wrestler.

Also Rock vs. Cena but in all fairness both are not great wrestlers. It's just mainly the hype & the crowd reaction to this which is what's gonna make it appear 5 star but in terms of wrestling, it won't.

 

[therockiswwf]

Undertaker vs CM Punk Hell In A Cell 2009.
Kind of a biased list here as I was at this event in Philly too Everyone knows Undertaker & Triple H are the best when it comes to Hell In A Cell and I thought putting him against CM Punk was a great idea. Punk can work absolutely any style and he would have been a great fit for the HIAC match if they let him have his way. Unfortunately that was yanked from him and we got a shortened glorified Undertaker squash match. Thankfully the DX vs Legacy match made up for lack of a 5 star HIAC match

To be fair, Punk got in trouble (I can't remember why) before this match and that is why it was like that.

Mine would have to be Hart vs Michaels at WM 12

The match was submission after submission. But the worst part was that Shawn worked Bret's arm for a long time and Bret barely sold it. I was very disappointed with this match, they never got it into high gear. This match should have been amazing but it was watered down by the submission after submission.