Matches You Think Are Overrated

[Captain Stud Muffin (BLM)]

Obviously your own personal opinion but what are some matches that are highly rated but you think is a bit or very much overrated

Omega vs Okada at WK 11. It is no doubt a great match but that match went 45 mins and the first 30 mins just felt like a ton of filler to me. It has sort of become the standard in NJPW that main events are 40 mins to pad out time when it may not fit for a wrestler. EVIL wrestling for 40 mins against Naito def didn't do him favors but it is a great style for someone like Okada who can get all his shit in and knows how to structure his matches around spots

[Gus Richlen Was Wrong]

The WM25 Taker/HBK match. Always have hated it because to me it always felt sloppy and unable to get out of second gear.

[Deleted]

Taker vs Shawn at WM26.

It felt like it was "forced" to be a good match if that makes sense. Their match at WM25 was a lot more natural but I have to say, I did like the story of WM26 where HBK was desperate to face him again.

Also... controversial but Steamboat vs Savage. It's a good match, don't get me wrong... but "Best match EVER"? Come on. You see matches on Raw and Smackdown that get forgotten about weeks later that are just as good as that match. Maybe I'm missing something. Steamboat's matches with Flair and even his Backlash match with Jericho was better in my eyes. As for Savage... his WM7 match against Warrior was his best for me. 

[Deleted]

HHH vs. Undertaker at WM 27. Like, it's pretty good, but I don't think it's the classic it's made out to be.

[Deleted]

Jul 6, 2021 22:27:00 GMT -5 @dax said:

HHH vs. Undertaker at WM 27. Like, it's pretty good, but I don't think it's the classic it's made out to be.

I don’t understand the hype at all. It was a fine match but I thought the HHH tombstone was hokey and there was no way Taker was losing to that.

[ppl591]

Jul 6, 2021 22:47:19 GMT -5 @uppitynerd said:

Jul 6, 2021 22:27:00 GMT -5 @dax said:

HHH vs. Undertaker at WM 27. Like, it's pretty good, but I don't think it's the classic it's made out to be.

I don’t understand the hype at all. It was a fine match but I thought the HHH tombstone was hokey and there was no way Taker was losing to that.

I think the hell in a cell at 28 is vastly overrated as well

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Royal Rumble 92.

It’s very good, don’t get me wrong and the new stakes helped a shit ton, but people just remember Herman’s commentary, which was every bit as good as people say.

The match itself and the star power? Overrated.

[El Pollo Guerrera]

Jericho vs. Omega, Wrestle Kingdom 12. It was good but it isn't a 5-star match. I felt the match had two gears. When Jericho was in control, things moved, the match flowed, it felt like it was happening. When Omega was in control, things... didn't.

[petef3]

Kurt vs. Shane at King of the Ring '01. Just an actively terribly put together match.

Really don't like Dean vs. Rey at GAB '96, too. It almost soured me on Rey before I even got a chance to give him a chance, Dean guzzles him so much and takes so much of the match in what's supposed to be his debut showcase. I've tried giving it other chances with the benefit of hindsight and it doesn't get any better. It doesn't help that as far as matches involving mat-based technical heels tying up babyface opponents, Sting vs. Regal comes right after and absolutely smokes it like a cheap cigar.

I really don't have much patience for 30+-to-45-minute matches with 9 million false finishes anymore, so basically all of the faux-epics from NXT and AEW and NJPW over the past 7 years would probably fall into this category.

Sometimes we talk about how matches "accomplish what they set out to do"--but if a match utterly fails at what it set out to do, can it really be called "great"? I can't call Austin vs. Rock at WM X-7 a great match, because at what it hoped to accomplish, it utterly, demonstrably, objectively failed. The Texas crowd either didn't grasp or didn't care that Austin had sold out to McMahon. The fallout may unfairly color things as well, but to me it's ****1/2 work with DUD booking. And it was such a predictable failure, too. (predictable on the part of anyone not in the WWF, apparently). I can't call a failure of a match "great," I don't care how hard the work was.

[MolotovMocktail]

Taker vs. Mankind Hell in a Cell. It was a two-spot match, with Mick on a stretcher for a good portion of it.

Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania XIX. The first half was a lot of stalling and resting, and it kicked into gear at the end.

[Stone Coke Miami Watson 🥃]

Jul 6, 2021 22:21:03 GMT -5 @negan said:

Taker vs Shawn at WM26.

It felt like it was "forced" to be a good match if that makes sense. Their match at WM25 was a lot more natural but I have to say, I did like the story of WM26 where HBK was desperate to face him again.

Also... controversial but Steamboat vs Savage. It's a good match, don't get me wrong... but "Best match EVER"? Come on. You see matches on Raw and Smackdown that get forgotten about weeks later that are just as good as that match. Maybe I'm missing something. Steamboat's matches with Flair and even his Backlash match with Jericho was better in my eyes. As for Savage... his WM7 match against Warrior was his best for me. 

["Playboy" Don Douglas]

Add me to Steamboat/Savage. I'm a big fan of both guys, but this match has never done it for me. Steamboat is supposed to be fired up and looking for revenge from the throat injury and we got a million 2 counts instead.

[auph10imitated]

Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart at Wrestlemania 12. Snoozefest.

[James Fabiano]

Since a certain person made it the only ECW match to get 5*....the Pitbulls/Raven-Stevie match from Gangstas' Paradise.

Great angle(s). The match was typical ECW spots and such.

[Deleted]

Jericho / Michaels at Mania 19 is pretty crap. The whole thing is basically just Michaels making Jericho's entire arsenal look utterly worthless and then Jericho switches to using his instead and HBK doesn't sell any of that either.

Also Jericho / Punk at Mania 28. I do agree with the consensus that the first half is an awful chore due to the stupid stipulation, but while the match gets better in the second half it doesn't get a lot better and the finish is very limp. Their match at Extreme Rules was vastly better.

[fw91]

Bret/Owen Summerslam 94 is a boring slog imo.

Lesnar/Cena Extreme Rules- Not even the 2nd best match of the night. Bryan/Sheamus, and Punk/Jericho were better.

[sungod2020]

Jul 6, 2021 22:21:03 GMT -5 @negan said:

Taker vs Shawn at WM26.

It felt like it was "forced" to be a good match if that makes sense. Their match at WM25 was a lot more natural but I have to say, I did like the story of WM26 where HBK was desperate to face him again.

Also... controversial but Steamboat vs Savage. It's a good match, don't get me wrong... but "Best match EVER"? Come on. You see matches on Raw and Smackdown that get forgotten about weeks later that are just as good as that match. Maybe I'm missing something. Steamboat's matches with Flair and even his Backlash match with Jericho was better in my eyes. As for Savage... his WM7 match against Warrior was his best for me. 

I think the reason why this match gets the praise it does is because it was ahead of it's time. If a match like that took place 10 years later, it would probably been seen as just another above average to good match. Certainly not worth a 5 star ranking. In fact, didn't they have better matches before that?

Yes, I do agree Savage's match with The Ultimate Warrior(who gets shit on for his wrestling ability) was better due to the drama involved for their career ending match. 

To add to the list, Shawn Michaels/Bret Hart at Wrestlemania XII Iron Man match gets more praise than it's worth. There's this myth that long matches mean good, but that's not always the case. It had some highlights, and the last 5 minutes or so were pretty good, but not one of the greatest matches of all time. 

Alot of the time there was a bunch of restholds. Not having either of them gain a fall over the other didn't help either.

[MrElijah]

Jul 6, 2021 23:49:03 GMT -5 ppl591 said:

Jul 6, 2021 22:47:19 GMT -5 @uppitynerd said:

I don’t understand the hype at all. It was a fine match but I thought the HHH tombstone was hokey and there was no way Taker was losing to that.

I think the hell in a cell at 28 is vastly overrated as well

I fell asleep during that match. What's with HHH's gotta be 21st Century Harley Race?

[Deleted]

To pile on, I genuinely can't think of a single Undertaker match I've ever seen that I would rate higher than average, other than HIAC with Foley just because of the punishment Foley was willing to put himself through.

Lesnar/Goldberg at Mania 33 gets a lot of praise. I thought it was a terrible spotfest that highlighted the fact that middle-aged Goldberg really should have been nowhere near a wrestling ring at that point and, frankly, their much-derided match at WrestleMania 20 was better (still awful, though).

HBK/Bret ironman match at Mania 12 is just kind of boring. I know I'm not the only one who feels that way though.

I also really hate Tanaka/Awesome from HeatWave 98. At the time, it was an awesome spectacle, but damn is it hard to watch in retrospect. And certainly it's not one of the best wrestling matches of all time, as it is often regarded. I feel that way about a lot of the original ECW, now.

[sungod2020]

Jul 8, 2021 10:34:00 GMT -5 MrElijah said:

Jul 6, 2021 23:49:03 GMT -5 ppl591 said:

I think the hell in a cell at 28 is vastly overrated as well

I fell asleep during that match. What's with HHH's gotta be 21st Century Harley Race?

Being there live, it was a very intense match and the crowd was on their feet. Watching it at home though, it came off as theatrical which gives it a hokey vibe IMO. It's one of those matches that are designed for a live crowd.