Wrestling fans are a curious lot. Many of them still look to the past with rose-colored glasses and often talk about how much better things were in the old days. This allowed WWE in particular to book several nostalgia-based matches, believing that bringing fans the stars of yesterday might pique interest back up in the industry.
Sadly, the stars of yesteryear are older now, many in their 50s and some getting close to 60. These wrestlers can't do what they did in their prime, and often the matches fall way short, even by nostalgia standards. Here are 10 bad WWE matches that were based solely on nostalgia.
10 STING VS. TRIPLE H
The one wrestler that stood tall as the face of WCW was the man called Sting. He is also the one man that never accepted an offer to come to WWE while he was in his prime, opting to head to TNA instead to finish out his career there.
When Sting finally did make his way to WWE, he was 55. He had very little left to give, and his biggest match came against Triple H, a match where DX and the nWo got involved and ended with Sting losing his only WrestleMania match.
9 GOLDBERG VS. UNDERTAKER
Maybe one of the worst matches of the last decade happened in Saudi Arabia. It was a dream match that many never believed they would see, and most later wished they hadn't.
Goldberg battled The Undertaker. Many things negatively affected this match. It was outdoors in over 100-degree heat with two men in their 50s. Goldberg ended up concussed, and the entire match was a mess before Undertaker finally ended it.
8 DX VS. BROTHERS OF DESTRUCTION
In 2010, Shawn Michaels lost to Undertaker in a match that resulted in HBK's retirement. Unlike most wrestlers, Michaels remained retired. He had a lot of chances to return and passed them up. It seemed like he was going to be one of the few that never returned.
Then, eight years later, HBK was back for a match in Saudi Arabia, as DX beat Undertaker and Kane in a match where everyone looked old and slow.
7 STEVE AUSTIN VS. SCOTT HALL
At WrestleMania X8, there were two "dream matches," and only one delivered. When Hollywood Hogan battled The Rock, no one expected it to be as great as it was, but Hogan played the hits, and The Rock was the perfect dance partner.
However, in a match of Scott Hall vs. Steve Austin, it never achieved what WWE hoped. Austin was slowing down and was hurt, and Hall's demons had slowed him down. The match between two of the Monday Night Wars' biggest stars was a disappointment.
6 BRET HART VS. VINCE MCMAHON
After the Montreal Screwjob, no one ever expected to see Bret "The Hitman" Hart in WWE again. After the death of his little brother, Owen Hart, the chances felt even slimmer. However, time heals wounds, and WWE brought back Hart.
Not only did they bring him back, but he also wrestled at WrestleMania against Vince McMahon. The problem is that fans saw this as revenge for the Montreal Screwjob, but it was a post-stroke Hart vs. a 65-year-old McMahon and was not a good match.
5 HOLLYWOOD HOGAN VS. RODDY PIPER
There was not a bigger feud in professional wrestling in the '80s than the war between Hulk Hogan and Rowdy Roddy Piper in WWE. The best part of the feud was that neither man beat the other, despite their long-running conflict. It kept Hogan on top, and Piper never lost anything despite never beating Hogan.
That changed in WCW when Hogan and Piper finally wrestled. Hogan was on top as a heel, but Piper had slowed down, and WCW chose to have clear decisions, including Piper beating Hogan with a sleeper in a non-title match.
4 GIMMICK BATTLE ROYAL
While WrestleMania X7 had Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock, fans also had to sit through one of the worst battle royales in wrestling history. Yes, fans had to love seeing old-school stars back in the ring, but they were almost all slow, and this was a terrible experience.
A 59-year-old, slow Iron Sheik won the Gimmick Battle Royal by eliminating Hillbilly Jim at the end. Also involved in the match was Jim Cornette and Brother Love, who stood in the corner and beat each other up, and The Gobbeldy Gooker, one of the worst gimmicks in WWE history.
3 SHAWN MICHAELS VS. HULK HOGAN
There is a lot to love about the Shawn Michaels vs. Hulk Hogan match at SummerSlam in 2005. However, that is all about enjoying watching Hogan look like an idiot by bumping like a video game character after every Hogan strike.
The problem is that HBK wanted a trilogy, with each man going over and then the final match, which Hogan could win. Hogan only wanted to win the one match, so HBK went into business for himself.
2 HOLLYWOOD HOGAN VS. ULTIMATE WARRIOR
At WrestleMania VI, Hulk Hogan put someone over cleanly for the first time since he beat Iron Sheik for the WWE Championship. WWE strongly protected Hogan in the '80s, and he ran over everyone, with all of his losses being flukes or cheats.
Then, Ultimate Warrior beat Hulk Hogan for the WWE title, and the torch was passed. In 1998, WCW brought in Warrior, and the two had a rematch, which never lived up to their original and just caused Hogan to get back his win.
1 HEROES OF WRESTLING 1999
This final entry is one of the worst moments in professional wrestling history. Heroes of Wrestling was like if the WWE Gimmick Battle Royale was split up into an entire PPV of matches. The main event is an example of what was wrong with this show.
Jake "The Snake" Roberts showed up intoxicated, and Jim Neidhart refused to wrestle him during their scheduled main event. As a result, Neidhart teamed with King Kong Bundy while Roberts teamed with Yokozuna. It ended with Bundy pinning Roberts, and the PPV feed getting cut when The Snake started to take his clothes off. It was one of the biggest black eyes in wrestling history.