The hype for a huge match will have fans going into it with huge expectations that are not always met in the WWE world. Sometimes, it is best to surprise fans with a great match rather than have them thinking it will be a guarantee. WWE, unfortunately, does have a history of matches that were supposed to be great completely dropping the ball.
We will look back at the matches that failed to live up to the hype by the WWE fan base. All the major attractions that left us disappointed will be featured. Each instance had different variables regarding their lackluster result. Find out just what went wrong and why they couldn’t find magic. These are ten all-time disappointing WWE matches that were supposed to be great.
10 Dean Ambrose vs Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins (Battleground 2016)
The end of The Shield created the dream match of an eventual triple threat match between the three members. Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose all won the WWE Championship when Rollins defeated Reigns and Ambrose cashed in MITB to beat Rollins all on the same night.
This set up the triple threat match the following month at Battleground 2016. Despite the formula for a great match, the bout disappointed. Ambrose won the match to retain the title, but the match was mediocre failing to live up to the expectations.
9 Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan (WrestleMania 28)
The chemistry between Sheamus and Daniel Bryan always created great matches whenever they had time. WWE, unfortunately, would put them in a terrible position many times. People were excited to see Daniel Bryan defending his World Championship against Sheamus at WrestleMania 28 with fans expecting them to steal the show.
WWE instead ruined it with the booking by having Sheamus hit Bryan with a kick and winning the match in under 30 seconds. The two wrestlers had a real match on the following Extreme Rules event in a classic match. Fans sadly couldn’t get this magic at WrestleMania.
8 Brock Lesnar vs Dean Ambrose (WrestleMania 32)
WrestleMania 32 featured a hit list of matches that disappointed despite having the biggest audience in wrestling history. Brock Lesnar faced off with Dean Ambrose in a hardcore match. Ambrose showed off many dangerous weapons on the build making fans expect a violent bloodbath.
The match turned into one of the softest hardcore matches with almost no drama involved. Ambrose trashed Lesnar in interviews about the match claiming Brock was lazy and turned down every idea. WWE wasted this as an attraction match for such an important show.
7 The Undertaker vs CM Punk (WWE Hell In A Cell 2009)
CM Punk’s World Championship reign as the heel straight-edge character in 2009 made him a top star. After running Jeff Hardy out of WWE, Punk was put into a huge feud with The Undertaker. Fans expected to see them have great matches together given their skill sets.
Undertaker and Punk opened Hell in a Cell 2009 with a very disappointing match. The match would see Undertaker dominate and win the title in only 10 minutes of action. Reports indicated Punk was being punished for having a negative run-in with Undertaker backstage about how he dressed as champion.
6 Chris Jericho vs Edge (WrestleMania 26)
The return of Edge from an injury in the 2010 Royal Rumble match saw him go after his former friend turned enemy Chris Jericho. Both men won the WWE Tag Team Championship together with plans to have a long run, but Edge suffered an injury leading to Jericho running him down and replacing him.
Diehard fans expected Edge vs Jericho for the World Championship to have the strongest in-ring action at WrestleMania 26. Batista and John Cena surprisingly outshined them with a better WWE Championship match. Edge struggled as a face leading to the disappointing match.
5 Roman Reigns vs John Cena (No Mercy 2017)
The dream match of Roman Reigns vs John Cena shockingly took place at No Mercy 2017. Fans always expected it to main event WrestleMania or Summerslam, but it wasn’t even the main event of a secondary PPV. The match did have huge hype with both men cutting personal promos on each other.
Cena and Reigns, unfortunately, could not live up to the expectations as the match was quite disappointing. WWE could be blamed for running the match too early without as much importance, but the guys just didn’t have chemistry on this night as Reigns gained little from the win.
4 Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar (WrestleMania 20)
WWE fans were expecting a violent brawl at WrestleMania 20 when Brock Lesnar faced off with Goldberg for the first time. The story was set up nicely after both men cost each other huge matches, but other variables would doom it.
Fans found out both Lesnar and Goldberg were leaving the wrestling business after this match. It resulted in heckling from Madison Square Garden with insulting chants for a full five minutes before they even locked up. Goldberg and Brock had a stinker of a match that they had to redeem over a decade later.
3 Charlotte Flair vs Sasha Banks (Hell in a Cell 2016)
The first-ever women’s Hell in a Cell match main-evented the 2016 show with the Sasha Banks vs Charlotte Flair feud getting the honor. Banks was coming off a huge win over Flair on Raw to capture the Raw Women’s Championship with this as her first defense in her hometown of Boston.
The match was quite sloppy with a few spots just failing to connect. Things would grow worse when fans got the ending they didn’t want with Flair winning back the title. Banks lost before she could even get a successful defense and had it end in a disappointing match everyone expected to be special.
2 AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura (WrestleMania 34)
The 2018 Royal Rumble win for Shinsuke Nakamura had fans excited for the dream match coming against AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34. Both men worked together on New Japan’s biggest show Wrestle Kingdom years prior to have a classic.
The expectations were there for a five-star classic and fans instead received a mediocre bout. Styles and Nakamura lost the crowd as the match dragged on with no real excitement. The only memorable moment came after the match when Nakamura turned heel.
1 Brock Lesnar vs Triple H (Summerslam 2012)
One of the few dream matches missed from Brock Lesnar during his first WWE stint in 2002-2004 was a singles match against Triple H. Following his first return match against John Cena, Lesnar entered a long storyline with Triple H for the first time in their careers.
Summerslam 2012 was the first of their matches with the No DQ stipulation. Lesnar defeated Triple H in a match that failed to live up to a decade of anticipation. The top stars had no chemistry and gave us a weak main event. Their next two matches continued to disappoint as Lesnar and Triple H never got on the same page.