10 Times Stipulations Ruined Wrestling Matches

Hands literally tied.

chris jericho
WWE.com

There are certain stipulation matches, from wrestling's (in)glorious past, which never stood a chance of succeeding - irrespective of the talent involved.

Take TNA's Reverse Battle Royal, the first (!) of which took place in 2006. Several very talented men comprised the match - Bobby Roode and AJ Styles, among them - the stipulation of which meant that they had to enter the ring from the outside. Vince Russo loved him a good swerve. You know what's better than wrestling, wrestling fans? The opposite, bro!

Any rational-thinking wrestler would have just scrambled over the top rope in a running race. But, as if to condemn Russo as the most illogical man ever to be handed the reins of three (!) massively-financed creative regimes, he scripted them to stand around and take turns to punch one another. The problem is that many were left standing without a sparring partner. They looked moronic by not entering the ring.

If you ever feel inclined to give Russo the benefit of the doubt - hey, he had some good ideas in the Attitude Era! - just remember that the man pressed on and booked this abomination of a match twice. Matches of such counterproductive, brain-melting illogic are, inexplicably, commonplace - but they were destined to fail.

Here, we revisit ten matches that might have worked - but conclusively did not...

10. Triple H Vs. Randy Orton - WWE WrestleMania 25th Anniversary (Triple H Loses Title If Disqualified)

chris jericho
WWE

The ideal wrestling storyline should start with an inciting incident, before scaling itself back, building towards a crescendo, culminating in a high-stakes match when the anticipation is at its highest. It's like a pop album in that respect - start with an anthem, but don't overload the senses - otherwise, the listener is unable to fully immerse themselves in the experience.

The Triple H Vs. Randy Orton feud of 2009 contravened all wrestling logic by unfolding in reverse. Orton, having signalled his intention to challenge for Triple H's WWE title following his Royal Rumble win, engaged in psychological warfare with the McMahon family. It was an interesting meta-textual wrinkle to a worn out pairing; Randy Orton, having already punted Vince and Shane McMahon, drilled Stephanie with an RKO. It was at this point that Triple H acknowledged, directly, that Stephanie was his wife, grunting hilariously like a dragon down the camera.

After backstage confrontations and wild home invasion angles, the two met in the ring...in a match wherein Triple H would lose if he was disqualified. The story was begging for some deranged stipulation. What we got, admittedly, did make some semblance of sense - but it guaranteed and sure enough delivered an anti-climax.

Triple H has since blamed the placement of the match for its failure, and while it could not have followed the Undertaker Vs. Shawn Michaels G.O.A.T-level classic, it was hamstrung by the creative decisions of a regime he lorded over.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!