10 Wrestling Matches That Are So Bad They Are Hilariously Awesome

One of the great pleasures for film fans is the sheer delight that can come from watching a movie that is so bad, it’s good. 

Whether it is something like Plan 9 From Outer Space or one of the glorious gems from Hulk Hogan's woeful attempt to break into the film business, bad films can provide a different kind of entertainment that taps into the more sadistic elements of our sense of humour.

Wrestling is really no different in this regard.

While we all love a five-star mat classic, and we all get infuriated by moments that insult our intelligence, there are sequences that defy the odds and still entertain despite the ineptitude of everyone involved. 

These are the moments that make the fabled crossover from ‘awful' to ‘awesome' because their overwhelming crapness can't help but make you laugh and enjoy them.

Given the enormous popularity of the fantastic video series Botchmania, it’s clear that the appreciation of bad wrestling has been steadily on the rise for a good while now. 

And that’s a great thing. We need to have a sense of humour about this ridiculous art form that we all so dearly love.

Thus, I am going to wax nostalgic on some of the awful matches that have also become some of my favourites over the years. While these bouts are undoubtedly all straight-up toxic waste, I still defy anyone to sit there and watch them without getting cracking a smile from the chaos that ensues.

Let’s start with one of the most recent examples of a clusterbomb in which hilarity ensues.

WWE match quality has increased considerably over the years, and while there are still no shortage of botches, you don't get to see a full-blown meltdown as much as you used to.

The IC Title Match at Elimination Chamber last year demonstrated how precarious this state of affairs really is, though. I have watched this match at least half a dozen times now, and it is yet to get old. 

It appeals to the most base aspects of my sense of humour. It's like watching a terrible comic die on stage, or witnessing a magician accidentally choose the wrong card. I'm not proud of it, but damn I find this disaster endlessly hilarious.

Watching the sheer confusion and befuddlement on the faces of every single person involved when Mark Henry’s glass accidentally pops out is breathtaking.  

Watching Mark Henry just stand idly by as Ziggler and Barrett go about actually fighting is beyond cringe-inducing. Listening to the increasingly flustered commentators incomprehensibly try and explain what's happening, is just gorgeously painful in so many ways. 

And when Dolph Ziggler finally cracks and just stops the match to direct everyone on what to do, you can basically hear Vince McMahon have an aneurysm backstage.

The match goes from potential highlight to legendary snafu within minutes, and it demonstrates the danger of what can happen when something goes south on live TV. 

However, while it is objectively awful for so, so, so many obvious reasons, it's even more entertaining for these same scenarios.