A couple of months ago, WhatCulture.com proudly presented an article entitled, 20 Most Epic Wrestling Matches That Weren't Supposed To Be Epic. These were matches that were, for all intents and purposes, given the sort of time to play out generally reserved for mid-card bouts, but wound up far exceeding the critical expectations set by their limited length. Stylistically, the participants involved were forced into the unenviable task of trying to pull off the equivalent of telling a Hollywood Oscar-winning performance in the length of a shoot 'em up, bang bang action flick. Yet, they are rightfully celebrated for somehow pulling it off. Today, we look at the opposite end of the spectrum at matches that carried with them expectations at a level that would have made Charles Dickens notice. Yet, instead of achieving a status set to be celebrated through the annals of wrestling lore, they were anything but great. The wrestlers had main-event quality television time to build their rivalries and ample opportunity to tell their stories from bell-to-bell without having to cut a blistering pace or over accentuate high spots, but they had the show stolen right out from under them, at best, or stunk out the joint, at worst. Their matches were supposed to be epic, but they turned out to be massive failures by comparison.
"The Doc" Chad Matthews has written wrestling columns for over a decade. A physician by trade, Matthews began writing about wrestling as a hobby, but it became a passion. After 30 years as a wrestling fan, "The Doc" gives an unmatched analytical perspective on pro wrestling in the modern era. He is a long-time columnist for Lordsofpain.net and hosts a weekly podcast on the LOP Radio Network called "The Doc Says." His first book - The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment - ranks the Top 90 wrestlers from 1983 to present day, was originally published in December 2013, and is now in its third edition.
Matthews lives in North Carolina with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.
