8 Unbelievable Wrestling BLUNDERS You Totally Missed

When "It wouldn't have been a botch in the Tokyo Dome!" is actually true...

Jon Moxley's stupid glass bottle
AEW

Botches, by definition, are noticeable.

It was difficult, to use the preeminent example, not to miss the Shockmaster fall through the wall he was meant to burst through in a grand introduction. It was difficult to miss that his glittery Stormtrooper helmet had fallen off his head and that he desperately attempted to recover it. If you somehow missed that WCW's latest awful character had performed more awkwardly than Top Dolla attempting a space-flying tiger drop, the British Bulldog said what he saw in disbelief: "He fell flat on his fookin' arse!" he said, as Ric Flair practically moaned "Oh my God" in acute secondhand embarrassment. They say Tugboat was a lame character, but poor Fred Ottman drove through the plaster wall like an actual sea vessel battered by high winds. He lived the gimmick that day. Both, in fact.

It's not just Davey Boy: in the event that a wrestler makes an error, on the off-chance stinging embarrassment isn't rushing into every pore of their body, wrestling fans will scream "You f***ed up!" at them at the top of their lungs. The viewers at home might not have noticed that the spell of disbelief has been broken. The fans in the arena are doing you a service.

But what about those botches that didn't generate those helpful chants...?

8. When The Referee Tried To F*** On Ted Dibiase, Jr.

Jon Moxley's stupid glass bottle
WWE.com

The thing about SmackDown in 2011 is that, if it wasn't the Christian Vs. Randy Orton programme or Mark Henry's Hall of Pain run, a member of the audience could sprout wings and take flight and no bugger would notice, since Ezekiel Jackson Vs. Heath Slater had bored them into catatonic state. There was little chance, then, of anybody noticing a mess-up even on a fairly significant scale.

That isn't even snarky!

Did anybody on the planet sense something amiss with Daniel Bryan, Ezekiel Jackson and Sin Cara Vs. Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase, Jr. and Wade Barrett from the June 17, 2011 SmackDown?

No: this match only became infamous years later when Cody Rhodes told the story behind it at Starrcast 2018.

This the match in which sabotage was afoot, since the referee tried to "f*** on" Ted DiBiase, Jr.

Meant to go within the 12-15 minute range, it ended after five when Bryan weirdly pinned Ted after a corner dropkick. Now, Cody claimed at Starrcast that DiBiase failed to kick out - the story is much funnier when it paints Ted as this absolute doof - but if you go back and watch the match, he only goes and makes Kurt Angle's 2.99 blush. Then again, it's no wonder the referee counted. Firstly, Ted had never done anything that good (or anything good). Secondly, you save that dramatic timing for WrestleMania, and not for a card with - and this absolutely isn't a joke - Jinder Mahal Vs. Vladimir Kozlov on it.

If the referee was trying "f*** on" DiBiase, Jr., he got his win back at the expense of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

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!