10 Bowling Shoe Ugly Wrestling Matches

By Jamie Kennedy /

3. Michael Cole vs. Jerry Lawler (WWE WrestleMania XXVII)

During a radio interview several years ago, Michael Cole laughed as he remembered hearing how long his match at Wrestlemania XXVII would be. There was a reason for the bout, because Cole had been hamming it up as a heel for months, getting on the nerves of Jerry 'The King' Lawler. Having the pair face off in a comedy match was fine, but surely not at WrestleMania? Backstage, the announcer couldn't believe when he was told that the segment would be given more than 20 minutes of TV time on the Pay-Per-View. That included entrances, but it was still a long time. By comparison, Randy Orton and CM Punk the match before had been given the same restraints. That's an incredible thought, especially when analysing that the main event between John Cena and The Miz only lasted around 5 minutes longer. Steve Austin was installed as the Special Guest Referee, and Jack Swagger patrolled ringside. Neither could help make the match anything other than an overlong disaster. Cole would win the match by disqualification, which didn't even give the Lawler - as the babyface - the satisfaction of a WrestleMania win. Cole vs. Lawler was interminable, and should never have lasted as long as it did.