8 Genius Ways Wrestlers Got Out Of Terrible Matches

By Gareth Morgan / June 29, 2024

There are those matches that leave fans, and even the performers themselves, punching the air with glee at the mere mention of them possibly being booked.

Those contests that involve an exciting up-and-coming talent clashing with a legendary veteran. The battles which see two former pals finally coming to blows inside of the squared-circle. Or even just a few of the strongest technical performers on the planet meeting to see who really has the right to call themselves the true best in the business.

Then you have the opposite.

The bouts that looked and sounded like an absolutely terrible idea from the minute someone even hinted at throwing them onto a card.

And unsurprisingly, at least one person in the following potentially dreadful showdowns saw the writing on the wall and decided they needed to do whatever it took to escape an incoming disaster. Rather than just simply nope-ing these awful-looking fights, though, this lot used some far more fascinating and clever methods to get out of an undesirable situation.

So, from choosing to recruit a specific member as a way of avoiding throwing down with them (again), to scheduling surgery just before a career-halting squash, here are those wrestlers who dodged bad matches in some rather smart ways.

8. Brian Pillman Has Surgery To Get Out Of Hulk Hogan Squashing Him

As 1995 rolled into 1996, Brian Pillman was quickly growing into one of the hottest and most intriguing acts in all of wrestling.

His "Loose Cannon" gimmick was incredibly captivating, with fans unsure about what in the hell the unstable performer would do next as he blurred the lines between kayfabe and reality.

And with the WCW star's rise being pretty hard to ignore, it inevitably caught the attention of a certain blonde haired icon known for dropping the leg, brother!

Coming into WCW Uncensored 1996, the original plan was seemingly to have nine heels face off against Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage in a Doomsday Cage match, instead of the mere eventual eight The Mega Powers fought. Pillman would have been one of these villains that 'The Hulkster' ultimately conquered on the night, a move that likely wouldn't have done that edgy, new gimmick much good at the time.

So, as Dave Meltzer would later recall on Wrestling Observer Radio (via WrestlingInc), Pillman realised he needed to find a way to get out of the potentially career-halting match, and decided that now would be a perfect time to get the surgery he was required to have every few years to remove polyps in his throat. 

He could have had it any point, but smartly chose this precise moment for obvious reasons.

Pillman didn't tell his employers he was going under the knife, and WCW weren't exactly happy about the fact he now couldn't compete so soon after the procedure. 

But that quick-thinking meant that the icon brilliantly managed to dodge a contest he sensed was going to be an all-time stinker beforehand. And he was right, with it picking up that year's WON award for Worst Match of the Year.