10 Biggest WWE Pay-Per-View Disappointments

9. Shawn Michaels Vs Ric Flair (Bad Blood 2003)

Goldberg The Rock
WWE

Dwarfed in stature compared to their outstanding WrestleMania 24 clash five years later, this first televised meeting of two of the all-time greats failed to live up to the billing and suffered the ignominy of being tucked away on a B-show in 2003.

Going less than fifteen minutes during Monday Night Raw's first post-Brand Extension pay-per-view, Flair and Michaels couldn't get going in the contest, with 'The Nature Boy' leaning on his cheapest heel spots as a member of Evolution whilst Michaels tried to find the vim that had spilled over during his outstanding feud with Chris Jericho earlier in the year.

Resorting to shortcuts at the end of a laboured affair, Michaels needlessly splashed Flair through a table at ringside and was about to polish off his opponent with Sweet Chin Music until Ric's 'Evolution' buddy Randy Orton waffled him with a steel chair for a callously cheap finish.

Considered a dream match in real life and storylines, the brawl was an inexcusable non-event between two iconic figures that only served to preserve the value of the flagging heel stable ahead of Triple H's World Title victory over Kevin Nash later in the night.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett