10 Classic Wrestling Matches You Didn't Know Bombed

8. The Rock And John Cena Vs. The Miz & R-Truth - WWE Survivor Series 2011

Elimination Chamber Triple H
WWE

More seminal moment than classic match - this was the Rock, returning from a stratosphere of celebrity unprecedented in wrestling for his first match in seven years - it bombed.

On the November 14, 2011 go-home RAW, the Rock cut a promo to sell the match, summoning his opponents, the Awesome Truth, from the back. Miz threatened to leave Rock a "beaten, quivering mess". The crowd, incredulous, chanted "What?"

They might have been incredulous, at the idea of buying the Miz and R-Truth as opponents, because Cena arrived on the scene and responded to this violent threat by asking the Miz if he was wearing make-up.

He then turned his attention towards the Rock - this segment and match was all pretext to build to WrestleMania, not that it necessarily had to be accomplished by killing a not unpromising main event run - and the partners-cum-rivals exchanged some slick back-and-forth à la the frenemies first act of a buddy movie. A crap one.

Miz and Truth, furious at the disrespect, tried to go on the attack. They were annihilated in nanoseconds.

The Rock's first match in seven years was sold on the idea that we might see an early glimpse of Rock Vs. Cena, and since that's what the pull-apart TV brawl is for, Survivor Series 2011 drew a meagre 281,000, down on SummerSlam's Cena/CM Punk sequel.

Maybe the guy had a point...

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 current Undisputed WWE 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!