10 Classic Wrestling Matches You Didn't Know Bombed

5. Bret Hart Vs. Steve Austin - WWF WrestleMania 13

Elimination Chamber Triple H
WWE.com

Sold to the public last-minute at the culmination of a cursed and fascinating WrestleMania build as part one of a main event double-header, this was perceived internally as the match that would sell the show.

Contrary to its seminal legacy - it is the most transformative match in company history, both financially and literally, in its phenomenally precise and ambitious story - it performed horrendously on pay-per-view.

The match didn't merely fail to draw an acceptable buy in a down period for business; for only the second time in the history of the company, a WrestleMania show was out-drawn by the Royal Rumble (244,000 > 237,000) in the same calendar year.

And if it didn't quite break that record, it broke another: with the obvious, asterisked exceptions of the post-Network pay-per-view numbers, WrestleMania 13 is the worst-performing WrestleMania show of all time. That includes the first edition, held at a time when the platform was in its infancy and available to significantly fewer homes.

This is the pink-dyed soul of Bret Hart fandom in your writer, but it's almost paradoxically impressive in retrospect, this number, an indictment on the build, the company's stolen buzz, the stagnant aesthetic, everything - and that Austin transcended that to pull in the second best number in the history of the show, a year later, is the ultimate testament to how excellently the Submission match was executed.

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!