10 Dumbest WWE Match Finishes This Decade

6. The Wyatts Fight Fire With Water (SummerSlam 2013)

Harper Fire
WWE.com

Infamously muddled in execution, this was the very definition of an inauspicious start.

The object of this 'Ring Of Hell' match wasn't to set one's opponent on fire, but to ward off Wyatt Family members Luke Harper and Erick Rowan in a way that was apparently, vaguely more supernatural than a steel cage, if the most definitively human of discoveries counts. Cole's assertion that the flames created 'an ominous background' was apparently meant to induce us into a state of terror.

Bray Wyatt was hyped prior to this in-ring main roster debut to be the new face of fear, the latest in a select line of wrestlers somehow able to control an entire arena's lighting system. That he resorted in the finish of this match to having his backwoods henchmen douse the ringside flames with something as hilariously mundane and incongruously technological as fireproof matting instantly diminished his otherworldly aura.

That he didn't become a Shockmaster-like footnote following it is a testament to his commitment to the role and little but the sheer potential it brings. It took at least a year for that to happen.

In contrast, Kane in his debut appearance had ripped a chained-up door from its hinges, set the ring posts alight, and decimated The Undertaker.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick (Creative Writing BA Hons) is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over a decade of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential UK 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 AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and 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!