10 Great Wrestling Feuds With Awful Payoff Matches

7. Bret Hart Vs. Jerry Lawler

Kane Undertaker WrestleMania XIV
WWE.com

Initially, this was a feud that wrote itself. Bret Hart had just won the 1993 King of the Ring, while trash-talking heel Jerry Lawler had long been known as The King. Lawler saw himself as the only person worthy of the crown, and so he took umbrage with Hart’s new status. Ta-da!

While this rivalry started off on such simple footing, the payoff to this feud was absolutely painful to watch. After Lawler was able to talk his way out of several matches with The Hitman – such as faking injury at SummerSlam ’93 or having the villainous Hakushi go after Hart – the pair eventually met at the 1994 edition of King of the Ring. In a stipulation nobody asked for, the loser of the match would have to kiss the victor’s feet.

Yes, you have the greatest technical wrestler in history (bold yet true) in a feud against one of the most charismatic brawlers the business has even seen, yet the hotly anticipated match between the two is built around crusty feet and dirty socks. *Sigh*

Unfortunately, that King of the Ring ’94 match – which Bret won – wasn’t the end of this rivalry, as Lawler brought in his own personal dentist to feud with The Excellence of Execution. You might know him better as Kane, but back then he was simply Isaac Yankem.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.