10 Mistakes That Actually Enhanced WWE Matches

Making the best of bad situations.

john cena batista royal rumble 2005
WWE.com

Mistakes suck and are the bane of any pro wrestler's performance, right?

Match-ruining botches like Owen Hart's sickening piledriver on Steve Austin at SummerSlam 1997, or the massive ref f*ck up during WrestleMania 35's all-female main event take people out of the moment and kill the buzz terribly. What about those mistakes that actually enhance things though? Nobody talks much about them.

When wrestlers are able to launch a daring (often last-minute) rescue mission to salvage wounded pride, mask potential injury or just say, 'Hey, we screwed up - move on and watch this!'), they can actually capitalise on an error and make it part of the show. That takes real talent, and a bit of luck, but it's possible and can lead to even more drama than anyone first planned before they dashed through the curtain.

That's part of the beauty pro wrestling provides. Workers, if skilled enough, can turn mortifying nightmare scenarios into memorable magic that becomes iconic for decades. This, admittedly, isn't by design. These guys just wanted to gloss over their blunders and get through the night unscathed.

Yeah, about that...

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Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.