10 Most Disappointing WWE Matches Of 2016 (So Far)

6. Roman Reigns Vs. AJ Styles - WWE Payback 2016

Brock Lesnar Dean Ambrose WrestleMania 32
WWE.com

Content-wise, this was damn good indeed. Roman in particular did very well to keep up with and not get overshadowed by the on-fire AJ Styles. Lost amidst the ire Reigns draws is the uncomfortable truth that his bouts with AJ were comfortably better than Chris Jericho's.

The disappointment was the inevitable screwy finish, which presented itself with a lurching inevitability. It is mandated in WWE that the first pay per view main event match (and most others, come to think of it) between two new opponents cannot end decisively. To do that, another challenger would have to be sufficiently built up in the meantime, and that's just far too much work.

Worse still, this was cut short, just as it was getting really good, by everybody's favourite WWE trope - McMahon Melodrama. By the time the match was restarted by Shane McMahon following Styles' count-out 'victory', the sense of inevitability worsened. It was a matter of time before some other contrived spot would result in Styles' disqualification to bring out Stephanie.

While it didn't suck all of the air from the room at the time, this diminished Attitude Era return still sabotaged what was an otherwise gripping bout.

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!