10 Weird Wrestling Matches That Drew Incredible TV Ratings

8. The Undertaker vs. Barry Windham (Raw - 27 April 1998) - 6.06

The Undertaker Barry Windham
WWE Network

There was a time when Barry Windham might have been an excellent opponent for The Undertaker. 1998 wasn't that time: Windham looked washed up, (slightly) out of shape and, to top it all off, he was stuck in a dreadful NWA reprise that felt badly out of place in the Attitude Era.

It'd be easy to look at the 6.06 quarter hour score Windham's match got on the 27 April 1998 Raw and credit The Undertaker and Kane alone. After all, 'Taker did call out his kayfabe brother post-match and that was 100% more interesting than Windham being squashed.

Although fair to claim The Undertaker vs. Kane story sold the segment, it doesn't alter the fact that a past-his-prime Windham was in the match when people started tuning in at the top of the hour. To illustrate how shocking the 6.06 score was, that evening's headline WWF Title match between Steve Austin and Goldust drew a 6.00.

Yes, that's another win for the squash artists over the hottest star in the industry at the time.

Advertisement
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.