10 Worst WWE Matches Of 2020

1. Money In The Bank Ladder Match - Money In The Bank

Doink the Clown money in the bank
WWE.com

How do you f*ck up a violent and exciting thrill ride that raises the temperature even when you can see the wires?

A match with stakes that guarantees the next World Champion?

You, amid a pandemic with a terrifying financial toll, in which almost the entire employed global population has cause to worry about their job security, pen a gag in which two World Champion-calibre combat athletes sh*t themselves in fright at messing up a demented billionaire's fancy office. The billionaire - who refused to test his independent contractors for a potentially deadly virus, leading to several outbreaks - sanitised his hands afterwards. Good.

Good escapism.

A madcap chase "movie" in the cinematic genre WWE desperately embraced - because the show without the bright lights revealed the rotten stench - there was very little wrestling in it beyond some stray Yes! kicks and an actually amusing Asuka balcony dive. The match instead played out as a series of slapstick gags and nostalgia cameos.

HAHAHAHA there's Brother Love! Isn't it crazy that such a character works in Titan Towers?!

Yes, actually. He's a useless sycophantic dinosaur.

LOL that's Doink!

Well...it sure doesn't look like Doink. Not remotely. But it's still one of the all-time classic gags. Simply...looking at a clown, doing nothing. One remembers maniacally crying with laughter staring at an empty McDonald's wrapper as a fresh-faced youngster.

At one point, Dana Brooke slipped on a wet floor in a rush to the roof. She seemed to really, really hurt herself. This might have functioned as a sight gag, had the entire field stopped fighting to do the collective point-and-laugh. But instead, very dramatic music played over the oldest slapstick joke ever told. As a tonal failure, this was a bit like inserting a laugh track in Schindler's List.

An astonishing failure to craft simple comedy that had the temerity to depict WWE as a wacky and fun place to work - after firing so many people weeks prior - this was among the very worst things the company has ever produced.

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!