10 Wrestling "Botches" That Were Totally Intentional

5. WWE's Very Very Weird Self-Own

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Vince McMahon is a weird man who, every now and then, gets some f*cking mad idea in his head that simply has to happen, whether it makes any sense or not.

At WrestleMania 35, Becky Lynch captured the RAW and SmackDown Women's Titles by countering Ronda Rousey's Piper's Pit with a crucifix pin. Rousey's shoulder was up, but the ref counted the three regardless. This actual botch ended The Man's journey on anticlimactic note, not that they wouldn't have f*cked it all up by putting her in a main event with Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans, but anyway.

At Money In The Bank later in the year, Rey Mysterio captured the United States Title from Samoa Joe in an 01:33 match that you'd never have remembered, had you not been reminded just now. Joe's shoulder was up; again, the ref counted to three regardless.

The commentary team gave what was an incredibly weird game away by repeatedly calling attention to the error and not desperately scrambling to cover it with some frantic bullsh*t explanation.

The idea, just to clarify, was this:

"We didn't botch the 'Mania finish specifically guys, it wasn't an isolated incident, our referees are just incompetent."

This...didn't help make the 'Mania finish any better. It was like a first degree murder defendant saying "No, no, I didn't kill that person. I killed them and somebody else in addition, therefore I plead not guilty".

If that reads as incredibly stupid, remember, it's WWE.

 
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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!