20 WWE Royal Rumble Undercard Nightmares

17. Brock Lesnar Vs Hardcore Holly (2004)

Yokozuna Undertaker
WWE.com

Thankfully kept short in an effort to ensure Lesnar's credibility wasn't remotely damaged by having to look competitive with the former 'Sparky Plugg', Brock's WWE Title defence against Hardcore Holly was a systematic destruction that proved the clash didn't really belong on the show at all.

Admirably playing off a legitimate neck injury Hardcore Holly suffered at Lesnar's hands nearly two years previous, 'The Superheavyweight' returned in late-2003 as a fired-up babyface shouting about returning the favour, ending 'The Beast's career and taking his title.

None of the threats looked even close to happening during their scrap, of course, which created a confusing atmosphere after the build-up had centred around Holly fearlessly going on the attack in a way nobody had previously tried against Brock.

Clutching a waistlock submission after an early assault, Lesnar ground Holly down, unleashed a barrage of power moves, then promptly finished him off with the F5 for a pointlessly easy win. So dominant in victory that he mainly received cheers upon exiting, the months-long experiment with Holly just felt like a waste of everybody's time, and lowered Brock's status for even having to compete in the first place.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett