9 Wrestlers Who Had Their WORST Match EVER This Year

5. MICKIE JAMES Vs. Maki Itoh (WrestleCon Mark Hitchcock Memorial SuperShow)

Mickie James
WWE.com

The hell was this?

The action in Mickie James Vs. Maki Itoh was wretched. The mat wrestling was frigate-slow and horrendously loose at a level that you could scarcely believe. Itoh is a comedy act, but she’s not the worst technical wrestler alive. James isn’t a world-beater, but has played a key role in some genuinely very good efforts over the years. They weren’t trying to have a great match, as would be revealed, but they might have taken the punchline much too far. Apropos of nothing, Mickie James interrupted the match by leading the crowd in chants of “Meltzer sucks!”

It was as if she was giving herself an alibi to excuse a shockingly bad match, subpar even by the standards of a phoned-in WrestleMania Weekend fart-around, using Meltzer’s reputation to shield herself from criticism. The match must have been good, if that mark hated it!

This desperate attempt to hide under the veil of irony and entertainment was pathetic.

Sucking wind, James then promised those fans that they were going to see some of the best wrestling ever, did Dude Love’s knee dance…horribly, and initiated a sing-off. Itoh’s song was bad. Mickie’s was excruciating. Radiating intensely unlikeable energy, James crowbarred far too many syllables into a rendition of ‘Hardcore Country’ designed to mock her opponent. She got badly lost at one point, and could only laugh nervously. This was an unintentional, roaring success of a cringe comedy. James, without realising it, created a skit about a narcissist dying onstage.

The rest of the match was almost as poor. James completely whiffed on a superkick, and Itoh seemed to forget how to take a DDT twice.

This was one of the most astonishing spectacles in modern wrestling history. Mickie James did the whole “I’m not owned!” bit before anybody even owned her.

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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!