The True Story Behind The WORST Wrestling Show In History

by Michael Sidgwick
Jake Roberts Snake
WWE.com

What happened, ultimately, is that wrestling got hot, and an aspirational (but utterly hapless) carny tried to capitalise on the trend. He was worked by those that the national promotions wanted nothing to do with; Neidhart refused to do a job 30 minutes before the show started, and, in a moment of poetry, he was bit by the snake he tried to rescue. The production crew cut the only match of any athletic value short because they felt it wasn't consistent with the values of the show: ancient, hokey schtick with a problematic undercurrent. This was fated to be a depressing anti-punchline by everybody involved.

Heroes of Wrestling drew 2,300 largely disinterested punters to Casino Magic in St. Louis - once a proud territory, in a rather depressing postscript - and just 29,000 on pay-per-view, failing to break even through the hoped-for 41,000 buys. There was never a Heroes of Wrestling 2, as was intended.

The Sheik's kneecaps, and the entire wrestling world, were thankful.

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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 surefire Undisputed WWE Universal 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!