The WORST Wrestling Moment Every Year (1989 - 2025)

7. 2019 | Erick Rowan’s Doppelganger

Terri Runnels
WWE

2019 was the worst year in WWE history, so competition is fierce. 

At Hell In A Cell, infamously, a match between the Fiend and Seth Rollins was thrown out when Seth threatened to blast the Fiend with a smaller hammer than the mallet the Fiend would have been allowed to use earlier in the match. This is notorious as a “WWE is completely f*cked” moment, but don’t worry: the invincible supernatural entity got its heat back in the post-match!

Everything about that programme was dire. Seth cowered in fear and burst into tears when the Fiend first confronted him - a display of godawful selling, especially compared to Finn Bálor’s subtle trepidation ahead of the SummerSlam match. Then, after the Hell In A Cell debacle, WWE ran the match back at Crown Jewel. The stipulation and match graphic was hilarious - a euphemism for “Jesus Christ we’re giving you a finish, relax”. 

As terrible as this was, you could argue that there is an audience for it. A not inconsiderable amount of people love supernatural stuff, irrespective of its quality. 

In the summer, Roman Reigns was attacked by a mystery assailant. This attempted murder was a terrible angle in and of itself, but then, when Erick Rowan was suspected as the perp, he hired a doppelganger, who just happened to be there, to throw Roman and Daniel Bryan off the scent. The very fact that a babyface briefly considered this a possibility was a disgrace. 

Kayla Braxton’s reaction to the original attack was almost Seth Rollins-tier bad. Almost. 

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!