The WORST Wrestling Story Every Year (1989-2025)
2021 - Shayna Baszler Vs. Lilly
On the May 31 WWE Raw, Shayna Baszler, a former mixed martial arts fighter with a more than decent 15-11 record, lost to Reginald: sommelier, acrobat, and comedy character. The result happened because Lilly, the demonically possessed doll carried around by the supernaturally powered Alexa Bliss, caused the distraction by apparently making the ring post pyro erupt.
It should be noted here that many pundits refused to bury this stuff at the time, only reclassifying it as something we’re all glad to be rid of when Triple H took over main roster creative a year later.
Later in the show, a furious Baszler attacked Reginald, who was being interviewed by Alexa Bliss on her swing set. Shayna leaned forward and told Lilly that she was just a stupid doll. (She wasn’t wrong.)
The demonic entity that broke all known natural law - about whom no other characters cared, so long as they weren’t feuding with Alexa Bliss - set about tormenting Shayna for her disrespect and lack of belief, leading to an infamous Raw cliffhanger a little while later.
Lilly the doll stalked and terrorised and apparently murdered Baszler in the backstage area. On every conceivable level, this was some of the worst TV ever produced of any genre.
It wasn’t scary, and it made no sense in the context of the fictional world. It ruined the credibility of a unique and effective performer. It was the sort of fictional atrocity that reinforced the idea that wrestling is stupid, and everybody who watches it is stupid, too.