WWE: 13 Hilariously Bad Gimmick Matches

2. The Empty Arena Match

This one may get some people upset: there are a ton of diehard fans who really liked the match when the first WWE Empty Arena Match aired. It was a special edition of Sunday Night Heat called Halftime Heat, which aired during the SuperBowl. In order to get football fans to switch over to wrestling, Halftime Heat had a main event WWE Championship match between The Rock and Mankind. Sounds awesome, doesn't it? Most everyone had no idea what an Empty Arena Match meant, but they were willing to give it a shot. Viewing the match for the first time, most fans loved it, but looking back on it now, there are so many faults to this kind of match, and you have to question why anyone thought that taking the fans out of the wrestling equation would be a good idea? It's understandable that they wanted to try something different: if nobody was around except for the referee to make the count, then these wrestlers would just do about anything to one another. Except they really didn't do all that much. Granted, when they started fighting in the offices and catering sections there were many good laughs to be had because The Rock had plenty of one liners to spit out, but the action wasn't as great as it was billed. Outstanding characters like The Rock and Mankind were what made the match bearable, but if you took them out of there and replaced them with two other wrestlers, it likely wouldn't have been nearly as memorable. The main issue with this match type is that the audience is meant to be a part of the show. The fans who chant and cheer and boo are helping dictate the pace of the match. When something big's about to happen, the fans response accordingly. When the wrestlers are going back and forth pummelling each other in the face, the fans are there to kick things up a notch. Without the fans, a wrestling match is simply watching two guys play fighting for 15 to 20 minutes.