WWE Matches That Were PAINFUL To Watch
5. Finn Bálor Vs Kyle O'Reilly (NXT TakeOver 31)
Kyle O'Reilly wasn't yet in the midst of a singles run when he challenged Finn Bálor for the NXT Championship in late-2020, and it would in fact be his own title aspirations coming before the goals of Adam Cole that helped drive the wedge between the stablemates the following year. Based on how this and that turned out (more on that elsewhere...), perhaps sticking to the doubles division with Bobby Fish and Roderick Strong would have been a safer bet.
A divisive match in the moment for its stiffness and after-effects, it's ultimately a fairly forgotten one in the years that have passed. This doesn't exactly vindicate those that were put off by the real injuries suffered, but it does reignite the never-ending debate about when exactly is the right time to go as full bore as Champion and Challenger did here.
Full-force-to-the-face was the order of the day and the pair got all of it. O'Reilly was taken away after the show to try and fix a number of broken teeth and get checked for liver damage, and Bálor's fate was worse - he had to undergo surgery for a broken jaw.