10 BOTCHED WWE Match Finishes

There’s an old maxim in wrestling that the only thing that really matters and the thing fans will mostly remember is a match’s finish. That’s rubbish, of course, but there is a grain of truth to the statement during certain matches.

One thing is for sure and that is that you definitely don’t want to go to the trouble of wrestling a match and putting the time and effort in, only for things to go awry right at its conclusion.

It’s happened to plenty of wrestlers before, even some of WWE’s biggest superstars on the grandest of stages.

These are 10 botched WWE match finishes.

10. Natalya & Great Khali vs. AJ Lee & Big E - Raw, August 12, 2013

I know what you’re thinking looking at that lineup of talent: just how did the Great Khali manage to screw this up and how bad was the damage?

Well, it might shock you to hear that the Punjabi Playboy was an innocent bystander as this intergender tag match fell apart in its dying seconds. It might shock you even more to hear that a wet-behind-the-ears Big E, not long on the main roster by this point, also wasn’t to blame.

Rather it was Natalya and AJ Lee who managed to get their wires crossed and end the match on a confusing note. The Queen of Harts had the then-Divas Champion in the Sharpshooter, causing Lee to tap out. However, AJ began pounding the mat after Natalya had, curiously, let go of the hold.

When Natalya asked the referee to raise her hand, he informed her that she had not yet won and instructed her to reapply the hold, which she did.

Afterwards, commentator JBL noted that the contest had gone ‘off the rails’, with his broadcast partner Michael Cole clarifying that Natalya and Khali had in fact won.

9. Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles - Battleground 2017

A botched ending to a match is never welcomed, but it’s got to be especially disappointing when it happens on pay-per-view and a championship is on the line.

Obviously, with the increased stakes you would assume the pressure to deliver would be even higher than usual.

You would also assume that two performers of the quality and tenure of AJ Styles and Kevin Owens would be immune to such mistakes, but the finish to their United States Title at Battleground 2017 proved that even the most talented and experienced performers sometimes get it wrong.

Their match was going along well, when the Phenomenal One got KO in a submission hold and Owens rolled Styles over while it was still being applied.

The referee – who had been bumped beforehand – then groggily counted the pin on AJ, even though one of his shoulders was up.

The title changed hands, but that was not part of the plan and Styles was reportedly genuinely pretty upset about how the ending played out.

Seeking to remedy the situation, WWE booked The Prizefighter to defend his new prize against AJ and Chris Jericho in a triple-threat match on SmackDown two days later, with Styles pinning Y2J to regain the gold.

8. Too Cool vs. Edge, Christian, & Kurt Angle - Judgment Day 2000

The ending of Judgment Day 2000 is fondly remembered for its chaotic scenes, as The Undertaker returned at the climax of The Rock and Triple H’s WWE Title 60-minute Iron Man Match.

In the midst of all the mayhem, WWE actually removed the on-screen countdown clock in order to time it out right, not that fans really noticed or cared.

Fans also didn’t notice or care that they’d seen one other match finish go awry, with the ultra-hot opener between Too Cool & Rikishi and Edge, Christian & Kurt Angle not ending as originally planned.

Grandmaster Sexay hit Edge with the Hip-Hop Drop, with Rikishi rolling over for the pin as referee Teddy Long counted the three. But hold on a minute, playa, because Angle was supposed to break the count!

Unfortunately, the Olympian got there a fraction of a second too late and the ‘wrong’ team ended up going over while everyone involved looked bewildered.

WWE then booked the rematch for the next night on Raw, with team ECK getting the win they were booked to have the night before.

7. Divas Battle Royal - Raw, August 20, 2012

Kaitlyn was the surprise winner of a battle royal to determine the number one contender to the Divas Title on the August 20, 2012 episode of Raw.

A surprise to the fans, as well as a surprise to Kaitlyn herself, and a surprise to Eve Torres, who was really supposed to be the last lady standing. Kaitlyn had clotheslined Eve over the top rope to the floor to bag the title shot.

Torres should have landed on the ring apron and then eliminated Kaitlyn, but she misjudged the landing, a consequence of her instructing Kaitlyn to hit her ‘harder’.

The victor trudged backstage fearing that she would be fired for the mishap, but was instead met by Vince McMahon laughing hysterically at the Gorilla position. Far from mad, the boss clearly thought the snafu was funny.

Torres, full of adrenaline, was upset at the time, but the incident had the effect of bringing her and Kaitlyn closer together and they soon found themselves working a programme over the title.

WWE would have Eve injure Kaitlyn at Night of Champions and take her place in the Divas Title match against Layla.

6. Hardcore Battle Royal - WrestleMania 2000

With the Hardcore Championship on the line, 13 competitors fought for 15 minutes in a match that saw the title change hands on 11 occasions.

All of them, besides the final one, were inconsequential. Regrettably, the final one was the one that went wrong.

With seconds to spare, Hardcore Holly hit cousin Crash with a glass jar and pinned him for three with one second to spare.

It would have been a cool and exciting finish anyway, but they were supposed to time it so that the clock ran out on the count of two.

Referee Tim White believed that they were going to nail it, but the countdown in his earpiece did not correlate to the one shown on the big screen, and they were a second off.

Luckily, the Holly’s shared entrance music, and WWE put the situation right the next night on Raw by having the Elroy Jetson lookalike reclaim his ramshackle strap.

5. Rated-RKO vs. D-Generation X - New Year's Revolution 2007

While a lot of botched match endings are the result of timing issues or miscommunication, sometimes injuries can lead to confusion and cause the script to be thrown completely out of the window.

When Rated-RKO defended their World Tag Team Titles against DX at the 2007 New Year’s Revolution pay-per-view, it was supposed to end with Edge and Orton retaining the gold, leading to a bigger blowoff match in the future.

As they were nearing the close, The Game nailed the Legend Killer with a Spinebuster and blew out his quad.

Deciding to gut it out as he had almost six years earlier in similar circumstances, Hunter carried on despite being in tremendous pain, determined to finish the match.

A bizarre scene unfolded, with Triple H hobbling around and Orton at one point running into the ring with a chair, only to turn suddenly around and bail for no adequately explained reason.

Michaels, sensing things were falling apart and that it would benefit them to wrap things up sooner rather than later, decided to take matters into his own hands and punched the official before adlibbing a post-match beatdown.

4. Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio - SummerSlam 2005

Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio’s 2005 rivalry was long, controversial and one of the most heavily promoted storylines on WWE television.

After three pay-per-view matches between them (and a couple more on television), it required a suitably epic conclusion.

And what better way to end the soap opera than a Ladder Match at SummerSlam with the custody of Rey’s son Dominik at stake?

The match was a banger, as all Guerrero versus Mysterio matches invariably were, the stunts escalating and the drama ramping up as fans became more and more gripped by the action in anticipation of the outcome.

Sadly, the finish didn’t happen the way it was supposed to. At least not at the first time of asking. With Latino Heat trapping his foe under the ladder and climbing up to reach the briefcase suspended above, he was forced to (unnaturally) stall when his wife Vickie missed her cue to run in and prevent him from doing so.

Eddie and Rey improvised a spot to buy themselves some time, with Guerrero launching a loud, expletive-ridden tirade when he hit the mat. Guerrero then had to cool his temper and feign surprise when Vickie showed up a minute later.

Rey, naturally, went on to retain custody of his own son.

3. Kurt Angle vs. The Rock - No Way Out 2001

No Way Out 2001 was one of the strongest pay-per-views of its or, in fact, any era, chugging along at a terrific pace and culminating in a barnstorming WWE Title match between Kurt Angle and The Rock.

The two were giving it everything they had, unleashing a bunch of near falls as each man kicked out of his opponent’s finisher, from the Angle Slam or the People’s Elbow.

Referee Earl Hebner must have been as caught up in the action as the fans were, as he forgot the planned finish and hesitated on what was supposed to be the match-winning three count following a second Rock Bottom.

As the Olympic Hero told it years later, Earl must have forgotten about the first Rock Bottom and believed there was another one coming.

The Great One was less than thrilled and let the official know about it before picking Angle up and hitting him with yet another Rock Bottom to finally take the match home.

According to Kurt, Dwayne had cooled off by the time they got backstage and refrained from shoving something straight up Hebner’s candy ass.

2. 2005 Royal Rumble

The 2005 Royal Rumble was set to be the biggest night of Dave Batista’s career to that point.

The Animal had caught fire and WWE were in the middle of teasing a split between him and Evolution leader Triple H. Booked to win the Rumble, this would be the first stop on the road to a WrestleMania showdown with his mentor and then-World Heavyweight Champion.

And it almost didn’t happen. At the end of the Rumble, big Dave went to powerbomb John Cena when they lost their balance and tumbled backwards over the top rope to the floor.

In a merciful piece of good fortune, they happened to land at roughly the same time, which helped when it came to hastily arranging a re-do.

Once an apoplectic Vince McMahon had marched down to the ring and barked out instructions – infamously tearing both of his quads in the process – Batista and Cena were able to do the finish over and end the match with the correct winner.

Incidentally, this wasn’t the first time a Rumble finish had been botched, though The Rock and Big Show got away with it in 2000 and managed to incorporate it into storylines going forward.

1. Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair - WrestleMania 35

Fudging the finish to the Royal Rumble is bad but there are at least, in theory, ways to remedy the situation and make sure the right superstar makes it to the main event of WrestleMania.

Which is all well and good, but knackering up the finish of the most important match on the biggest show of the year? Well, that’s not so good.

It is, alas, the fate that befell Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in their WrestleMania 35 headliner.

It was a historic occasion, given that it was the first time women would be going on last at the Showcase of the Immortals.

Everything was set up nicely for The Man to finally dethrone Rowdy Ronda and win the Women’s Title, handing the ex-UFC star her first loss in the process. Lynch had crucifixed Rousey for the three, but it was clear that not only were Ronda’s shoulders not down, but it appeared she was in the process of actively kicking out.

Regardless, the bell rang to end an, in truth, underwhelming contest, with Rousey later clarifying that she was legitimately trying to get her shoulders down flat and didn’t realise the referee had already started his count.