History Horrible / ProfessionalWrestling

* The 1999 PPV ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R63jm5MdxT8 Heroes of]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yBOisPxoBk Wrestling]]''. Intended to be the first in a series of PPV's that showcased popular RingOldies and other wrestlers past the peaks of their careers. This idea was [[StillbornFranchise doomed from the getgo]] when it turned out the buyrate was just over half that of Wrestling/{{WWE}}'s worst from the era. But of course, it went downhill from there. The commentators were a pre-[[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]] Dutch Mantell and sportscaster Randy Rosenbloom, who was filling in for Wrestling/GordonSolie (this would have been Solie's final call, but he was suffering from throat cancer and was unable to attend due to failing health, passing away from it next year) because they [[MoneyDearBoy offered him more]] than the college football game he'd been scheduled for. Rosenbloom was completely out of his depth here, unable to properly call a single dropkick. Despite the concept, it featured a match between 34-year-old Wrestling/TooColdScorpio (too cracked-out to remember it) and 27-year-old rookie jobber Julio Dinero. Despite a "family-friendly" billing, Wrestling/AbdullahTheButcher did not at all dial back his trademark blading in a match against Wrestling/TheOneManGang. And despite being a main event, [[Wrestling/JakeRoberts Jake "The Snake" Roberts]] turned up drunk off his ass and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzwIo5O99vc made an idiot of himself.]] This forced the bookers to combine his match with Wrestling/JimNeidhart and the following, between Wrestling/KingKongBundy and Wrestling/{{Yokozuna}}, into an impromptu tag-team battle. That ended with Bundy pinning Jake... neither of whom were the legal man. Jake's alcoholic stupor completely overrode Yoko's efforts to play it off as booked, and ultimately forced the PPV to end early. But that pales in comparison to Wrestling/TheIronSheik and Wrestling/NikolaiVolkoff vs. Wrestling/TheBushwhackers. Bryan Alvarez of ''Wrestling Observer'' (of "[[Website/{{Botchamania}} MINUS. FI]][[PunctuatedForEmphasis VE. STARS.]]" fame) rated the match [[BrokeTheRatingScale "minus more stars than there are stars in the universe, and the universe is infinite"]]. Similarly, Dave Meltzer rated the match as "absolute zero" stars. [[note]](-459.67 stars on the Fahrenheit scale, or -273.15 stars on the Celsius scale)[[/note]] Tully Blanchard vs. "Sweet" Stan Lane was the only good match, and even that was ruined in the end: Lane pinned Tully with a back suplex, but his own shoulders were down as well due to poor bridging. When Tully got one shoulder up before the three count, Stan lost the match. When ''WebVideo/WrestlingWithWregret'''s Brian Zane [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iyxb87bddp4 covered the event]] alongside Adam Blampied, Brian argued that the event was, in fact, made by the Devil.

* National Wrestling Alliance:
** George Gulas was a nepotism hire, whose father Nick promoted NWA Mid-America until it went under in 1982. Nick pushed him relentlessly, despite his poor stage presence and overall ineptitude--even as a ''referee'', he got top billing. This reached its peak when George was booked against then NWA Champion Wrestling/HarleyRace, in an hour-long match that ended in a draw simply because Nick simply refused to let George lose, ever. This overbooking came at the expense of the promotion's reputation and ticket sales--not only did it cause Jerry Jarrett to walk out and found CWA[[note]]Because Nick Gulas tried to force him to push George in the territories he himself books for[[/note]], but its failure enabled him to buy NWA Mid-America out for pocket change four years later. Website/WrestleCrap takes a look at George's ignominious career [[https://www.wrestlecrap.com/inductions/george-gulas/ here.]]
** In November 2022, [[Wrestling/BrodusClay Tyrus]] not only became [[Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion]], but kept the title for nine months. On one hand, the move was seen as a cynical publicity stunt by NWA owner [[Music/SmashingPumpkins Billy Corgan]], seemingly trying to take advantage of Tyrus' connections to conservative political media; on the other, Tyrus was already pushing 50 when he won the title, and wherever he went, his in-ring skill never got better than a jobber's. By the ''NWA 75th Anniversary Show'', Tyrus was so blown up that [[https://twitter.com/IsThisWrestling/status/1695990575449678123 even an amateur]] could run the ropes better than he did; maybe it should be seen as a favor that Wrestling/EC3 retired Tyrus at ''NWA 75''. Tyrus later acknowledged that [[https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/tyrus-talks-his-decision-retire-says-he-will-still-be-part-nwa his body was breaking down]] during his title reign, and he had suggested the retirement stipulation, also adding that he [[https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/tyrus-explains-why-retiring-says-144401993.html he wanted to spend more time with his children]].
** '''NWA Samhain''' torpedoed the company's plans to get their show on Creator/TheCW, ultimately reducing its audience ''below'' the numbers they were getting on [=YouTube=]. The deciding factor was a spot in which Wrestling/JamesMitchell snorted coke--while it wasn't legit, the depiction was enough for the channel to change its mind about them. But even Website/WrestleCrap, during the spot's [[https://www.wrestlecrap.com/inductions/nwa-samhain/ 2023 Gooker Award co-winner induction]], conceded that it was far from the only thing wrong. The show was chock-full of ridiculous gimmick matches that defied NWA's post-2007 attempts at cultivating a grounded, 'return to basics' image: a LoserLeavesTown match that drug on until Wrestling/MattCardona came out, attacked both men, and squabbled with Billy Corgan on-screen for twice as long; a "Rock n' Roll" tag team match where each tag-out meant [[DrinkingGame taking a shot]]; a "Riddle Box" in which [[Music/InsaneClownPosse Violent J]] unwrapped comedy weapons (which stopped being funny two minutes in, let alone twelve); and a "Knights of the Round Table" match where only moves through a round table would end the match, a rule which competitors kept ignoring. The most that could be said for this show was that Wrestling/EC3 and Thom Latimer, in the main event, were nowhere near as embarrassing as Tyrus was. According to some reports, just over 200 people bought. The CW instead shuffled NWA programming away to their app and picked up the rights to Wrestling/{{WWE NXT}}.

Okay, so these weren't the best ProfessionalWrestling ideas anyone's ever had, but really... can you blame 'em? (Answer: Yes. Yes we can. That's what the term "Website/{{WrestleCrap}}" is for.)

** ''Revolution 2021'' became remembered by many for the infamous ending of the "Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match" between Wrestling/JonMoxley and Wrestling/KennyOmega. The match was held on a 30-minute time limit and it was promised that [[StuffBlowingUp the ring would explode]], something that the announcers sold as a huge danger akin to the cartoonishly hyperviolent antics of 90's Japanese wrestling. Omega won with a few minutes to spare by pinfall and soon after, he and the Good Brothers handcuffed Moxley and left him in the ring to be blown up with it. Wrestling/EddieKingston ran in to [[HeroicSacrifice try and protect Mox]], but when the countdown hit zero... [[https://makeagif.com/i/mmwQMJ nothing happened except for a few sparkles and a few pyros]]. To make matters worse, ''[[TookTheBadFilmSeriously everyone]]'' [[TookTheBadFilmSeriously sold it]]: Kingston sold as if he was being burned alive and the announcers and paramedics acted as if both men were nearly killed. AEW claimed that issues with the pyro provider [[SpecialEffectsFailure prevented it from being triggered properly]], but in any case a lot of people said afterwards that this incident not only ruined the match, it also tarnished the reputation of the entire PPV as a result.

** ''Revolution 2021'' became remembered by many for the infamous ending of the "Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match" between Wrestling/JonMoxley and Wrestling/KennyOmega. The match was held on a 30-minute time limit and it was promised that [[StuffBlowingUp the ring would explode]], something that the announcers sold as a huge danger akin to the cartoonishly hyperviolent antics of 90's Japanese wrestling. Omega won with a few minutes to spare by pinfall and soon after, he and the Good Brothers handcuffed Moxley and left him in the ring to be blown up with it. Wrestling/EddieKingston ran in to [[HeroicSacrifice try and protect Mox]], but when the countdown hit zero... [[https://makeagif.com/i/mmwQMJ nothing happened except for a few sparkles and a few pyros]]. To make matters worse, ''[[TookTheBadFilmSeriously everyone]]'' [[TookTheBadFilmSeriously sold it]]: Kingston sold as if he was being burned alive and the announcers and paramedics acted as if both men were nearly killed. AEW claimed that issues with the pyro provider [[SpecialEffectsFailure prevented it from being triggered properly]], but in any case a lot of people said afterwards that this incident not only ruined the match, it also the entire PPV as a result.

* Blackcraft Wrestling, an indie promotion beloved for the cinematic presentation of its matches and its GothicHorror theme, lasted just long enough to make one PPV, '''''Blackcraft No Apologies''''', [[CreatorKiller no small thanks to said PPV]]. Because the show was the last in a day-long series held at Jersey City's White Eagle Hall, and the previous one ran long enough to eat into their timeslot, they were forced to truncate pats of it; unfortunately, they chose [[SkewedPriorities the matches]]. Thus, out of a strong lineup filled with names-to-know, half got no more than six minutes in the ring--the two Heavyweight Title matches were both ten seconds apiece, and the Womens' Title was an instant count-out DQ. All the while, time-consuming promos played out exactly as written, and the opening "Devil's Den" match went on as booked despite a central gimmick that saw no use and required a lengthy teardown between matches. As a result, the lights and sound were switched off partway through the main event, a thirty-person Battle Royale; one could hear people begging the commentators to bring things to a close. And all of this was on ''[=WrestleMania=]'' weekend, possibly the highest-profile showcase they ever got.

* Blackcraft Wrestling, an indie promotion beloved for the cinematic presentation of its matches and its GothicHorror theme, lasted just long enough to make one PPV, '''''Blackcraft No Apologies''''', [[CreatorKiller no small thanks to said PPV]]. Because the show was the last in a day-long series held at Jersey City's White Eagle Hall, and the previous one ran long enough to eat into their timeslot, they were forced to truncate pats of it; unfortunately, they chose [[SkewedPriorities the matches]]. Thus, out of a strong lineup filled with names-to-know, half got no more than six minutes in the ring--the two Heavyweight Title matches were both ten seconds apiece, and the Womens' Title was an instant count-out DQ. All the while, time-consuming promos played out exactly as written, and the opening "Devil's Den" match went on as booked, despite a central gimmick that saw no use and required a lengthy teardown between matches. As a result, the lights and sound were switched off partway through the main event, a thirty-person Battle Royale; one could hear people begging the commentators to bring things to a close. And all of this was on ''[=WrestleMania=]'' weekend, possibly the highest-profile showcase they ever got.

* Blackcraft Wrestling, an indie promotion beloved for the cinematic presentation of its matches and its GothicHorror theme, lasted just long enough to make one PPV, '''''Blackcraft No Apologies''''', [[CreatorKiller no small thanks to said PPV]]. Because the show was the last in a day-long series held at Jersey City's White Eagle Hall, and the previous one ran long enough to eat into their timeslot, they were forced to truncate pats of it; unfortunately, they chose [[SkewedPriorities the matches]]. Thus, out of a strong lineup filled with names-to-know, half got no more than six minutes in the ring--the two Heavyweight Title matches were both ten seconds apiece, and the Womens' Title was an instant count-out DQ. All the while, time-consuming promos played out exactly as written, and the "Devil's Den" match went on as booked, despite its central gimmick seeing no use and requiring a lengthy teardown between matches. As a result, the lights and sound were switched off partway through the main event, a thirty-person Battle Royale; one could hear people begging the commentators to bring things to a close. And all of this was on ''[=WrestleMania=]'' weekend, possibly the highest-profile showcase they ever got.

** George Gulas was a nepotism hire, whose father Nick promoted NWA Mid-America until it went under in 1982. Nick pushed him relentlessly, despite his poor stage presence and overall ineptitude, at the expense of the promotion's reputation and ticket sales. This reached its peak when George was booked against then NWA Champion Wrestling/HarleyRace, in an hour-long match that ended in a draw simply because Nick simply refused to let George lose, ever. Not only did this overbooking cause Jerry Jarrett to walk out and found CWA[[note]]Because Nick Gulas tried to force him to push George in the territories he himself books for[[/note]], but its failure enabled him to buy NWA Mid-America out four years later, for pocket change. Website/WrestleCrap takes a look at George's ignominious career [[https://www.wrestlecrap.com/inductions/george-gulas/ here.]]

* The short-lived indie promotion Blackcraft Wrestling held a lot of promise, attracting interest from wrestling fans for the cinematic presentation of its matches and its GothicHorror theme. That was sadly not to last, as their first and only PPV, '''''Blackcraft No Apologies''''', earned instant infamy for all the wrong reasons.
** The show was the final event of a full day of indie PPV's held at the White Eagle Hall in Jersey City. The prior event, ''Joey Janella's Spring Break 3'', went long, cutting into the timeslot for ''No Apologies''. While the event was dealt a bad hand, given less time than expected and facing a strict curfew, it was widely observed that the event displayed abysmal time management within those circumstances. The organisers seemingly remained steadfast in refusing to cut anything from the show, with rampant SkewedPriorities regarding what should play out as intended and what should be rushed for time. The show's card, featuring a very strong lineup of recognisable indie talent, were therefore barely given any time to show their craft; half of the matches here went under six minutes.
** It opened with a lengthy skit involving a member of the audience being crucified. The first match, a "Devil's Den Match", featured chains and fish hooks acting as the ring's ropes and turnbuckles. This did not factor into the match whatsoever, and only served to waste ten minutes after the match as the ring crew worked to reassemble the ring. The Women's Title match was an instant count-out DQ, and the Heavyweight Title changed hands after two matches that were both ten second squashes. The Main Event, a thirty-person Battle Royale, saw the lights and sound system be switched off by the venue as they overshot their finishing time while somebody could be heard begging the commentators to bring things to a close. The event, the finale to a day of indie action on ''[=WrestleMania=]'' weekend and thus likely the highest-profile showcase the promotion ever had, [[CreatorKiller unfortunately ended up killing it]], and it would never put on another event.

** George Gulas was a nepotism hire, whose father Nick promoted NWA Mid-America until it went under in 1982. Nick pushed him relentlessly, despite his poor stage presence and overall ineptitude, at the expense of the promotion's reputation and ticket sales. This reached its peak when George was booked against then NWA-Champion Wrestling/HarleyRace, in an hour-long match that ended in a draw simply because Nick simply refused to let George lose, ever. Not only did this overbooking cause Jerry Jarrett to walk out and found CWA[[note]]Because Nick Gulas tried to force him to push George in the territories he himself books for[[/note]], but its failure enabled him to buy NWA out four years later, for pocket change. Website/WrestleCrap takes a look at George's ignominious career [[https://www.wrestlecrap.com/inductions/george-gulas/ here.]]

* If you've never heard of NWA Mid-America, that would probably be because it went out of business in 1982, well before the industry would really take off with the jump to cable television and pay-per-view. Why? Pretty much everyone who knows the story lays the blame squarely at the feet of '''George Gulas''', considered by many to be the worst wrestler to ever live. The son of the company's promoter Nick Gulas, George had none of the looks, charisma, or technical ability needed to thrive in the industry. Despite this, his father pushed him to the moon even when he was just ''a referee''. Despite overwhelming negative reception and plummeting ticket sales, Nick just kept cramming his son down the throats of anyone who so much as glanced NWA Mid-America's way. This reached its peak when George was booked against then NWA-Champion Wrestling/HarleyRace, in an hour-long match that ended in a draw because Nick simply refused to allow George to lose to anyone, even the top draw of the entire company. The forceful booking of George Gulas was such a colossal failure that Jerry Jarrett, who had split off from NWA Mid-America just four years earlier to found CWA[[note]]Because Nick Gulas tried to force ''him'' to push George in the territories he books for as well[[/note]], bought the company out for pocket change. The Gulas Family now lives on in the wrestling business as a cautionary tale of {{Nepotism}}, ignoring the feedback of fans and associates, and refusing to give up on pushing the CreatorsPet. Website/WrestleCrap takes a look at George's "legendary" career [[https://www.wrestlecrap.com/inductions/george-gulas/ here.]]
* National Wrestling Alliance (post-2007, after the TNA split):

** '''NWA Samhain''' torpedoed the company's plans to get their show on Creator/TheCW, ultimately reducing its audience ''below'' the numbers they were getting on [=YouTube=]. The deciding factor was a spot in which Wrestling/JamesMitchell snorted coke--while it wasn't legit, the depiction was enough for the channel to change its mind about them. But even Website/WrestleCrap, during the spot's [[https://www.wrestlecrap.com/inductions/nwa-samhain/ 2023 Gooker Award co-winner induction]], conceded that it was far from the only thing wrong. The show was chock-full of ridiculous gimmick matches that defied NWA's attempts at cultivating a grounded, 'return to basics' image: a LoserLeavesTown match that drug on until Wrestling/MattCardona came out, attacked both men, and squabbled with Billy Corgan on-screen for twice as long; a "Rock n' Roll" tag team match where each tag-out meant [[DrinkingGame taking a shot]]; a "Riddle Box" in which [[Music/InsaneClownPosse Violent J]] unwrapped comedy weapons (which stopped being funny two minutes in, let alone twelve); and a "Knights of the Round Table" match where only moves through a round table would end the match, a rule which competitors kept ignoring. The most that could be said for this show was that Wrestling/EC3 and Thom Latimer, in the main event, were nowhere near as embarrassing as Tyrus was. According to some reports, just over 200 people bought. The CW instead shuffled NWA programming away to their app and picked up the rights to Wrestling/{{WWE NXT}}.

** '''NWA Samhain''' torpedoed the company's plans to get their show on Creator/TheCW, ultimately reducing its audience ''below'' the numbers they were getting on [=YouTube=]. The deciding factor was a spot in which Wrestling/JamesMitchell snorted coke--while it wasn't legit, the depiction was enough for the channel to change its mind about them. But even Website/WrestleCrap, during the spot's [[https://www.wrestlecrap.com/inductions/nwa-samhain/ 2023 Gooker Award co-winner induction]], conceded that it was far from the only thing wrong. The show was chock-full of ridiculous gimmick matches that makes you forget that this iteration of NWA was ever meant to be a grounded 'return to basics' promotion: a LoserLeavesTown match that drug on until Wrestling/MattCardona came out, attacked both men, and squabbled with Billy Corgan on-screen for twice as long; a "Rock n' Roll" tag team match where each tag-out meant [[DrinkingGame taking a shot]]; a "Riddle Box" in which [[Music/InsaneClownPosse Violent J]] unwrapped comedy weapons (which stopped being funny two minutes in, let alone twelve); and a "Knights of the Round Table" match where only moves through a round table would end the match, a rule which competitors kept ignoring. The most that could be said for this show was that Wrestling/EC3 and Thom Latimer, in the main event, were nowhere near as embarrassing as Tyrus was. According to some reports, just over 200 people bought. The CW instead shuffled NWA programming away to their app and picked up the rights to Wrestling/{{WWE NXT}}.

** '''NWA Samhain''' torpedoed the company's plans to get their show on Creator/TheCW, ultimately reducing its audience ''below'' the numbers they were getting on [=YouTube=]. The deciding factor was a spot in which Wrestling/JamesMitchell snorted coke--while it wasn't legit, the depiction was enough for the channel to change its mind about them. But even Website/WrestleCrap, during the spot's [[https://www.wrestlecrap.com/inductions/nwa-samhain/ 2023 Gooker Award co-winner induction]], conceded that it was far from the only thing wrong. The show was chock-full of ridiculous gimmick matches that would make even Vince Russo's worst seem tolerable: a LoserLeavesTown match that drug on until Wrestling/MattCardona came out, attacked both men, and squabbled with Billy Corgan on-screen for twice as long; a "Rock n' Roll" tag team match where each tag-out meant [[DrinkingGame taking a shot]]; a "Riddle Box" in which [[Music/InsaneClownPosse Violent J]] unwrapped comedy weapons (which stopped being funny two minutes in, let alone twelve); and a "Knights of the Round Table" match where only moves through a round table would end the match, a rule which competitors kept ignoring. The most that could be said for this show was that Wrestling/EC3 and Thom Latimer, in the main event, were nowhere near as embarrassing as Tyrus was. According to some reports, just over 200 people bought. The CW instead shuffled NWA programming away to their app and picked up the rights to Wrestling/{{WWE NXT}}.

** '''NWA Samhain''' torpedoed the company's plans to get their show on Creator/TheCW, ultimately reducing its audience ''below'' the numbers they were getting on [=YouTube=]. The deciding factor was a spot in which Wrestling/JamesMitchell snorted coke--while it wasn't legit, the depiction was enough for the channel to change its mind about them. But even Website/WrestleCrap, during the spot's [[https://www.wrestlecrap.com/inductions/nwa-samhain/ 2023 Gooker Award co-winner induction]], conceded that it was far from the only thing wrong. The show was chock-full of ridiculous gimmick matches that would make even Vince Russo's worst seem simple: a LoserLeavesTown match that drug on until Wrestling/MattCardona came out, attacked both men, and squabbled with Billy Corgan on-screen for twice as long; a "Rock n' Roll" tag team match where each tag-out meant [[DrinkingGame taking a shot]]; a "Riddle Box" in which [[Music/InsaneClownPosse Violent J]] unwrapped comedy weapons (which stopped being funny two minutes in, let alone twelve); and a "Knights of the Round Table" match where only moves through a round table would end the match, a rule which competitors kept ignoring. The most that could be said for this show was that Wrestling/EC3 and Thom Latimer, in the main event, were nowhere near as embarrassing as Tyrus was. According to some reports, just over 200 people bought. The CW instead shuffled NWA programming away to their app and picked up the rights to Wrestling/{{WWE NXT}}.