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Pro-wrestling is a rough-and-tumble business dallied with a considerable dosage of testosterone-fueled machismo and larger than life characters.
However, this wonderful business does indeed have a funny side to it as well — hilarious goof-ups, unintentionally comedic characters and genuinely outrageous moments that professional wrestling fans witness time and again.
Well, truth be told, few things make for unintentional hilarity inside the squared circle, as much as these highly-skilled performers floundering their otherwise spot-on wrestling moves, while bumbling to save face after the same.
Now, this list isn't meant to disparage the sport's best performers but is simply intended to be viewed in jest. Here's a look at some of the funniest wrestling botches that had the fans howling with laughter.
#10 Eva Marie
The usual suspects rear their head time and again, don't they? Eva Marie, despite her genuine will to learn and evolve, never quite clicked with the professional wrestling fans.
Apparently, most fans and experts opined that All Red Everything simply botched everything. Throughout her tenure with the WWE, Marie botched several moves; however, the aforementioned goof-up in the GIF has got to take the cake for the former WWE Superstar's worst botch ever. Well, its a summary of her botches, so to speak, but the attempted 'tackle', or whatever she intended it to be, proves to be a gem amongst them.
When Mickie James smacked Alexa Bliss' famous Biscuit you-know-what, she got a huge pop from the crowd and followed it up with an excellent display of technical wrestling. On the other hand, Eva Marie smacked her opponent all the same but would follow it up with some sort of 'tackle' delivered with her backside intended to hit her opponent's face. Spoiler alert! Marie's awkward attack wasn't even close to her target.
#9 Bully Ray
Recent retiree Bubba Ray Dudley, aka Bully Ray, is one of the most beloved performers to have ever competed in this sport. Although his accomplishments are beyond question, the former TNA World Heavyweight Champion is after-all human.
Bully Ray fumbled during a match with Jeff Hardy back when the duo performed for TNA. Battling outside the ring, Hardy delivered a Twist Of Fate to Ray, with the latter selling the move as if he were stunned.
However, what followed is probably the most hilarious goof-up in pro-wrestling history. Ray, despite selling how the Twist Of Fate had him out on his feet, somehow got on the table. Now, the fact that he landed there wasn't as erroneous, but instead it was indeed the comical manner in which Bully courteously lay down on the table that made him the butt of all jokes in the weeks that followed this botch.
#8 Naomi
Ah, the lovely Naomi! The Glow Factor has been a fan favourite for long and is lauded for her top-notch athletic ability coupled with a decent wrestling skill-set.
Nevertheless, much like everyone else in the business, Naomi's wrestling isn't impregnable to funny botches from time-to-time. The former SmackDown Women's Champion ran the ropes and had to flip over; selling her opponent's Back Body Drop.
However, Naomi ended up rotating inadequately and landed face-first onto the canvas. Now, although this was indeed a painful botch, she did finish the match, but the fact remains that her 'faceplant' goof-up did make her an easy target for trolls on the internet, with its denizens bugging her in the days that ensued.
#7 Batista
Batista was one of the WWE's 2 biggest stars during the Ruthless Aggression era, the other being John Cena, and The Animal is also one of the best powerhouses in recent memory.
Well, by no means do all of his stellar accomplishments make him impervious to a little botch here and there. Perhaps his funniest goof-up came when he grossly oversold Mark Henry's headbutt.
Now, the World's Strongest Man may indeed possess strong headbutts; however, Batista's overselling of Henry's attack, which was initiated all while the latter tiptoed the apron, would frankly put The Rock's overselling of the Stone Cold Stunner to shame. Needless to say, Batista's hilarious flip-flopping made for an unintentionally funny spot.
#6 Dolph Ziggler
Dolph Ziggler has hit one too many WWE Superstars with the Famouser. However, fans oft recall his hilarious flying Famouser botched Famouser on Christian.
The Showoff prepped to deliver the move to Captain Charisma and almost sealed the deal before inexplicably sliding a little too far down the ring. Ziggler missed badly, and the fans in attendance showed him no mercy, jeering him for botching the spot.
Although Ziggler is one of the better technical wrestlers on the planet, his botched Famouser against Christian did, in fact, serve to make him a tad famous (pun intended) for in-ring goof-ups.
#5 Jeff Hardy
The Charismatic Enigma has always been one of the most entertaining performers of all time. Jeff Hardy's risk-taking and intrinsic daredevilry are probably unrivalled in the world of professional wrestling.
However, Hardy seems to have bad luck when it comes to his timing matching up to that of others inside the squared circle. During a match in TNA, Hardy was attacked by his foe from behind, with said foe missing the former WWE Champion's head by a mile.
Well, not one to let a move waste away, Hardy immediately fell to the ground, in a sincere but failed attempt to try and sell the move. Bad idea, Brother Nero! The fans caught this error and started jeering the competitors a few seconds after the botch transpired.
#4 The Prime Time Players and R-Truth
Even though R-Truth will be remembered as a comedy wrestler, he does possess decent wrestling skills coupled with undeniable charisma on the mic.
However, during a match with the Prime Time Players (Titus O'Neil and Darren Young), Truth dropkicked Young but missed badly on the move. However, what's worse is that Young oversold the move.
Speaking of which, the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back was O'Neil -- a man who was standing a good 3-4 feet away from R-Truth -- flipping out and taking a crazy bump out of nowhere! Needless to say, the fans have relentlessly trolled O'Neil ever since.
#3 Brie Bella
The Bella Twins may be on hiatus from pro-wrestling competition right now; however, the gems of GIFs they've given fans over the years never cease to amaze!
Be it Nikki Bella's Five Knuckle Shuffle or Brie Bella yelling "Brie Mode!!!" the twins are fun. Regardless, the beautiful Brie isn't invulnerable to wrestling botches either.
Brie prepped for a flying clothesline on her foe who was resting against the turnbuckle and launched herself off the back of her Tag Team partner. However, Brie miscalculated and tumbled down at his opponent's feet instead.
#2 Ryback
The Big Guy was widely criticized by the vast majority of fans and pundits for botching his finisher ergo the Shell-Shocked on multiple performers including Paul Heyman and Tensai aka Albert.
Well, Ryback and botches are no strangers to one another, given the botch-filled match he memorably had against Jack Swagger. The Big Guy not only botched a knee strike on Swagger -- a move that Ryback executed only to have his knee strike thin air, following which he proceeded to tumble down -- but also a couple of other spots.
Perhaps the most noticeable among them was his epic botch of a Back Body Drop on Swagger. Ryback simply had to elevate his foe a bit, so as to help with the rotation; however, he sent Swagger face-planting into the mat.
#1 Christian Cage vs Scott Steiner
Big Poppa Pump is professional wrestlers of all time. Given his stellar resume of in-ring work back when he was part of the Steiner Brothers Tag Team alongside Rick, his performances in recent times comes as a shock to many, particularly a few botches in TNA -- a time during which he was dealing with serious injury issues.
On that note, his match against Christian Cage in TNA is perhaps best remembered for Christian's insane goof-up -- widely regarded as the single worst botch in recent times. Steiner grabbed Cage's head so as to slam it onto the ring apron, however, Christian seemingly took matters into his own hands; breaking free of the Genetic Freak's grip and slamming his own head on the apron.
The otherworldly jeering and ensuing trolling have haunted both Steiner and Christian till date, with the aforementioned GIF being one of the most famous troll weapons in the professional wrestling community. It has inspired memes, questioning pro-wrestling's legitimacy and is kind of a thorn in these two veterans' otherwise legendary careers.
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