5 Worst Wrestling Matches Of 2002

Many people look at 2002 with rose-coloured glasses. They look back at that year and remember so many great things happening. Things like the SmackDown Six, Brock Lesnar becoming an absolute beast, WrestleMania X8, SmackDown having outstanding matches on a weekly basis, the list goes on.

However, those same people seem to forget the bad things that happened in 2002…of which there was a lot.

You see, the first half of 2002 was something of a crisis for WWE. After the purchase of WCW and ECW, WWE had a bloated roster and not enough TV time for them all. The creative direction was stifled, and main-event-level superstars were wrestling in mid-card matches (*cough* Steve Austin *cough*).

Although that crisis was more or less averted by September 2002 when the Brand Extension became a thing, it didn’t stop WWE’s creative direction from being trash for months. Between April and August 2002, the world title picture was composed mainly of Triple H, The Rock, the Undertaker…and Hulk Hogan.

That last name is going to be important because it’s critical to this list of the five worst matches of 2002.

---

5. Edge vs Booker T – WrestleMania X8

WrestleMania is supposed to be the show on which WWE superstars showcase their absolute best. So it’s baffling how WWE thought Booker T and Edge could cap off their mini-feud with a match that lasted less than seven minutes.

Although the story leading up to the match was memorable – it was the infamous ‘Japanese shampoo commercial’ gimmick – the match itself wasn’t. At that time, both Booker T and Edge were mid-carders wrestling mid-card matches in mid-card-type rivalries. Yet the payoff for that feud should’ve been something memorable, but they both suffered from time constraints.

As a result, you were left with decent offence here and there but nothing special. Nothing here was particularly bad; it’s just an underwhelming contest from two wrestlers that were otherwise known for having much better matches. It also didn’t help that the crowd wasn’t as vocal for hometown hero Edge as one would’ve expected.

Perhaps they too would’ve made more noise if the match they witnessed had more drama and excitement to it, which would likely have happened if it wasn’t bathroom break in length.

4. Undertaker vs Triple H – King Of The Ring 2002

From time to time, WWE commentators would describe a wrestler’s moves and actions as ‘methodical’. While that’s supposed to mean something like ‘calculated’ or ‘slowly-building-up-to-something-big-later-on’, most people see it as a synonym for ‘slow and boring’. That latter characterization describes this match perfectly.

For some reason, Undertaker and Triple H did not have great chemistry together in 2002. Their matches throughout the first half of the year (which include this one) followed a straightforward formula: lots of punches, brawling and shenanigans.

And that is what you got with this match. Both guys punch each other a lot, a few moves were executed between slugfests (that term is used here very loosely), and both guys spent a lot of time on the mat recovering from the (supposedly) exhausting wrestling match.

The only time this match ever got exciting was when The Rock interfered and caused the crowd to chant his name loudly (and also a mild chant for Triple H, yet no love for the Undertaker, apparently). Oh, and if that wasn’t bad enough, the match ended with a low blow and a roll-up…because reasons.

3. Hulk Hogan vs Triple H – Backlash 2002

I never thought I’d ever type these words, but…poor Triple H. He was stuck wrestling a man who simply could not wrestle for two minutes, let alone 22. He must’ve known just how immobile Hogan was at this point, and that the only reason Hogan was facing him was because of the volcanic reaction he got a month prior at WrestleMania (thanks, Toronto).

So, Triple H did what he could to make this match exciting, but boy did he struggle with that. Hogan couldn’t really do anything exciting or high-risk, so HHH had to rely on ‘safer’ moves like wrist-locks, tests of strength, and leg submissions to try and tell a story. And believe it or not, he actually did tell a very interesting one. That story goes, “Now I know how the Undertaker felt at WrestleMania IX.”

As much as he tried, Triple H could not get a decent match out of Hogan, and it shows. This match was glacial, with almost nothing of note happening for over twenty minutes. Even the referee took more punishment than Hogan did, and that was due to outside interference from Chris Jericho and the Undertaker.

Perhaps the only silver lining in this match was that Triple H could carry another wrestler to a slightly-above-failure-level match…if that other wrestler had the mobility of a mountain.

2. Hulk Hogan vs The Undertaker – Judgment Day 2002

These men are bona fide WWE legends, but they shouldn't have been working against one another

Hulk Hogan should not have been wrestling in 2002. He should not have been main-eventing WWE PPVs either…and he shouldn’t have been WWE Champion. Alas, all three of those things happened at Judgment Day 2002, and Hogan wrestled the Undertaker in a truly dreadful match.

This was a time when the Undertaker was still doing a lot of striking and slow power moves and wasn’t the best of workers. He was placed in a match against Hulk Hogan, who was considered to be past his prime at least four years prior when it came to wrestling. As you can imagine, these two wrestlers performed atrociously with one another. The action and pacing were slow, the spots weren’t exciting, and the Undertaker hit the single worst Chokeslam in wrestling history.

This was not the kind of wrestling match anyone wanted to see. Purists wanted to see Angle being a wrestling machine, while the WWE die-hards wanted some kind of crazy car crash à la Steve Austin hitting everyone with Stunners. Sadly, neither group got what they wanted in this match, which left everyone completely disappointed.

1. Bradshaw & Trish Stratus vs Christopher Nowinski & Jackie Gayda

Yes…this is the contest known as ‘THAT Jackie Gayda Match’.

This match has become infamous for just how bad the in-ring action was. Taking place on an episode of RAW, it was one of the first matches for then-rookie Jackie Gayda. Because of her lack of experience, Gayda (the one in the red top in this video) botched virtually every single move.

Even though the match itself is about three minutes long, things got painfully hard to watch when Gayda’s in the ring. She mistimed almost all her moves and made some moments look so awkward the fans started to boo loudly. It got worse at the end, as Gayda sold Trish’s move two seconds too late, making it look like she just crumpled to the ground for no apparent reason.

This match shows why wrestlers need lots of training before debuting on camera. If they don’t understand basic wrestling concepts – like selling and timing­ – they’ll only expose their own inexperience for the world to see.