5 WWE Superstars who turned famous botches into positives

WWE fans watch Raw, SmackDown Live and pay-per-views to be entertained by some of the greatest pro wrestlers/sports entertainers in the world, but it is sometimes just as enjoyable to see botches happen during promo segments and matches.

Throughout the years, we have witnessed hilarious mishaps from Superstars including Sycho Sid, who famously asked to start a promo again despite being live on television, while The Great Khali once eliminated himself from a Battle Royal by climbing over the top rope.

Other botches, such as Brock Lesnar’s WrestleMania XIX Shooting Star Press or Owen Hart’s SummerSlam 1997 Piledriver on Steve Austin, were not entertaining but still live long in the memory.

Simply put, even when a title changes hands or a major storyline development takes place, botches are often the biggest talking point of any show.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at five incidents in WWE history where a botch has occurred and the Superstar involved has ended up turning it into a positive.

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#5 Titus O’Neil

The 2018 Greatest Royal Rumble was won by Braun Strowman, but the most memorable moment from the 50-man match came when Titus O’Neil made his entrance to the ring.

Entering at #39, the Titus Worldwide member hilariously tripped over after sprinting his way to the bottom of the ramp. The end result? He slid head-first into the ring skirt, landing out of sight underneath the ring, before he sheepishly crawled his way out.

Thankfully, there was nothing in his way beneath the ring, so the former Tag Team champion was able to quickly escape without injury. He then entered the Rumble, lasting 4 minutes and 42 seconds before being eliminated by Braun Strowman.

This botch could have been a negative for O’Neil, but WWE embraced the situation by releasing ‘Titus Worldslide’ shirts.

The man behind the famous fall told the Post and Courier after the incident:

“I knew that once people realised that I was okay, especially starting with my own locker room, then the jokes and the memes were going to start coming. Some of the memes I’ve seen are just so good. It’s been everywhere. It will definitely live forever.”

#4 Vickie Guerrero

Vickie Guerrero overcame critics early on in her WWE career to become one of the most hated heel characters in the history of the company.

Her trademark “Excuse me?!” line immediately prompted boos from audiences, while her screechy voice made her the perfect person to be a villainous General Manager on Raw and SmackDown.

Speaking in an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Guerrero revealed that her famous catchphrase was born after she forgot her lines after being given four promo changes shortly before she went out in front of a live crowd on SmackDown.

She explained:

“The crowd caught on right away. They’ll stick you with the evil eye if they know that you forgot something. I forgot my promo, sat there, regrouped, yelled ‘Excuse me!’ and I didn’t know where that came from. I did it again and they [fans] got angrier. I was just like, ‘Maybe I’m onto something.’”

#3 Drew McIntyre

Drew McIntyre accidentally invents the Claymore Kick pic.twitter.com/84E2bWWu18

— MaffewBotchamaniaGuy (@Maffewgregg) October 2, 2018

Along with Randy Orton’s RKO, Drew McIntyre’s Claymore is among the most impressive finishers in WWE right now.

During his 3MB days, the Scot used a different move to defeat opponents – the Future Shock DDT – until one day he slipped whilst delivering a big boot to Ryback on Raw and the botch looked so impressive that he decided to keep doing the move in future matches.

He explained during an episode of WWE Network show ‘Table For 3’:

“I discovered my finish, the Claymore Kick, when I was wearing the [3MB] leather pants, because they’re so tight. We were having a match on Raw one time, I ran to big boot Ryback, and I lifted my leg and, because the pants were so tight, I kicked him with my other foot, so I gave him the Claymore. It was supposed to be a big boot.”

Several years later, the lethal Claymore has been used by McIntyre to take out major Superstars including Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman and Finn Balor.

#2 Kalisto

The 2016 WWE Draft was a stressful night for everybody. Not only did roster members from Raw, SmackDown Live and NXT not know which brand they were going to end up on, but certain Superstars were asked to give their genuine reactions during live interviews on the WWE Network.

Cesaro’s interview was particularly memorable, as he essentially criticised WWE’s storyline decisions and questioned why he was being asked about General Managers, but Kalisto’s botched interview was what really stole the show.

Asked for his opinion on joining SmackDown Live, he repeatedly messed up his words before closing with this unforgettable sentence:

“I am here to stay and make… and make… er, er… a good Lucha, Lucha… thing.”

The “Lucha thing” comment is still made fun of to this day by fans, but at least Kalisto saw the funny side by giving his take on his botched promo during a reflective WWE interview (above) two years later.

#1 Kofi Kingston

Kofi Kingston’s feel-good WrestleMania 35 moment came 11 years after he debuted in WWE, but many fans believe that it took far too long for the New Day member to win the WWE Championship and that his run in the main-event scene should have been kick-started during his first major push in 2010.

At the time, it looked as though Kingston was going to win the Money In The Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 26 and go on to become a possible world champion, but his career began to stall after he botched a finish against Randy Orton on an episode of Raw.

Orton was originally supposed to deliver a Punt Kick to his opponent but Kingston stood up too early, forcing “The Viper” to use an RKO instead. This prompted an irate Orton to yell “Stupid! Stupid!” at the up-and-comer.

Nine years later, Kingston turned the 2010 negative into a 2019 positive by repeatedly shouting “Stupid! Stupid!” at Orton after hitting him with a clothesline during a tag match on SmackDown Live.