The Worst Wrestler Of Every WWE Era

The Golden Age

The Golden Age of wrestling was a time where charisma and showmanship was favoured over in-ring talent, and this was made clear when WWE decided to push The Ultimate Warrior into the main event picture.

Warrior simply put wasn’t great in the ring, and he is without a doubt the worst wrestler from this respective era. With that being said, it didn’t truly matter that Warrior was awful in the ring, as the fan base from the 1980s and early 90s weren’t looking for in-ring greatness, they were looking for over the top characters, and Warrior certainly met the mark.

This wasn’t to say that Warrior consistently had awful matches, as this simply isn’t the case. His WrestleMania matches against the likes of Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage are widely celebrated, and Warrior was still able to tell a story inside the squared circle.

The New Generation Era

Whilst The New Generation Era was a time period in which in-ring legends such as Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart were pushed, WWE, specifically Vince McMahon still had the detrimental habit of pushing talent that simply couldn’t wrestle.

One of the names that WWE pushed during this era was Mabel. Mabel had a great look, yet when it came time for him to have an extended match, he completely fell apart. Mabel’s performance against Diesel at the 1995 SummerSlam event was so atrocious and reckless, that Vince McMahon almost fired him on the spot. Luckily, during his future WWE runs, he did somewhat improve, yet he was never pushed into the main event picture again.

The worst of the names that McMahon pushed during this time period was Giant Gonzalez. Gonzalez was brought into the company to work with the legendary Undertaker. Gonzalez had a ridiculous gimmick, and he was virtually immobile in the ring, and this gave The Deadman an impossible task. The Undertaker has spoken out about how awful he was in the ring, which is saying something, as The Undertaker worked with literally every WWE wrestler between 1990-2020.

The Attitude Era

The Attitude Era was a time of prosperity for WWE and the fans, as the WWE product became insanely popular across the world. Names up and down the card became incredibly over with the audience, yet during the first-few years of the Attitude Era, there was a definitive lack of focus on the in-ring action.

Whilst names such as Triple H, The Rock, and Stone Cold were able to have PPV quality main event matchups, the same can’t be said for everyone who was on the roster at the time.

There were names such as Mark Henry, who still hadn’t put it all together in the ring, and he was struggling to find his feet during his matches. There was also The Oddities, with most of the members being rather poor in the ring.

Members of the Mean Street Posse were also unbelievably bad in the ring, and every time the three members stepped in the ring, it looked like it was their first day at wrestling school. Although it could be argued that part of the charm of their gimmick was that they looked incredibly sloppy as cowardly heels.

One of the names WWE pushed was Sable. Sable was presented as the face of the women’s division, and whilst she was popular, she simply couldn’t wrestle, and basically refused to take any bumps. Sable’s matches were always heavily bashed, and even when she was working with talented women, she just didn’t have the fundamental skills to deliver anything substantial.

Thankfully, as WWE entered into the year 2000, the idea of pushing talent who couldn’t deliver a solid match was made obsolete, and this was especially the case with the women’s division, as names such as Lita, Trish Stratus, and Molly Holly would become central figures in the division.

The Ruthless Aggression Era

The Ruthless Aggression Era was a time period in which names with immense in-ring talent were pushed to the moon. Names such as Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero were given the keys to the kingdom, and this resulted in a mostly acclaimed product, with the in-ring work from the top names of this era ageing incredibly well.

This isn’t to say that WWE didn’t still try to push wrestlers that weren’t ready. When The Rock and Stone Cold left the active roster in 2003, WWE liked to throw anyone on the show in the hopes they got over.

In 2003, WWE debuted Nathan Jones. Jones was instantly paired with The Undertaker, yet it was evident that Jones didn’t have what it took, and his match at WrestleMania 19 was cancelled as a result.

There was also the bizarre Mordecai, who was brought into SmackDown in 2004. Mordecai was supposed to be the anti-Undertaker, yet the fans had no interest in the character, as he looked completely lost in the ring.

In 2002, WWE decided to re-sign Scott Steiner. Whilst Steiner was previously an excellent in-ring worker, he had drop-foot, which meant that his matches were abysmal, and he went from being in the World Title picture to being in a lower mid-card feud with Test, because WWE knew he couldn’t have a passable match.

Another key name from this era that had questionable skills in the ring was The Great Khali. It’s hard to argue against Khali being the worst worker of this era. The 7-foot star debuted in 2006 to feud with The Undertaker, and he was extremely limited in the ring. Despite his limitations, WWE pushed Khali to such a degree, that in 2007, he became World Champion.

The PG Era

WWE class the PG Era as lasting between 2008-2013, so that offers scope on what talent are in running for being the worst wrestler of the respective era.

There were certain names during this time that just failed to deliver in the ring. Names such as Mason Ryan and Vladimir Kozlov weren’t exactly Bret Hart in the ring, and there were names in the women’s division such as Aksana that weren’t remotely ready for the main roster.

There was also the original Sin Cara, who couldn’t grasp the WWE style, and his matches suffered as a result.

Ultimately, the worst in-ring worker of this era has to go to The Great Khali, whose work seemed to regress during the PG years, and it’s likely that’s why he was moved dramatically down the card.

The Reality Era

WWE class The Reality Era as a two-year time period between 2014-2016, and one name stands out as being the worst wrestler from this era. The name in question is Eva Marie, who showed little to no improvement during her WWE tenure.

Marie’s inaugural run came at a time where the women’s revolution was being implemented across WWE programming, so whilst names such as Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and Bayley were stealing the show, WWE still seemed adamant on making names such as Marie major players in the company.

The New Era

Whilst WWE seemingly put on a classic every week in the New Era between 2016-2022, there was still a confusing trend of pushing talent who were lacklustre in the ring.

One of the names that was pushed during this time was Lars Sullivan. Sullivan was called up to the main roster without showing signs of improvement in NXT, and when he got to the main roster, it was evident that Sullivan wasn’t ready for the big-leagues as his in-ring work was subpar, and he could easily be labelled as the worst full-time talent of this era.

Another wrestler who WWE insisted on pushing in these years was Goldberg, Whilst Goldberg is absolutely a legend in the pro wrestling industry, his body of work in this era was shambolic. Matches against the likes of The Undertaker were close to ending in disaster, and Goldberg had no business stepping inside the squared circle as he was a massive liability.

The Renaissance Era

The Renaissance Era or the Triple H Era as it is commonly called is an era in which WWE is thriving. The product and the wrestlers are red-hot, and WWE is on their hottest streak since the Attitude Era.

The majority of the WWE roster are incredibly gifted in the ring, and 90% of the roster are able to have excellent matches.

In terms of who is the worst wrestler of the era, that is a tough task. One name that comes to mind is Maxxine Dupri. Dupri has been heavily criticised by the fans for her in-ring work, and some fans have been taking this criticism way too far, by giving Dupri abuse both in-person and online. In Dupri’s defence she is working endlessly to get better in the ring, and her improvement has been seen on WWE TV in the second quarter of 2024.

Outside of Dupri, it’s a problematic task to pin-point other wrestlers who aren’t hitting the mark from an in-ring perspective. There’s B-Fab, yet B-Fab hasn’t been given time to shine in the ring, so it’s unfair to accurately assess her in-ring abilities.

A name that will be thrown out there by fans is Gable Steveson. Steveson has mostly wrestled in dark matches, yet footage from these matches haven’t exactly been great. Steveson also had a match in NXT with the talented Baron Corbin, and this match was met with universal disdain from fans, and it was considered by many to be one of the worst matches in NXT history. Wrestling is one of the hardest avenues a pro wrestler can go down, so it’s understandable why Steveson could be cited as the worst wrestler of this new exciting era.

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