5 Most disappointing WWE matches of 2020
2020 has been quite a whirlwind year for pro wrestling. The month of January saw the birth of a new star in the form of Drew Mcintyre and the genuinely shocking return of Edge. The build-up to WrestleMania had officially begun with several matches set for the biggest WWE show of the year.
But the emergence of the pandemic in late February turned wrestling on its head. WWE had never faced such a challenging dilemma. Yet after a minor readjustment, the fans and the performers have gotten accustomed to this new approach. It's still hard to guess when the crowds will be able to return, but in the meantime, WWE continues to produce some solid programming.
There have been plenty of excellent matches this year. Daniel Bryan's bout with AJ Styles stole the show on WWE SmackDown. The trio of Sasha Banks, Asuka, and Bayley routinely gave fans remarkable matches, too. Brutal and gritty matches like Finn Balor vs. Kyle O'Reilly and WALTER vs. Ilja Druganov respectively stood out on NXT and NXT UK.
But there were a few matches that were quite disappointing. These weren't bad matches by any margin, but they somehow underdelivered in terms of what their build-up suggested.
So, let's dive in and take a look at some of the matches that didn't live up to the fans' expectations.
#5 Keith Lee vs. Karrion Kross (WWE NXT TakeOver: TakeOver XXX)
Keith Lee vs. Karrion Kross at WWE NXT: TakeOver XXX for the former's NXT Championship was a highly anticipated match. Lee and Kross were two of the most dominant stars on NXT, so many fans were excited to see what would happen when they clashed in the ring.
It became quite a challenge for the WWE Universe to predict which star would emerge victorious at the end of this battle. It was unimaginable that Lee would drop the title so soon after he won it, while Kross' momentum would have been derailed if he lost this high-profile match.
As for the bout itself, it happened. It was a fine enough big man vs. big man fight, and it was wrestled with technical competence. Kross, to everyone's surprise, defeated Lee and won the gold. But something was amiss. For more than 20 minutes, the two Superstars traded some big moves, but most of the match was stuffed between extended headlocks and a control period by Kross.
This contest was a good match that had the limitless potential to be one of the best of the year. But it didn't exactly leave the fans wanting more.