Heroes Of Wrestling: The Worst Pro Wrestling PPV Of All Time

A number of things contribute to a bad pro wrestling pay-per-view, from bad matches to shoddy production, to a disquieting main event. On October 10, 1999 a rather minuscule portion of the greater wrestling fanbase witnessed the ultimate squared circle trainwreck as Heroes of Wrestling presented their inaugural pay-per-view. 

Professional wrestling enjoyed considerable mainstream popularity in 1999 as the scripted mayhem entrenched itself as part of the greater American zeitgeist through the Monday Night Wars between World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling, while ECW were also on cable through TNN and ran six pay-per-views per year. 

Between those three promotions, there were 30 pay-per-views in North America in 1999, the most there had ever been in any year to that point. With wrestling on an upswing, capitalists couldn't help but feel the temptation to muscle their way into an already-crowded market in search of success, and that led to the only other North American wrestling pay-per-view in 1999. 

Bill Stone, then president of the Virginia-based Fosstone Productions and later an executive producer for CBS Sports, aimed to capitalise on pro wrestling's dizzying popularity by staging his own pay-per-view. Dubbed Heroes of Wrestling, Stone's idea was to put on a show featuring stars of yesteryear that weren't tethered to the national promotions.

With most prime, name-value performers locked into contracts with WWF, WCW, and ECW, and needing bigger names to appeal to the pay-per-view audience, focusing his product on legendary figures made sense, in theory.

Stone was planning on running three more pay-per-views over the next year, but this first outing had to go well. For this venture to be profitable, it would need a reported 41,000 pay-per-view buys, in order to justify future events of its type.

Planning Begins

For a venue, Stone secured the ballroom at Casino Magic Bay in St. Louis, Missouri, right on the Gulf Coast. The building had played host to a pair of UFC events over the previous two years, drawing over 4000 patrons for each.

To help assemble the roster and the card, Stone was put in touch with a New York-based promoter in Michael Lombardi, the head of the long-running Northeast Wrestling promotion. Tasked with bringing in viable names to populate this unique pay-per-view, Lombardi began reaching out to a host of older stars, and had offers rejected by the likes of Vader, The Honky Tonk Man, and Terry Funk. Previously, Stone had reached out to Sid Vicious, who was unable to work the card after signing with WCW that June.

The wrestlers who were secured for the event were a who's who of WrestleMania headliners, top territory stars, and other assorted icons from days gone by.

A match pitting "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka against "Cowboy" Bob Orton hearkened back to the WWF's expansion period of the mid-1980s, while a true novelty for fans of the Crockett territory saw original Four Horseman Tully Blanchard face Midnight Express member "Sweet" Stan Lane.

Elsewhere, a whole host of prismatic characters, from the detested Iron Sheik and Nikolai Voloff, to the zany Bushwhackers, to the leathernecked Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, to the bloodthirsty Abdullah the Butcher, to George “The Animal” Steele filled out a card that sought to tug at those nostalgic heartstrings.

To offset the possible rustiness of the aging stars, a few younger wrestlers were recruited, including 33-year-old 2 Cold Scorpio who faced off with a rising indy prospect in 27-year-old Julio Fantastico. Elsewhere, the likes of Marty Jannetty, Tommy Rogers, and Headshrinker Samu were there to contribute and they could still bring something to the table. 

For the double main event, Jake “The Snake” Roberts was scheduled to go one-on-one with Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, while giant Hulkamania villains in King Kong Bundy and Yokozuna were scheduled to face off in the last match of the night. 

The full advertised card for Heroes of Wrestling was as follows:

• Samoan Swat Team vs. Marty Jannetty & Tommy Rogers
• Greg Valentine vs. George Steele
• 2 Cold Scorpio vs. Julio Fantastico
• Butch & Luke vs. Nikolai Volkoff & The Iron Sheik
• Tully Blanchard vs. Stan Lane
• Abdullah The Butcher vs. The One Man Gang
• Jimmy Snuka vs. Bob Orton
• Jim Neidhart vs. Jake Roberts
• Yokozuna vs. King Kong Bundy

As a celebration of territory and WWF-expansion era pro wrestling, Heroes of Wrestling had the potential to be a nostalgia-filled night of entertainment for pro wrestling fans. That isn’t what happened, however.

Then Issues Begin

Preparation for the show began badly as several wrestlers arrived to the venue late due to missing their flights. There were plans to hold a production meeting at 9 am on the morning of the show, only for it to be pushed back to 11 am, and then 1 pm as a result of ongoing disarray.

Lombardi later noted that short-staffing led to a number of individuals having to multi-task in the run-up to the show. Assembling the production for the event was made extremely difficult with such a meagre behind-the-scenes crew, and it contributed to a very chaotic day.

NWA senior referee Fred Richards later noted, “The biggest problem was they didn’t want to bring us in a day early, so we didn’t have a chance to get agents and set up the show as it should have been. It was like an indie show and it showed.”

The indie-level production was made abundantly clear in the program's aesthetic. Shoddy camera work, murky audio, an uninspired arena set-up,  and minimalist lighting all made Heroes of Wrestling appear to be an oversized indie rather than an outfit worthy of a pay-per-view telecast. No one was expecting a gaudy entrance set like those seen on Raw and Nitro at the time, but this made ECW on Hardcore TV look like turn-of-the-century SmackDown.

Then there was the commentary as play-by-play was covered by Randy Rosenbloom, an award-winning multi-sport broadcaster with experience calling events such as the Olympic Games and Wimbledon, but Rosenbloom unfortunately had little product knowledge or fundamental understanding of wrestling.

Rosenbloom was clearly out of his element, from bungling the names of moves, to naturally recoiling at the bloodshed in one match, his years of experience calling tennis and college football hadn't prepared him for this. For Rosenbloom's partner, the original choice was legendary announcer Gordon Solie, but he was unable to attend the event due to declining health from throat cancer. Solie's name was still listed in the pay-per-view's intro, but no explanation was given for why he wasn't there.

Ted DiBiase was reportedly the back-up choice for Rosenbloom's partner, but was unable to attend due to other commitments. The spot ended up going to the Dutch Mantel, who admirably carried a mystified Rosenbloom through the broadcast.

More mystifying were the matches themselves. It was expected that the wrestling wouldn’t be perfect due to being a nostalgia show, but whatever the minimal acceptable standard for a passable wrestling match is in most people's eyes, Heroes of Wrestling didn't exactly hit that threshold.

Some matches were fine, if unspectacular, like Tully Blanchard vs. Stan Lane, Marty Jannetty and Tommy Rogers vs. The Samoan Swat Team, and 2 Cold Scorpio vs. Julio Fantastico. The rest, however, suffered for a variety of reasons, with one potential factor being that wrestlers were allegedly served alcohol throughout the night by casino staffers, against the wishes of Lombardi.

Greg Valentine vs. George Steele went six and a half minutes, and that was arguably six minutes too long. The "story" centred around Sensational Sherri seconding Steele, only to continuously help Valentine behind the oblivious Animal's back. Aged 62 at the time of the show, Steele wasn't going to be doing much, and the "smoke and mirrors" didn't enhance the match at all. 

A match between The Bushwhackers and The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff went almost nine minutes, and has been hailed as one of the worst matches of all time by those who've personally witnessed it. Like Valentine and Steele, the aging wrestlers were well past their prime, and couldn't do much outside of slowed-down, clunky basics.

Where Stone apparently began to have second thoughts about the pay-per-view was in a match pitting Abdullah the Butcher against The One Man Gang as the two super heavyweights plodded to something that vaguely resembled a hardcore match as Gang used his chain and Abdullah, naturally, used his trusty fork as both men bled their way to a merciful double countout. According to Lombardi, Stone was freaked out by the bloodshed in that match and he wasn't thrilled with the skin-ripping that had just transpired.

Things then went from bad to worse in the double main event. Following Jimmy Snuka vs. Bob Orton, it was scheduled to be Jake Roberts vs. Jim Neidhart followed by Yokozuna vs. King Kong Bundy in the show-closer. 

According to a 2000 column written by Alex Marvez, Neidhart had missed several flights the day of the event, and barely even made it to the pay-per-view for his match with Jake the Snake. The Yoko vs. Bundy match was also hampered by the fact that neither man would agree to lose via pinfall. Unless something drastic happened, the final match of the night would take place without a conclusive ending.

Jake Roberts' Infamous Appearance

All of this was mere child's play to the situation involving Jake Roberts, however. The WWE Hall of Famer’s appearance at Heroes of Wrestling has been subject to much derision and ridicule in the years since and most wrestling fans are well aware of the demons that Roberts had struggled with for decades, to the point there is lots of happiness for Roberts today, having been sober for several years by 2025.

In 1999, however, Jake was still deep in the throes of his troubles, and that was never clearer to the general public than through his appearance here as he suffered a relapse before the show.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Roberts diligently pitched in to help the event out in the days beforehand, doing promotional work, and was apparently of sound mind, body, and spirit. However, Roberts reportedly received word on the day of the pay-per-view that his ex-wife was seeking a substantial amount of money in back child support. Roberts was faced with going back to jail if he didn't come up with the money. As the Observer reported, Roberts, "...disappeared into his private dressing room and emerged as a new person."

This was evident in Roberts' promo preceding the match with Neidhart. Slurring his words and using interviewer Michael St. John to physically lean on, Roberts rambled incoherently about gambling, different casino games, the prospect of losing, and the peril of facing his snake, Damian.

What followed was an extended entrance from Roberts, though clearly not by design. He made his way down the aisle, went back to the locker room, then came back out again, for seemingly no reason. Then after an awkward interaction with some people at ringside, including encouraging a woman to rub his bare chest, Roberts took Damian out of the bag and simulated masturbation with the snake.

Shortly after the match with Neidhart got underway, Roberts collapsed in the middle of the ring with Damian draped across his body, and began trying to kiss the snake. 

An audible was called during the debacle, as King Kong Bundy was dispatched to the ring to help Neidhart attack Jake. The plan was for Roberts vs. Neidhart to eventually turn into a tag match involving Bundy and Yoko anyway, but Roberts being in no condition to work just accelerated things to Point B much quicker.

Roberts was originally supposed to defeat Neidhart in the singles bout, but Neidhart was now apparently refusing to do the job, with a reported WWF job waiting for him. With all the confusion over most of the participants refusing to lose, Roberts volunteered to take the pin, just for the sake of peace.

Roberts did indeed endure the fall, losing to a Bundy splash, following 16 and a half minutes of objectively terrible action. To send the crowd home happy, Jake and Yokozuna manhandled a stagehand named Michael Henry (dubbed "Mini Bundy" due to his resemblance to the goliath wrestler), and Roberts laid Damian overtop his crumbled body.

The final shot of the night was of the snake crawling over poor Mini Bundy. Rosenbloom and Mantel were mid-sentence when the pay-per-view abruptly faded out. Reportedly, Stone ordered the director to cut then and there, fearing what Roberts might do next in his inebriated state.

It was the end to perhaps the worst wrestling pay-per-view that has ever been commissioned.

What On Earth Just Happened?

In his review of the event in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer rated five of the eight matches in the negatives, while Blanchard vs. Lane took home the bronze medal with a mere DUD rating. Scorpio vs. Fantastico was his pick for best match at one and a quarter stars. On the Cagematch fan database, Heroes of Wrestling holds a 0.35 rating out of 10.

The event allegedly drew between 27,000 and 32,000 buys, short of the desired 41,000-buy threshold needed to turn a worthwhile profit. The crowd of just 2300 in Bay St. Louis was also littered with tons of freebies. Though Stone and company did reportedly break even on the venture, he had little interest in trying again.

Reflecting several months following the pay-per-view, Stone told The Sun Sentinel: "I don't think senior wrestling works. Obviously, when some of these guys are brought into what WCW and the WWF does with them by making them just a part of things, I think it does work. But as a stand-alone event, it didn't work. I also think the show could have been better. But even if it was, we still didn't have enough people watching it anyway."

The End of Heroes of Wrestling

Stone also faced legal issues following Heroes of Wrestling. Though announcers and promotional materials did everything possible to avoid calling Yokozuna, The Bushwhackers, and others by their WWF-trademarked names, a source from Fosstone Productions told John Corrigan of The Wrestling Estate that the WWF legal department informed Stone that action was forthcoming days following the pay-per-view. Stone reportedly expressed to the WWF reps that he had no desire to run another Heroes of Wrestling event, upon which the WWF chose not to pursue legal action.

The stress of the event itself was enough for Stone to throw in the towel. He added: "I thought we would have a friendly product. Instead, guys were trying to bleed and we had a drunk guy with a snake between his legs. While the show was going on, I started thinking, 'When does the plane leave?'"

Today, Heroes of Wrestling lives on as an occasional punchline, feeling almost like surreal folklore at times.

While most of the performers involved are viewed fondly today (especially a cleaner, healthier Roberts), Heroes of Wrestling is an event that doesn't deodorise so easily.

A disorganised mess of a production marred further by over-the-hill performers, bargain basement production, and a rock bottom main event combined to ensure Heroes of Wrestling its unique place in pro wrestling infamy.