WWE Over the Limit 2011: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole and the Worst WWE Feuds

In the last 15 years, WWE has given the its fans several memorable storyline rivalries. The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin. Mankind vs. the Undertaker. John Cena vs. Randy Orton. For every Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk, however, there are several more that could be, nicely, deemed "unsatisfactory."

Join me as we take a look at some of the worst modern-day WWE rivalries.

Jerry "the King" Lawler vs. Michael Cole

Why not start the list with the man involved in what is, perhaps, the worst modern-day rivalry?

Jerry Lawler is a legendary competitor in the squared circle. "The King" is every bit deserving of his Hall of Fame induction but, over the past 10 or 11 years, he has more than proven that his best days as an in-ring performer are far behind him.

The rivalry between Lawler and former ECW Champion Tazz in 2000 was the definition of clash of styles. Lawler was very old-school in his in-ring approach and Tazz was a hard-hitting, suplex-throwing machine of a competitor. Their matches did not gel, nor did the feud, which felt as though it was ripped directly from the late-1980s, early 1990s.

The program did little for either man's career. Lawler continued to commentate, cementing the partnership with Jim Ross at the announcer's position as one of the greatest in the sport's long and illustrious history. Tazz, on the other hand, saw any momentum that he gained upon his return in the summer of 2000 evaporate. He would quickly be shuffled back into the tag team division with Raven and the Hardcore division, one that had been significantly played out by the time September of 2000 rolled around.

Al Snow vs. the Big Boss Man

The rivalry between Big Boss Man and Al Snow started innocently enough. A feud over the always-entertaining Hardcore Championship (at least as far as 1999 goes) between the two resulted in several quality brawls and brought some legitimacy to the title. By the end of the year, the feud would devolve, involving a live chihuahua, a dead chihuahua, and a "Kennell From Hell."

In one of the most absurd occurrences in WWE history, Boss Man kidnapped Snow's dog, Pepper, seemingly murdered it, and fed it to Snow in a meal. Why Al Snow would accept a meal from his hated rival remains a mystery.

The rivalry at its most heated, a unique match was booked for the Unforgiven pay-per-view in September of '99. The "Kennell from Hell" match featured a regular steel cage inside the Hell in a Cell. Sounds pretty cool, right? In between the cell and the cage, however, were several different attack dogs, ready to latch on to whoever dared cross them.

The match was universally panned by fans and critics and the idea was immediately scrapped. Never again would the "Kennell From Hell" be featured on a WWE pay-per-view event.

Snow and Boss Man would recover from the terrible conclusion to the feud. Boss Man would go on to have another interesting rivalry, this time with the Big Show. He would even receive a WWE Championship match against the newly crowned title-holder.

Al partnered with Mankind for a few months before turning heel and feuding with his former partner, as well as The Rock.

Edge vs. Booker T

Japanese shampoo. Two words sum up the entire, short feud between Edge and Booker T that resulted in their Wrestlemania X8 showdown.

Some time in March of 2002, the WWE's creative team realized that Edge and Booker T, two of the company's most talented stars, had no match on the Wrestlemania card. Frantically looking for a way to program them against each other in what would prove to be a throw-away match on a show with the likes of Rock-Hogan and HHH-Jericho already set in stone, the writers came up with an idea that would prove to be one of the most ludicrous in wrestling history.

Booker T appeared on Raw, declaring himself the recipient of a new deal for a Japanese shampoo commercial. It was eventually revealed that Edge, not Booker, would star in the series of shampoo comercials. With that one revelation, a match between the two would be set in stone for Wrestlemania.

It was apparent that Edge and Booker were lost in the shuffle while the nWo made their debut in WWE and Jericho, Triple H, and Stephanie McMahon dominated television time heading into the 18th annual event. Both would recover from the terrible hand dealt them, however, when the brand extension later that month led to them becoming featured stars on their individual brands.

There is no way to ever forget, however, the sheer stupidity of the story behind what should have been one of their crowning achievements. 

Mickie James vs. Lay-Cool

There are storylines based in reality and then there is the "Piggy James" storyline that dominated the Divas division in late-2009, early-2010.

For the better part of a year, rumors hit the internet that Vince McMahon felt Mickie James had become fat. He felt she was out of shape and, for that reason, she wasted away on Monday Night Raw without much to do.

When she was traded to Smackdown, however, many saw it as an opportunity to freshen up her career. She could work with Beth Phoenix, whom she had had many a hard-hitting, quality match with while on Raw. She could also work with Lay-Cool, the Mean Girls-esque duo that spoke in stereo and insulted pretty much anyone they encountered.

It was during this feud, however, that the pettiness that McMahon has been guilty of allowing to seep onto the screen reared its ugly head. Rather than focusing on in-ring work and a more traditional storyline, Lay-Cool turned to insulting Mickie's weight. Week-in and week-out, the Mickie was forced to watch, listen, and participate in a program that was, ultimately, one big "Mickie's fat" joke. She was embarrassed and humiliated several times throughout the course of the months-long feud.

At the Royal Rumble in 2010, it appeared as though Mickie finally one-upped Lay-Cool, defeating Michelle and winning the Women's Championship. It would not last, however, and Michelle quickly regained the title.

The feud was bad, not because of anything Mickie, Michelle or Layla did. It was not even the fault of the writers. The feud was one of the worst in company history because it is a shining example of how the owner of the company has a history of making a statement to his talent by degrading them on-air, rather than make himself clear behind the scenes.

Mickie never recovered and was released a short time later. Lay-Cool, as many of you are aware, would dominate the Divas division in WWE until 2011's Extreme Rules event, when they broke up for good and McCool was retired from the business.

Triple H vs. Stephanie McMahon....I Mean, Chris Jericho

In early 2002, Chris Jericho was in the midst of a run as the WWE's first Undisputed Champion. Having defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Rock in one night, it appeared as though Y2J would finally be the recipient of the serious main event push so many hoped he would enjoy. A number of factors, however, derailed Jericho's run before it could ever truly get started.

Booker T had returned to television after a few weeks off. He began feuding with Steve Austin in a short program that took up a surprising amount of time. The nWo had been signed and Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were on their way back onto WWE television. And, most importantly in relation to Jericho, Triple H was returning following nearly a year-long absence due to a torn quadriceps.

It immediately became evident that Triple H would challenge Chris Jericho for the Undisputed Championship at Wrestlemania X8. What was not evident, however, was the role Stephanie McMahon would play in derailing what should have been a heated rivalry rolling into Toronto for the big show.

Upon Triple H's return, rather than focus on his program with Jericho (and earlier, Kurt Angle), the focus was put on his dissolving relationship with on-air wife, and real-life fiancee, Stephanie McMahon. When it was revealed that she had faked a pregnancy to try and repair the fractured relationship, Triple H dumped his wife during the renewal of their wedding vows and instantly became public enemy number one when it came to the McMahon family.

Seeing an opportunity to ruin "The Game's" chances at becoming Undisputed Champion, Stephanie partnered with Jericho in trying to make her husband's life a living hell. What should have been an entertaining partnership between former rivals, the Jericho-Stephanie tandem fell flat. Jericho was treated as an afterthought with Triple H vs. Stephanie serving as the real focal point.

The match at Wrestlemania X8 also proved to be a disappointment. In the main event slot, following The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan, the match was unable to capture the fans' attention and as a result, provided a very lackluster conclusion to what had been an otherwise quality event.

Triple H and Chris Jericho are among the greatest performers in the sport's history. Stephanie McMahon is one of the more talented non-wrestling acts in company history. Their program in 2000 proved to be of the most entertaining of the entire year.

But in 2002, when the focus was taken out of the ring and put on the over-the-top soap opera-esque story between Triple H and Stephanie, the entertainment that existed previously was nowhere to be found.

The World Wrestling Federation vs. the Alliance

March 2001 was a history-making month for the pro wrestling industry. In the span of a few weeks, Paul Heyman’s Extreme Championship Wrestling and Ted Turner’s World Championship Wrestling closed their doors. The biggest competition to Vince McMahon’s WWE and the most influential company of the time had both gone out of business, leaving the McMahon-owned company as the last remnant of the Monday Night War.

Still thriving, financially, following the most productive periods in company history, McMahon bought the ruins of WCW, including several contracts of its younger stars, and also secured the rights to the ECW name and later, the video library. With both companies deceased, McMahon saw the opportunity to execute an angle both diehard and casual fans had waited years to see.

The WCW Invasion angle started in May of 2001 and featured several World Championship Wrestling acts, such as Lance Storm, Hugh Morris and Mike Awesome, attacking WWE Superstars during their matches.

Simultaneously, Diamond Dallas Page was revealed as the stalker who had taken several creepy videos of the Undertaker’s wife, Sara. While Page was a major star in the Turner-owned company, it would not be until one of the company’s champions made his arrival in WWE that the Invasion angle picked up steam.

Booker T, the reigning WCW World Heavyweight Champion, made his first appearance at the 2001 King of the Ring. He put "Stone Cold" Steve Austin through a table and nearly cost the "Texas Rattlesnake" his WWE Championship. The following night, he delivered the Book End to Vince McMahon in the middle of the ring, inside the most famous arena in the world, Madison Square Garden. The momentum Booker built, however, would not last.

After a poor debut for WCW, in a match featuring Booker taking on Buff Bagwell, it was decided that WCW did not have the star power needed to stand on its own, nor did it have the support of the fanbase McMahon had hoped it would. With this in mind, Vince turned to the other defunct company of which he owned the name.

Extreme Championship Wrestling soon joined World Championship Wrestling in its invasion of the World Wrestling Federation. In a shocking moment, it had been announced Stephanie McMahon had cashed in her shares of WWE stock to purchase the deceased Philadelphia-based company. Suddenly, WWE talents Tazz, Raven, the Dudley Boys, Rhino and Justin Credible jumped shift and added additional name power to the invading forces.

What had been a rocky start to the program looked as though it was on its way to achieving the greatness many expected from it. Vince McMahon would have other plans, however.

Determined to make Steve Austin into the company's biggest heel, he had Stone Cold defect from the WWE and go on to lead the Alliance, the group name for the ECW-WCW faction. Immediately, every former WCW and ECW star was forced into the shadow of Austin, serving as his lackey while he continued to dominate WWE television.

Add to that the fact that rarely was an Alliance member allowed the opportunity to cleanly defeat a WWE star and you had a rapidly devolving situation. WWE stars defected to the Alliance to the point that television and pay-per-view events soon featured WWE stars facing other WWE stars in what were dubbed as "WWE vs. Alliance" matches.

Quickly, the entire angle became watered down to the point that fans no longer had any interest in seeing the former WCW and ECW stars sacrificed at the expense of the already-strongly booked WWE stars. For the first time since late 1997, WWE began losing viewers in droves.

The Alliance angle was a failure for many reasons. Vince McMahon allowed his personal feelings for the WCW brand to get in the way of making a compelling, money-making feud. In no way, shape, or form was he ready to allow the WWE to look weak when compared to WCW, even when he owned both companies.

The lack of stars from WCW, including Scott Steiner, Goldberg, Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash, also hurt as fans saw no real threat to WWE in the remaining pieces of the Atlanta-based company.

No one involved in the rivalry was ever the same. Steve Austin would be completely worn down by months of poor booking and, in early 2002, would walk out on the company. The former WCW stars who were mercilessly beaten every week on television found it difficult to climb out of the abyss and be accepted by the WWE fanbase. Only a select few managed to do so, with Chavo Guerrero being the only former WCW talent involved in the Invasion that is still employed today.

Most importantly, Vince McMahon's company has yet to see the same success it had prior to the feud. While he still rakes in the money and is considered one of the more valuable entertainment companies on the planet, he has yet to achieve the television ratings and pay-per-view success he had at the turn of the millennium.

The Invasion feud is the worst in wrestling history because of what it could have been and because of the damage it did do to those involved. Many can overcome a bad storyline just based on his or her abilities. It is very hard, however, to overcome a bad program that has the historical significance such as the Invasion angle had on the business.