One of the most annoying aspects of being a wrestling fan that makes a bad show seem tolerable is watching the career of our favorite wrestlers waste away in front of our very eyes. When it happens, we tend to play Vince and rewrite the travesty we deemed poor booking in our minds. Unfortunately, when reality hits and Raw and SmackDown comes on we're reminded that our fantasies remain just that. I figure since we can't change stupid booking... why not laugh at the dumb, directionless decisions made by WWE? If you've been a fan at least a month you'll understand what I'm saying has merit. Finding 15 dumb decisions that stopped a wrestler's push wasn't hard to come by, it was figuring out what should and shouldn't make the list of some seriously bad moves that happened over the past two decades that actually turned out to be a big contributing factor to the reason WWE has such a lack of star power today.
It's simple, WWE is the grasshopper who didn't prepare for winter and when it came, they were left in need. Now, I'm not advocating that every wrestler deserves a push or that WWE is the evil corporate giant that loves to bury just because, but when they screw up, it should be acknowledged. As a heads-up, not every push stops at a main event or world championship...it's arriving to the point where the two become synonymous with a wrestler we've accepted as the man all the time, not during an emergency. Without further ado... let's begin.
15 Cesaro As A Paul Heyman Guy
Usually when someone becomes a Paul Heyman guy, their career flourishes. Names like current Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, CM Punk who saw a 434-day WWE title run, and even Curtis Axel who at least won an IC Championship on Heyman's watch have benefited from the smooth-talking, cutthroat manager that is Paul Heyman. Unfortunately, for the Cesaro section, Cesaro would not join that list of successes. After winning the inaugural Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, it looked to be a stepping stone for bigger things considering how many of us thought the match had a level of importance, but as we found out, it doesn't.
The night after WrestleMania XXX, Cesaro canned Zeb Colter as his manager for Heyman, which would ultimately result in occasional victories, too many losses and no mid-level, much less world titles. Even worse, in July of 2014, only three months after their partnership, the two split. What looked to be a push toward greener pastures turned out to be nothing more than a time filler for a guy currently doomed to be no bigger than he is now.
14 Zack Ryder's 1-Day Intercontinental Championship Reign
Rewind the clock back to 2011, Zack "The Internet Champion" Ryder set out to get himself over with his Long Island Iced Z gimmick on his YouTube channel. Turns out his efforts paid off with growing fan support, which earned him a U.S. Championship run and a storyline with John Cena that would see to it that Ryder lost his girl (Eve Torres), his title and even his mobility.
According to a 2015 interview with JTG on Solomonster Sounds Off, Zack was demoted for getting himself over without WWE's blessing. Now, fast forward to 2016, the night of WrestleMania 32, the hardly booked Zack Ryder won his first IC championship. Fans are shocked, Ryder and his dad are overjoyed...but then the jokes came. Those jokes circulating online being Ryder would be a transitional champ. Well, 24 hours later those saying so would find out how right they were, proving Ryder wasn't even worth a mid-card title run past a few days, and just how unwilling creative was to push even a little, but even worse... he lost the rematch to The Miz.
13 Shelton Benjamin's Momma
Shelton Benjamin isn't called one of WWE's best pure athletes for no reason. He's gifted, a "Gold Standard" for others to aspire to when it comes to in-ring competition. Too bad however that Benjamin came up in an era where in-ring ability wasn't as rewarded as it is today. If there was one thing that could have ruined any hope Benjamin had of becoming a main eventer...it's when his "momma" became his manager. To take you back, Benjamin was on a losing streak and was reached out by his (storyline) momma, who didn't raise no loser. After that call, Benjamin's losing streak turned around with a win over Viscera and a IC title win over Ric Flair, but at the expense of his credibility. Shelton became a comedy character who needed his momma to help him win matches. The same Shelton who managed to beat Triple H three times and Jericho for the IC title in 2004 and had a decent mid-card feud going over Jericho in 2005 had lost the the momentum he had in those years prior to his momma stepping in to save the day.
12 Booker T's WrestleMania XIX Loss
Booker T is the five-time, five-time (repeat three more times) WCW champion, but in 2003, before earning the right to face Triple H at WrestleMania XIX by last eliminating The Rock in a battle royal on Raw, he was never able to call himself a former WWE or World Heavyweight Champion. Back when a wrestler had to achieve accolades in the company, they were currently in to be deemed credible and worthy by fans, Booker's victory over The Rock and win over champion Triple H himself in a tag-team match were clear signs he was building that WWE resume fast.
The match was deeper than a regular singles match, as racial elements were added to it by Triple H implying Booker was less than him for reasons outside of being a former WCW star, while ridiculing his "nappy hair" while Booker looked on at the champion, saying his role was to entertain him. Come their big match, Booker would lose, to one pedigree after a long crawl-over cover. There was no rematch or comeuppance for Triple H, who was made to look far more superior.
11 Apollo Losing An Intercontinental Title Match To Miz
Four months into his main roster run, Apollo earned an IC title shot against Miz at the biggest party of the summer. Sad that this is worth explaining nowadays, but traditionally up-and-comers would typically work their way up winning mid-card titles serving as stepping stones for world title runs, or solidifying a nice position in the mid-card. WWE had an opportunity to continue that tradition with a guy they saw talented enough to be called up. In an era where anybody liked by a thousand fans or so is deemed worthy of a world title run, it would make sense and be apparent that Apollo would leave SummerSlam as the new IC Champ, but nope, he lost. It's one thing not to deem a perfect combo of size, strength and quickness with amazing athleticism world championship material, but to pass up on making him at least a mid-card champ is plain dumb. Almost 2 years later, Apollo hasn't had a career highlight to rival that since.
10 Rusev Losing U.S. Championship At WrestleMania 31
Rusev was undefeated until he squared off against John Cena at WrestleMania 31. Keep in mind this was before Cena put over guys regularly like he does now. Prior to their WrestleMania match, Rusev scored a submission victory over Cena at Fastlane, which helped maintain his dominance, but at the cost of his streak and U.S. Championship when it came down to the rematch. Ever since that loss, Rusev hasn't regained any momentum and hasn't had a championship or prominent match at WrestleMania since.
This isn't all Cena's fault considering he doesn't write the show and did lose to Rusev to give him that feather in his cap, but it was the wrong place and that messed up the pace for a guy who could have been a main eventer by now, having cemented his legacy as a true foreign heel by defeating SuperCena so he'd fail to capture his precious U.S championship to the disappointment of millions of women and children.
9 Roman Reigns Losing At WrestleMania 31
Roman Reigns was scheduled for a big babyface victory over Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31, but that wasn't without controversy. Between the IWC's claims of Reigns burying their beloved Daniel Bryan, beliefs he was pushed too hard and too soon having earned this first WrestleMania main event after less than three years on the main roster with a standard build typical of babyfaces, Vince switched up his plans in fear fans would think he had cloned John Cena and the last decade was set to repeat itself. Seth Rollins was notified by the change in plans to cash in, with Reigns' approval, effectively making Rollins, who wasn't in the match and lost earlier that night to Randy Orton, the victor.
The show ended with fireworks and applause showering the heel, leaving the distraught challenger who no different than any babyface prior unable to solidify his legacy in the best manner possible. It was a call corporate made, but fans were allowed to dictate by successfully snipping the wings before it was time to fly, something that slowly ruins the business if plans can change for the slightest bit of criticism.
8 Christian's 5-Day World Championship Reign
It was no secret Christian was in the shadow of Edge his entire career. While Christian was technically a world champion when he won the ECW title, most fans knew that belt was the designated championship for guys not big enough to be World Heavyweight or WWE Champion. When Edge retired, WWE gave Christian the opportunity of a lifetime by having him win the title his buddy just relinquished. Christian was on top of the world as the presumable top guy on SmackDown...until a challenge was accepted by Randy Orton. It only took one RKO to change Christian's fate for the worse, only five days after, two in real-time due to Tuesday taping.
When the anger, confusion and laughter ended, it became clear that the loss was building to something better for the fallen champion. Not only did Christian lose the majority of the summer-long feud, this theorized master plan resulted in yet another transitional title run after a victory not achieved via pin or submission at SummerSlam. Christian would lose to Orton again and never have a successful title defense nor run again.
7 Drew McIntyre In 3MB
I can't conceive how creative pulled McIntyre's name out the hat when the conversation of creating a rock band stable was discussed. Out the three members, Heath Slater's character fit the most, but McIntyre was out of place considering his stoic, sinister Scotsman/Chosen One gimmick. For many, there was faith in Drew reaching main event status once his IC title run ended. His pairing with Cody Rhodes to form the Dashing Ones wasn't the end once the IC days were over, but was close to the slippery slope that would soon result in a draft to Raw where he did next to nothing, and another poor run on SmackDown with the only noteworthy thing he done being a member of team Laurinaitis at WrestleMania XXVIII before officially fizzling out and becoming a shell of what he used to be and nothing of what he should've been.
For a guy once deemed the Chosen One...the decision to make the guy a joke epitomized everything wrong with creative's so-called creativity, regardless of any heat he acquired.
6 Vladimir Kozlov Teaming With Santino
WWE seems to have an obsession with making big men jokes; Viscera as The World's Largest Love Machine, Brodus Clay as The Funkasaurus and The Great Khali as The Punjabi Playboy. It may be funny to Vince and some who are seeing monstrous men outside of their element, but it's an act that's getting old, and hurts the credibility of the wrestlers given the gimmick, especially if the guy never reached the brass ring. Vladmir Kozlov was another victim of this humorous booking when he went from The Moscow Mauler who was in the main event mix with Triple H, Jeff Hardy and Edge to being the big goof associated with the smaller goof Santino.
It's almost as if WWE thought it was cool because we didn't outright crap on the idea and they threw the tag titles on the comedic duo. This run goes down as an embarrassment for Kozlov where if he were to return from retirement, we shouldn't expect WWE to ever mention this dumb decision.
5 Jinder Mahal's WWE Title Loss On SmackDown
Survivor Series 2017's original champion vs. champion match was Jinder Mahal vs Brock Lesnar. In the weeks leading to the event there were rumors of the match surfacing online and fans were pissed. They weren't the only ones, as Lesnar himself felt Jinder wasn't a formidable opponent to waste an appearance on. Due to this lack of interest, the WWE championship held by Mahal, who was the most hated heel in WWE, changed hands after six months on a random episode of SmackDown.
I know the immediate reaction is feeling overwhelming joy – a jobber turned champ lost the belt he had no business having, but the stupidity behind this decision revolves around the fact Vince was hellbent on making Mahal a star, and his momentum that was much needed to redeem his jobbing reputation was thrown away for the sake of having a better brand vs. brand match. It wasn't even a PPV that aired his long awaited defeat nor was he given the belt back at Clash of Champions to further mold a future main eventer. All of this made his title run useless.
4 Punk Losing To Triple H At Night Of Champions 2011
Although CM Punk's career wasn't ruined by this loss, it was still a puzzling and stupid move, which, according to what Punk himself said in his famous Colt Cabana interview, a way to sabotage his momentum...on purpose. As this explosive feud between Triple H and Punk is recalled, many fans would turn out to agree with Punk, myself being one, considering how popular Punk was having cut the infamous Pipebomb promo, which led to defeating John Cena twice before it was cool and having him dubbed The Voice of the Voiceless.
Punk started the feud as a heel, then turned tweener and then went full babyface...at least that's how we saw it. As the story narrowed down to Triple H and Punk blurring the lines between kayfabe and reality, it became apparent that Triple H was being positioned as the good, honest businessman just protecting his family and Punk was the one to be booed. At Night of Champions Punk would lose to a retired Triple H who he'd never get a win over and then proceed to lose the next two PPVs after his summer resurgence. That's something that still calls into question the reason for any of it...at least in storyline.
3 Sting's WrestleMania 31 Loss To The Game
If you were excited to finally see the last holdout from WCW, well...you might've wished you didn't see how the retired legend was handled in WWE. Sting himself said years ago he avoided signing with WWE in fear of how he'd be booked. Knowing what we now know, he wasn't wrong. You'd think that a huge star coming from WCW as an active performer would get a big win to solidify the rep old-school fans remember and younger fans heard of, but nope. The decision to have Sting lose his debut match was especially dumb since he was a babyface who aimed to take down the corrupt corporation that is WWE controlled by an evil egomaniac in Triple H.
When he returned to face Seth Rollins months later, he had nothing to brag about to even appear a mild threat to Rollins other than his name and Crow-like antics. A win at WrestleMania would've made absolute sense given how many recognized that Sting still had it among the other key factors mentioned. Too bad Sting would go down without a chance to replicate even half the legacy he created in WCW.
2 Bray Losing The WWE Championship At WrestleMania 33
When Bray Wyatt won The WWE Championship after four long years of on-and-off again pushes, never having held any kind of title until Orton came into the picture and a loss record that almost earned him certified jobber status, it seemed WWE had finally decided to rescue Bray from obscurity. At the Elimination Chamber, Bray pinned not only John Cena, but also AJ Styles to win his first WWE championship, so for fans that was a major feather or two in Bray's hat that made it seem like he had an actual chance against Orton. Well, come the night of WrestleMania 33, it became apparent that WWE had no plans for Bray outside of that lone storyline with Orton given the fact he lost. There was no new star created, just a resume, no push, just filler and every reason to laugh at how even after all those years of jobbing, Wyatt wasn't good enough in their eyes to secure one successful title defense if he was gonna be sent right back to Jobberville...a place far worse than Viperville.
1 Baron Corbin's Failed Cash-In
The good thing about being Mr. Money in the Bank is knowing that creative has given you a license to carry the world championship at some point in the future. There's been way more successes than failures and on a show that needs all the new stars it can get, a title around your waist is basically a certainty. Those were likely the thoughts of Baron Corbin thinking he was in for the push of his young life. Little did he know that heat for challenging Dr. Joseph Maroon's concussion stats shared with his fellow wrestlers would be his "end of days."
Speaking out at what officials deemed the wrong time to do so cost Corbin his championship prospects in an embarrassing loss to Jinder Mahal a week before SummerSlam. It's argued his punishment was further rubbed in by a loss to Cena that Sunday at SummerSlam. What happened to Corbin was a classic case of cutting your nose to spite your face, a star in the making knocked down a peg that's exclusive to a roster in desperate need of talent that can help carry the brand moving forward.