In terms of finances, 2018 has been a huge success for WWE. PPV buys are good as are ratings and their huge deal with Fox promises more income. The Network is still a hit and their merchandise sales are strong. Sadly, in terms of creativity, WWE has been making a lot of mistakes. To be fair, they have done things right such as letting AJ Styles dominate as champion for most of the year. The return of Daniel Bryan has also gotten fans excited and Ronda Rousey as a dominant worker has been handled well. Of course, NXT continues to be a brilliantly booked territory and fans are even willing to forgive the Roman Reigns pushes given the man’s health issues.

But the year has also been known for some truly questionable moves. Even by WWE standards, some matches and feuds have been booked as poorly as you could imagine. Bad turns, programs of people who shouldn’t be feuding and more, it all piles up. From ignoring true stars fans want to pushing the folks they loathe, it really looks a case of “more it changes, the more it stays the same” in WWE.

Vince’s particular tastes in who gets pushed are still evident and that hurts a lot of the folks in the company. Here are 15 of the worst booking decisions WWE has made in 2018 and five they’ll make in 2019 to show how, no matter how much the company gets right, they’ll also get a lot more wrong.

20 2018 Mistake: Shane Wins The World Cup

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When folks talk about the McMahons' egos, Vince is of course on top. Stephanie isn’t far behind, especially with her acting like the entire women’s division is all her. But Shane has had his moments of pushed over guys simply because of that name. The biggest example has to be at Crown Jewel. After months of build on a “World Cup” to decide “the best wrestler in the world,” it was set up to Dolph Ziggler against The Miz with Ziggler ready to win and finally get respect.

Instead, with Miz “injured”, Shane came out of nowhere to book himself into the match…and win it. For him to steal the tournament out from everyone and call himself “best in the world” was a McMahon ego trip of the highest order. It undermined an already bad show and a terrible moment for the year.

19 2018: D-X Vs. The Brothers Of Destruction

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WWE has long mocked WCW’s reliance on guys past their prime. Which is why it’s so amazing that a great deal of time was spent on a feud of four men whose combined age is pushing 200. It’s quite clear Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker and Kane are all long past their prime in terms of good matches. That didn’t stop WWE from setting up Taker vs Hunter for their big Aussie “Super Show” with HBK and Kane tossed in. Given Shawn has been retired for a decade and Kane is now mayor of a town, having them get big main event shots was ridiculous.

For them to headline the now-infamous Crown Jewel show was hardly the epic “dream match” WWE kept promoting it as. It’s past time these men just rest on their laurels rather than attempt to recapture long-past glory.

18 2018 Mistake: Bobby Lashley Vs. Sami Zayn

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Sami Zayn started 2018 working with Kevin Owens as a great heel team fighting Daniel Bryan. They moved to RAW and some great promise of them rising up more. However, it faltered fast. This led to the baffling decision to have Zayn feud with the returning Bobby Lashley. This included awkward promos of Zayn insulting Lashley’s family and army background.

It was the cheapest heat imaginable and far below Zayn’s usual work on the mic. The feud itself was poor with the two just not clicking well in the ring with their different styles. Worse was Zayn coming down with an injury that’s put him on the shelf. Zayn should have been a guy challenging in the main event rather than stuck in this horrific program.

17 2019 Mistake: More “Super Shows”

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An annoying tendency in 2018 has been WWE’s need to do “Super Shows.” It’s not enough to have almost two PPVs every month, now the company has to add a Network-exclusive show from an international setting. Evolution gets a pass as an all-women PPV and a good show. However, the Greatest Royal Rumble was an overlong slog only notable for Titus O’Neil’s infamous slip and fall. The Australia show was likewise bad and Crown Jewel was a mess. Yet it’s likely WWE will continue with more such shows in 2019.

This just adds to many big shows to a packed calendar and giving away major matches for Network only. Plus, how it just means wasting a lot of money on some big show that often won’t even matter down the line. WWE should be cutting down on such huge events rather than adding more to overwhelm fans.

16 2018 Mistake: Continuing To Push Jinder Mahal

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Only in WWE can a guy who was a massive flop as main event champion continue to get plenty of pushes. In 2017, Jinder Mahal’s six-month reign as champion was terrible for business and the fans loathed this long-time mid-carder elevated so fast. One would think that would be it but in 2018, Mahal was pushed right again. At WrestleMania, he won the US title in a four way match despite how Bobby Roode was great with the belt and Rusev was also deserving. His reign was only a week long, making the win pointless.

Mahal continues to be put into storylines like the Kevin Owens-Braun feud which didn’t need him at all. It’s bizarre WWE hasn’t gotten the message that fans just aren’t taking to Mahal at all.

15 2018 Mistake: Tag Team Champion Nicholas

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Braun Strowman has been one of the most popular guys on the roster in 2018. He’s everything fans expect in a Vince McMahon main eventer with his size and strength and good on the mic too. But for some reason, Braun has yet to get his major main event shot. At WrestleMania, instead of challenging for the title, he was set to face The Bar for the tag titles. The idea of a secret challenger was interesting with plenty of options for a brand new star to make his debut.

Instead, Braun chose 10-year old Nicholas from the crowd to be his partner. Sure, it was fun for the kid but a waste of a huge moment. They gave the belts right back due to Nicholas’s age, making this one of the craziest booking decisions in all of WWE history.

14 2018 Mistake: Nia Jax As A Victim

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Nia Jax’s reputation in WWE has taken a severe hit recently. Yet in early 2018, she was rising up thanks to her presence as a monster worker and an intriguing choice to be champion. However, the attempt to sell her as the victim in a feud with Alexa Bliss was a bit much. The idea was Alexa bullying Nia on her size and Nia fighting back for all the people who had been teased. The idea of the 5-foot-1 blonde as the bully of the 6-foot 270 pound woman may have been interesting on paper. But it just didn’t click as it’s hard to sell Nia as the underdog victim.

Not only that but her turn was dropped fast as she was a heel again to face Ronda Rousey.

Today, Nia’s in hot water over causing Becky Lynch's injury but the issues of her booking were already there.

13 2019 Mistake: Creating Women's Tag Team Titles

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On the one hand, it makes sense. There’s so many women in WWE right now and just two titles. You can only do so many battle royals or tag matches to make everyone included. So adding in women’s tag belts might be a good idea. However, in execution it can be flawed. TNA tried it with a Knockouts title and it faltered due to a lack of legitimate tag teams. It can also just be a lazy crutch to keep up with shorter women’s bouts rather than build up more ladies as a serious force.

Yes, giving the women something else to fight for can be good but given how WWE has trouble keeping all the women on the main roster featured, can they pull this off? It’s more likely you’ll see them just used as props for The IIconics or Bellas rather than serious matches and, just as with TNA, soon ignored as a serious title.

12 2018 Mistake: Women’s Champion Carmella

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In 2017, the first ever women’s MITB match ended in a horrible fashion. James Ellsworth climbed the ladder to fetch the briefcase for Carmella. It was a terrible move that undermined the entire division. Carmella would keep the case for nearly a year with a running gag of her trying to cash it in only to be stopped at the last minute. Finally, when the Iconics laid out Charlotte, Carmella cashed it in to win the belt. Her reign was a mess, actually going over Asuka and garnering too many cheap DQs to keep the belt.

It ended just as badly with her losing to Charlotte instead of the far more popular Becky Lynch. Oddly, Carmella has improved her standing with fans after forming her partnership with R-Truth. But her title reign was not well received.

11 2018 Mistake: Braun’s Cash In

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The Money in the Bank cash-in has had as many failures as successes. Yet for WWE to blow it with Braun Strowman was something else. It was obvious how massively over Braun was and even a poor heel turn couldn’t truly stop that. When he won the briefcase, fans were excited thinking that for sure WWE would put him over Roman. Instead, his first cash-in attempt was stopped by The Shield. Then he did cash it in to join the main event of Hell in the Cell with folks figuring that for sure WWE would finally pull the trigger. Instead, both men got laid out by Brock Lesnar, a move no fan wanted.

Strowman then lost to Lesnar at Crown Jewel to cap off a rough year. For a guy who looks like he’s the perfect person for Vince to push, Braun just hasn’t been able to get to the top level.

10 2018 Mistake: Ignoring Rusev Day

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In 2017, Rusev was actually set to win the WWE title only to get hurt. That led to Jinder Mahal’s title reign. This year, Rusev has been rising up with fans thanks to the “Rusev Day” chants. He was truly over with the shirts big sellers and fans chanting his name. Yet WWE refused to really pull the trigger on him. He had a great shot with the US title but instead it went to Mahal.

They dragged out stuff with him, Lana and Aiden English that included Aiden’s heel turn and the “Milwaukee” mess. Rusev is a guy ready for a title run and more over than ever before. Yet because he got over on his own with the chants, WWE seems reluctant to give him his day in the sun.

9 2019 Mistake: More Part-Timers At WrestleMania

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The WWE seemingly cannot let go of the past, as they keep on bringing in former stars and keep giving them prime spots on the card over their full-time talents when the shows matter most. Word is that The Rock wants to come back to the ring for WrestleMania 35. On top of that, Batista has expressed interest in coming back for one more run. Shawn Michaels has said he's not returning to the ring after his one-off at Crown Jewel, but who's to say he won't change his mind? Either way, a lot of spots are being taken up by old names and it's very likely WrestleMania will again be headlined by at least one part-time star instead of two full-timers battling for the WWE Championship, or say Becky and Ronda Rousey headlining for the women's championship.

8 2018 Mistake: Letting The Sasha Banks/Bayley Feud Fizzle

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In 2015, Sasha and Bayley had what many considered two of the best matches (male or female) in all of WWE. They’ve played it out on RAW as allies and sometimes facing each other in multi-women matches. As the year went on, it looked like tension was flaring between the two with each walking out on the other in bouts. It looked as if WWE might try to turn Bayley heel which would be an intriguing shift to the character. But then they seemed to have cold feet and hint Sasha would turn heel instead. This led to skits of the duo seeing Dr. Shelby for therapy. In the end, the duo just ended up back as friends, making the entire build all for nothing. It was a waste for two great ladies and the division on a whole.

7 2018 Mistake: Styles Over Nakamura

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For some years, Shinsuke Nakamura was the hottest star in Japan. When he joined NXT, he was soon over thanks to his great in-ring matches and his terrific dance moves. Fans were overjoyed when he won the Royal Rumble and set to face AJ Styles at Mania. The match was terrific but the ending was a major letdown as Styles retained the belt. While fans enjoyed Styles as champion, having Nakamura take the title was highly anticipated.

It seems to have affected Nakamura badly with his heel turn and his US title reign not really setting the place on fire. The guy lost a lot of momentum in that loss to Styles which was just one bad move made with the WWE title.

6 2018 Mistake: Making Asuka Irrelevant

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As 2018 began, it appeared WWE was ready to send “the Empress of Tomorrow” to the top. Already undefeated in NXT with a record reign as champion, Asuka won the first women's Royal Rumble. That set up her big 'Mania match with Charlotte and fans prepared for her to win and take over as champ. Instead, Charlotte not only broke the streak but forced Asuka to tap out. That ruined her aura of invincibility that was always key to the character. They followed that up with Asuka coming up short challenging Carmella for the belt.

Soon, the woman who was presented as a tough and smart fighter was turned into a stereotype complete with misunderstanding English and engaging in goofy dancing. So many NXT talents have been devalued on the main roster but it’s astounding how one of the best female workers was treated so poorly.

5 2019 Mistake: Burying More NXT Talent

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It’s been a major issue for a while and it looks to continue still. It really seems as if Vince is annoyed at how NXT gets too much great press over the other brands. Triple H is always good making it work and boosting guys up nicely. Yet when they join the main roster, so many of them are instantly pushed down and ignored. The Revival were a fantastic team now turned into jobbers (when they show up).

Sure, The Authors of Pain have the tag titles but so many other NXT acts never get such a chance. Especially the ladies as scores of promising female talents aren’t given the same good treatment on the main roster. Sadly, it appears that this strange NXT bias will continue. This just makes it rougher for fans to get behind those guys and for them to do their best. Thus, it looks like the pattern of NXT stars turned into main roster jokes is likely to continue for some time.

4 2018 Mistake: Charlotte Still On Top

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Charlotte is a terrific performer and proven as a star. However, in 2018, she turned into the female Roman Reigns. She started off the year as SmackDown champion and held the belt through WrestleMania. That included beating Asuka which was already noted. Then she lost the belt when she was laid out by the IIconics and Carmella cashing in MITB. When she returned, she got into the SummerSlam match to win the title and WWE obviously expected the fans to cheer her return. Instead, fans hated it as they wanted Becky to win the title.

This led to the feud where the fans were totally behind “heel” Becky rather than Charlotte. Even when Becky won, Charlotte keeps being made to look like the division's top star. This was evidenced when Becky chose Charlotte to take her place at Survivor Series rather than the more popular Asuka. Charlotte is a good worker but pushing her as the major face after so much success is creating a huge backlash.

3 2018 Mistake: Trying To Make Becky Heel

For two years, Becky Lynch had been a dependable worker on SmackDown. Many felt she’d long been deserving of another run as champion only to be passed over for Naomi, Natayla and even Carmella. In the summer, it looked like she was on the rise with a win streak and seemed likely to win the belt. Then Charlotte got it instead and Becky turned heel. But instead of being accepted like that, Becky just became more popular than ever. No matter what, she gets more cheers than most on the entire WWE roster and the idea of her as this hated heel is ridiculous.

It’s grown more given how she sustained an injury that cost her the big match with Ronda Rousey. WWE has even been forced to accept her as a “tweener” type. Yet the very idea of making The Man a heel was a bad one that led to her as champion and a new attitude but just failing in the long run.

2 2018 Mistake: Crown Jewel

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Few events have caused such an incredible public relations black eye for WWE than this. The very idea of going ahead with the show was bad enough. The backlash over the event was huge. Yet Vince ignored the obvious bad press and just went ahead with it. Even worse was the show itself.

Yes, Roman’s sudden departure did shake up the main event majorly, but making this the return of Hulk Hogan was just more bad PR. Plus, having Brock win the title over the long deserving Braun was a terrible move. Fans are tired of Brock as a part-time champion who barely shows up on TV half the time. To give him the belt again is a bad move that has frustrated fans. It’ll be a long time before WWE can be forgiven for a show that was in poor taste on multiple levels.

1 2019 Mistake: Continuing To Push Brock

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One mistake of 2019 is going to be avoided. That would be the constant push of Roman. Indeed, if he returns after his treatment, he’ll finally be accepted as a mega-hero. However, WWE is intent on pushing Brock Lesnar as champion, ignoring the many issues. It seems Vince is obsessed with having the sight of Brock with both the Universal and UFC titles be a major image for WWE promotions. This despite how Brock is over 40 and barely shows up half the time.

Word is folks backstage are not happy about WWE just rolling over and letting Brock be on top no matter what, yet it will continue. It’s funny to think that just a few years ago fans were begging for a Brock return but now are tired of the man’s incessant pushes to the top. Yet it’s likely WWE will continue that in the coming year.