WWE is responsible for many of the greatest storylines in wrestling history, but there are many instances of them dropping the ball with angles. The best storylines like Steve Austin’s ascension to the top of WWE, Daniel Bryan overcoming the Authority, and Becky Lynch’s rise to the main event of WrestleMania 35 all provided some closure. Unfortunately, not all angles booked attract the same level of consideration when it comes to their conclusions, with some being left in the dust.
Many great wrestlers have been part of storylines that provided fans hope of something bigger but ended up lacking much of a payoff. We will look deeper at the angles that did not have a conclusive ending or that left the fan base content. Some were out of WWE’s control while others were just abandoned. These are ten WWE storylines that did not receive a satisfying ending.
10 Vince McMahon's mystery lockbox
Shane McMahon’s return to WWE in 2016 was an incredible moment. It created interest in the product since he disappeared from the spotlight for many years without an explanation. The return would see Shane confront his father and sister.
This storyline saw Shane claim that he had a mystery lockbox that would expose Vince’s darkest secret. The story played out with the Undertaker facing Shane at WrestleMania with a couple of stipulations on the line. Undertaker winning meant Shane had to give the lockbox to Vince and it was never mentioned again.
9 Adam Rose's bunny
Adam Rose and his Exotic Express group partied to the ring before his match each week. The popular NXT act did not find much success on the main roster. Many fans became more interested in the person in the bunny costume during Rose’s matches.
The rabbit would get involved in the action and even had a few house show matches with other wrestlers under the costume. Rose snapping at the bunny after his losses became a storyline, but there was no payoff. Instead of finding out who was under the mask, the character was dropped completely.
8 Emma's transition to Emmalina
Women’s wrestling star Tenille Dashwood had a lackluster run in WWE playing the character of Emma. Multiple stints ended in disappointment with little feuds that mattered in the grand scheme. The biggest opportunity for her came with the storyline of her transitioning to Emmalina.
This new character was going to tap into her modeling side, with rumors of ties to the old Sable character of an arrogant bombshell. Emmalina finally debuted after months of vignettes to reveal she was going back to Emma. WWE quit on the angle after it became apparent Emma didn’t feel comfortable with the character. Sadly, we never got to see what the storyline was leading to.
7 Bray Wyatt is Sister Abigail?
The mysterious Sister Abigail persona Bray Wyatt referred to in promos for years was a source of confusion for fans. Many hoped to see a female wrestler portray the character that could have been part of the Wyatt Family stable.
WWE would tease that Sister Abigail was the alter ego of Bray in a couple of backstage videos during his feud with Finn Balor. One final match between them was to feature Balor as the Demon vs Wyatt as Sister Abigail. The match was called off due to Wyatt’s illness and was never mentioned again. Fans can only assume what the Sister Abigail portrayal would have been like.
6 Hideo Itami's attacker
NXT has produces some great examples of storytelling with often fulfilling conclusions. One storyline that showed potential came when Hideo Itami was found attacked in the parking lot before a TakeOver program. Itami suffered a real injury and this was NXT’s way of writing him out of the show.
The return of Itami would come later than expected and NXT never made any mentions of him finding the attacker. Kevin Owens walking past Itami the night it happened gave a hint it could have been him, but WWE would not provide any conclusive ending to the storyline.
5 Vince McMahon's long-lost son
WWE ran a long storyline hyping up someone on the roster being the child of Vince McMahon out of an affair that took place many years ago. The angle continued to build each week with the expectations of a major reveal leading to a new star being born.
Mr. Kennedy was the person planned to be the son of McMahon that would culminate in a huge WrestleMania match against Triple H. A suspension to Kennedy for violating the Wellness Policy forced WWE to change plans. Hornswoggle was revealed as the son, leading to many hilarious moments. That was sarcasm.
4 Who was the fake Kane?
Kane had a long career with WWE with many different aspects of his character. One of his more mysterious storylines featured a fake Kane haunting him and coming out during his matches. Kane was unmasked at this time, creating the strange spectacle of a masked Kane attacking the real one.
The storyline culminated in a horrible match where the real Kane easily decimated the fake Kane. There was no reveal about who was wrestling under the mask. Luke Gallows reportedly played this role, but fans were upset at the lack of a conclusion.
3 GTV
The Attitude Era featured many wild moments and ideas that would not have had similar freedom today. One interesting smaller storyline featured the mysterious GTV segments. It featured someone having hidden video cameras that filmed other wrestlers in an embarrassing light.
Various storylines and characters were exposed thanks to the mysterious person airing their dirty laundry on Raw and Smackdown. Fans had high hopes of the reveal of the person behind GTV, but it was just dropped. Goldust was reportedly behind GTV, but he left the company.
2 Nexus attacking Undertaker
Nexus had a great chance to create a few new breakout stars with their talented faction. The idea of Wade Barrett leading a group of young and hungry talents to take over WWE amassed interest from the fan base.
One memorable moment would see Nexus interfere on Kane’s behalf to help him defeat Undertaker in a Buried Alive match. Rumors circulated that this was to set up a future match between Barrett and Undertaker. However, it was never mentioned again as Undertaker returned to feud with Triple H. We still have no idea why Nexus attacked Undertaker.
1 The Anonymous Raw General Manager
One of the longest storylines without a great conclusion was the Anonymous Raw General Manager. The mysterious person would send emails to Michael Cole whenever it was needed for a match or story.
WWE ran with this idea for over a year before dropping it without a reveal. There was a later twist with Hornswoggle being the person behind it. This was done as a comedic moment to give some sort of answer to the old storyline. Former writer Kevin Eck claimed Kevin Nash was the biggest name in discussions to be the character, but it never happened.