Controversial Agreements with Creative Decisions

[rrg251]

It's common to express "controversial" opinions that run counter to WWE's creative decisions. Examples: "Chad Gable deserves a push," "The Attitude Era was overrated," and "The Iron Man Match at WrestleMania XII may be highly-regarded by both fans and the company, but to me it was a slog and what was up with that 0-0 tie at the end of the time limit?" But I'm here to ask about times when it's controversial to say that WWE got it right.

Here's my example: The ending of the Summerslam 2010 main event. To me it seems like everybody complains that WWE got this one wrong and that Nexus should have won. But I disagree with that disagreement. To have a team with Cena, Edge, Jericho, Hall of Famer Bret Hart, and Daniel Bryan (the best member of the Nexus in the first place) lose to a team that included Michael Tarver, Darren Young, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, and David Otunga would have been ridiculous and it would have buried the members of Team WWE. And as for Wade Barrett, who probably would have benefited most from a Nexus victory, the guy was pushed way too fast anyway and didn't look credible in his title feuds because he wasn't ready, not because he didn't win the main event of Summerslam after less than three months on the main roster.

I say it was the right decision to quell the Nexus at Summerslam 2010, what are some situations where you feel alone in saying WWE was right?

[Deleted]

Here's one that runs counter not just to general consensus but to the first example you gave to the contrary - Chad Gable sucks. He's technically fine in the ring (though I can't think of anything he's done worth seeing that wasn't against the Revival) but everything he does as a character is incredibly tryhard and he's never had a look that didn't make him come off like a total midcard goober. He's not someone I would ever even consider pushing as a serious singles threat.

[67 more]

Get this ready off the bat

[67 more]

My own one.

I know a lot of people hate the Summerslam 2015 Taker/Brock finish. (Summary: Brock makes Taker tap to the kimura. Taker taps underneath Brock, the ref doesn't see it but the timekeeper does. Timekeeper rings the bell, referee is utterly confused as he didn't call for the bell and goes to argue with the timekeeper which allows Taker to punch Brock in the dick and then lock him in the Hell's Gate. Brock flips Taker off before ultimately passing out for the technical submission.)

Most people's problem is why did the timekeeper ring the bell without the ref's call? I like it because it was so important that Taker tapped for the first time that the timekeeper completely forgot himself and marked out. I also like the idea (this was never stated, just what I'm inferring) that Taker was so much more savvy than Brock that he intentionally tapped in a place the ref wouldn't see, hoping that it would make Brock release the hold, but still keep the match intact. The fact the timekeeper reacted was just an added bonus for Taker and allowed the opening for the low blow.

[chazraps]

Bayley beating Charlotte for the belt at Fast Lane 2017 with interference was absolutely the right call.

They had a strong story going but, on its own, it would have absolutely petered out by Mania.

The interference gives an excuse to 1) continue the feud for a Mania moment and 2) logically call for making a multi-person elimination match.

It being an elimination match took out Sasha so it was all on Bayley to prove herself all by herself against Charlotte on the biggest stage possible and was then absolutely successful.

WWE got it right.

[Deleted]

May 16, 2021 2:13:10 GMT -5 chazraps said:

Bayley beating Charlotte for the belt at Fast Lane 2017 with interference was absolutely the right call.

They had a strong story going but, on its own, it would have absolutely petered out by Mania.

The interference gives an excuse to 1) continue the feud for a Mania moment and 2) logically call for making a multi-person elimination match.

It being an elimination match took out Sasha so it was all on Bayley to prove herself all by herself against Charlotte on the biggest stage possible and was then absolutely successful.

WWE got it right.

Yeah, I'm with you on that one. Also... No one gave a flying f*** about Charlotte's undefeated on PPV streak. It wasn't really talked about as anything but an obnoxious albatross around her booking and they'd already wrecked any possible meaning it would've had by having her lose a tag match to Sasha and Bayley months prior then just pretending that didn't happen.

[Mozenrath]

Ryback versus the Shield, I'd favor the Shield, too. Of course, I'd have probably not had them keep fighting each other after Hell No and Ryback lost the TLC match, anyway, and just moved him on to something different.

[Hit Girl]

The decision to not make CM Punk "the guy"

He's too abrasive to be the face of the company, if there had to be one.

[3cheers4ramirez]

Brock beating the streak was a fantastic idea and produced exactly the type of moment wrestling bookers should be dreaming of.

[Deleted]

Cena staying face, I'd have enjoyed a heel run and it would have led to some good angles but in the great scheme of things make a wish and other charity work he did is more important.

[James Fabiano]

Here's one that's kind of creative decision, kind of real life:

Stephanie and her feelings about 9/11.

Did it sound totally ditzy/not the best comparison? Sure. But I think I know what she was trying to say. Trying to compare one scary thing to another scary moment in her life.

[Sam Punk]

HHH at mania xix

[Mozenrath]

May 16, 2021 3:59:08 GMT -5 James Fabiano said:

Here's one that's kind of creative decision, kind of real life:

Stephanie and her feelings about 9/11.

Did it sound totally ditzy/not the best comparison? Sure. But I think I know what she was trying to say. Trying to compare one scary thing to another scary moment in her life.

Yeah, honestly, wasn't offended then or now. I mean, if the government was trying to put my dad in prison, that'd have probably been the scariest shit in my life to compare it to, too, even if I get why people get irritated about it.

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

May 16, 2021 3:25:42 GMT -5 @selhurst said:

Cena staying face, I'd have enjoyed a heel run and it would have led to some good angles but in the great scheme of things make a wish and other charity work he did is more important.

This is a major one for me. It’s partially because I had to put up with a lot of shit from Cena haters over the years for being a fan during his reign on top, but he really was that engaging and charismatic for the younger crowd. And yeah, he hooked a few adult fans along the way as well.

John didn’t need to be made edgier, because at the end of the day he’s still a champion level wrestler who’s beating the snot out of his opponents every week. That’s already edgy, that’s an aggressive and badass character by default. Just because he liked to crack the occasional silly dad joke and was consciously family-friendly, that still didn’t take away from his mystique, IMO.

[RI Richmark]

Not having Daniel Bryan win the 2015 Royal Rumble. Remember at the time it was believed that Brock Lesnar was leaving for the UFC after WrestleMania 31 so the WWE was only going to get one chance to build a new superstar by having him slay the beast. Bryan already had his moment last WrestleMania and had major health concerns. In fact a few months later concussions would force him to retire for 3 years so a victory over Lesnar would have been wasted here.

IMO the WWE made two mistakes here:

1. Putting Bryan in the match in the first place. After last year the WWE should have known how the fans feel about him and should have known how they would react when he got eliminated.

2. Having Roman Reigns win. Roman hadn't been built up enough for such a big spot yet. Dean Ambrose, Rusev, Bray Wyatt or Dolph Ziggler would have been much better choices.

[Deleted]

While I think in terms of broader trends it was a continuation of a long stupid idea, and they certainly could've found a better way to do it than a squash match that all but killed the character until Cena sacrificed himself to redeem it somewhat, I do think the Fiend losing to Goldberg was more a good thing than a bad one. The character was pretty much a creative dead end, both the Bryan and Miz feuds sucked, and Bray / Roman wasn't a remotely interesting match on paper because it's been done 800 times and it was never good. At least Roman / Goldberg had it actually happened could've potentially been a decent Lesnar / Goldberg-style sprint.

[Alice Syndrome]

May 16, 2021 3:21:36 GMT -5 Hit Girl said:

The decision to not make CM Punk "the guy"

He's so abrasive to be the face of the company, if there had to be one.

Punk is like Low Ki or Austin Aries if they could actually keep their shit together long enough to finish out a contract.

[Alice Syndrome]

May 16, 2021 3:59:08 GMT -5 James Fabiano said:

Here's one that's kind of creative decision, kind of real life:

Stephanie and her feelings about 9/11.

Did it sound totally ditzy/not the best comparison? Sure. But I think I know what she was trying to say. Trying to compare one scary thing to another scary moment in her life.

I do this thing all the time where someone is telling me a story about something bad that happened to them and I try and relate by also telling a story about a similar thing that happened to me, to let them know that I empathise and understand, and they'll get through it OK, so yeah I completely get what she was going for.

[Magic knows Black Lives Matter]

Christian was gonna be a dookie ass champion so him getting the big happy win and then losing it to Orton was for the best. Don’t know why they couldn’t just wait until the next month’s ppv but the actual booking was fine

[karl100589]

I like a lot of the ideas behind Rikishi being the man who ran over Austin. Rikishi had the physique to be a monster heel and it was clever to link it to the real world implications of Austin's absence (ie The Rock becoming a bigger and more successful star with Austin AWOL). The mistake was the change being too sudden (even though Kish was upper midcard he was still doing comedy spots which should've been fazed out before the turn) and not changing enough about him after the turn, he was still doing stinkfaces in his sumo thong when he was supposed to be a despised badass.

He was booked like crap too. The Austin match at No Mercy was a squash and he was made to look like a fool in his failed run-in for the Angle/Rock title match.