10 Best Payoffs To WWE Storylines
A big red debut, the dawning of a new millennium and of course the odd major title win...
Over the years, it’s almost been fashionable to lambaste WWE for its creative outputs, from questioning why—or indeed, how—Mae Young would give birth to a human hand, to straight up bashing them for thinking that the image of Triple H simulating sex with a corpse could ever have been considered a good idea.
Thankfully though, it hasn’t all been car crash TV. In amongst the occasional howlers, there’s been more than a fair few gems along the way, with various angles being given the kind of dramatic and well-thought out payoffs they were deserving of.
Over a period now spanning multiple decades, we’ve seen the company hype up and deliver on some awesome debut segments, seen them wrap up stories that have gone on for years with satisfying and logical finales, as well as giving us the odd overdue title coronation that helps to remind us of the unusual charm that pro wrestling can, on occasion, provide.
Here, we take a look back at ten of the most memorable storyline payoffs that we’ve seen go down in WWE, starting with the climax to one of the most glittering careers the business has ever seen.
10. Ric Flair’s Retirement Tour
After a three-month hiatus, Ric Flair showed up on Raw in late 2007 with the blockbuster announcement that he had absolutely zero plans of retiring. Unfortunately, Mr. McMahon had different ideas.
McMahon decided that Flair could only stick around on the proviso that he carried on winning. Basically, every match of Flair’s would now be a “career-threatening” match.
As is the way in professional wrestling, that ultimatum prompted a four-month undefeated streak, in which Flair beat the likes of Randy Orton, Umaga, Triple H, and even Mr. McMahon himself. They even ran the gimmick at some live events to really keep the idea of retirement alive.
Come WrestleMania, Flair decided that if he still wanted to be “the man” then he’d have to beat none other than Shawn Michaels—an ask that ultimately proved a step too far.
In his final hurrah, an invigorated Flair left it all in the ring, before a dramatic finish saw Michaels get the win after uttering the words “I’m sorry, I love you” to his idol.
Was it corny? Possibly. But did it pull on the heart strings? 100%.