10 Totally Stupid Things WWE Has ALREADY DONE Since WrestleMania 33

What are we doing with our lives?

Bray Wyatt Randy Orton HOH
WWE.com

It's a cliche as risible as PG SUX BRING BACK TEH ATTITUDE ERA, but Christ almighty is WWE terrible once the dust settles on WrestleMania.

2016 saw WWE repackage Darren Young as...well. It was impossible to parse. He thieved Donald Trump's political slogan and had designs on making himself relevant by procuring the services of a man who most had forgotten about in 1993. Videos aired promising the debut of the "Shining Stars" - Primo and Epico refashioned as something somehow worse than a couple of dated and stereotypical matadors. They were holiday salesman for the unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico - hardly a Russia or Syria in terms of heated political discord. Who cared?

2017 has been even worse, but the weeks following WrestleMania 33 have at least featured some excitement. The rise of Alexa Bliss has done wonders for RAW's insipid Women's division. What an awesome (and effective) heel she is. Kurt Angle's stint as General Manager has been subdued, but his role has at least made Stephanie McMahon temporarily redundant.

Most thrillingly, Braun Strowman has destroyed almost everything in his wake since April 3 - but almost, on this evidence, is nowhere near enough.

10. Finn Bálor's Booking

Bray Wyatt Randy Orton HOH
WWE.com

Finn Bálor, as most had expected, made his triumphant return on the post-WrestleMania RAW. He carried the brunt of a tag team main event opposite Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe alongside...Seth Rollins. The same Seth Rollins who put him on the shelf for months, but who he had to team with because he's a babyface now and all babyfaces in WWE are just good pals.

To be fair, Bálor did shoot Rollins something approaching a weary glance - but that was about the only sensible thing Bálor did for weeks. He scored the pin over United States Champion Owens, but either forgot or didn't care to stake a claim for his meaningless title. Maybe he doesn't watch the product. If he did, he'd know that pinning a champion in a non-title match grants one a title shot. It's only happened 800 times in recent memory.

Bálor then wrestled Jinder Mahal and Curt Hawkins for no discernible reason whatsoever. That was presumably preferable to fighting Owens for a belt which has meant more than jack sh*t for only a few months during the last ten years. Of course, he couldn't challenge Owens because there aren't so much logic gaps in WWE as gaping chasms - and despite the endless TV time with which to play, WWE is absolutely incapable of scripting an expansive, shared universe narrative.

Bálor has since remembered that he never lost the Universal Title, and has recently staked a claim to it - but it's all just an afterthought. He's obviously not that bothered - so why should we be?

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!