10 Worst-Booked WWE Stars EVER

Soiled goods.

Triple H Shovel
WWE

Should WWE experiment with a non-static roster?

The WWE creative staff comes under heavy fire - which is what tends to happen when a writer scripts a line like "Empress Of Nothing" as a sick burn - but it must be a thankless and difficult task, padding out WWE television. Creative targets an audience of one which, in principle, simplifies matters. That audience however is Vince McMahon, which actually complicates matters. The man is incredibly erratic. One week, he'll book Finn Bálor to defeat AJ Styles on pay-per-view. The next, he'll book a decrepit dinosaur in Kane to undo 20 minutes of hard graft. And, since those events actually took place over the span of 24 hours, the difficult becomes impossible.

Moreover, the weekly churn demands filler, which in turn results in arbitrary win/loss records and the diminished aura that results from an all-encompassing sense of meaninglessness. A non-static roster approximating the territory days may see the end of, say, Dolph Ziggler doing the same things over and over and over again. In an indictment of the modern, competition-free system, the majority of the list entries that follow are from the recent past. Should WWE experiment with a non-static roster?

Or should they just fire the f*cking writers?

10. Wade Barrett

Triple H Shovel
WWE.com

The absurd burial to which Barrett was subjected at SummerSlam 2010 is well-documented. He warrants an entry on this list for that one minute and 38 seconds alone.

On top of that, at TLC 2010, Cena defeated Barrett in the titular attraction. That in itself was banal. He was the top face in the company. The aftermath of the match was crushing to Barrett; Cena had already defeated him, which rendered the whole thing nonsensical. He was meant to be the babyface. The logistics were stupid too. Cena rather helpfully placed Barrett under a table before the match's infamous stunt, in which Big Match John literally buried Barrett under a barrage of falling chairs. To Wade, it must have felt as if he was sleeping under heavy hailstone. Michael Cole claimed that the gesture was "symbolic", also using the actual term "buried".

It was also prophetic: as the Nexus fizzled away, Barrett formed the Corre - the dumbest name for the most ineffective and forgettable faction in modern wrestling history - and was repackaged as a record collector (amassing five themes in as many years), a King, and a bearer of Bad News. Barrett got over big time in the latter role. He wasn't meant to.

But we can cheer and boo who we want, so he was fine.

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!