7 Times Wrestling Should Have Called An Audible

On Monday's episode of WWE RAW, the Undertaker interrupted Braun Strowman's would-be show-closing promo.

It was a scene drenched in irony. Strowman was mooted as potential opponent for Undertaker at WrestleMania 32. That baffling peak Vince McMahon suggestion was waved away by both 'Taker and fans alike - and yet, just one year later, fans were deeply moved by the tease. They chanted "Holy sh*t!" in unison, desperate for the legend and the monster to wage war. At this rate, it wouldn't be a surprise if Elias Samson emerges as the man to retire Undertaker at WrestleMania 34. Wrestling is insane like that.

Unfortunately, Strowman answered the silent gesture by sort of meekly exiting the ring. Fans groaned. It was another platform on which to cover Roman Reigns in glory - and yet, if 'Taker was permitted to utilise his veteran presence, he could have called an audible, had Strowman get the better of their impromptu exchange, and created scope for Reigns to rescue him. The scene would not have deviated from the tone of the Reigns/'Taker torch-passing rivalry. If anything, it would have logically followed up on the positioning of both men, and given 'Taker a further reason to reassert his dominance.

That's a Strowman argument (sorry). Unfortunately, the heavily scripted nature of WWE in this modern era means the possibility of this happening was remote. It wasn't the only occasion on which a veteran star with the nous and power to exercise his power should have done just that.

Forget that Triple H and Randy Orton had to follow Undertaker and Shawn Michaels at the Reliant Stadium. That excuse is touted by Trips as the reason his match died a death, even in the face of evidence to the contrary. John Cena, The Big Show and Edge Triple Threat followed immediately afterwards, and that match generated a decent reaction, under the circumstances.

No, Triple H's successful WWE Championship defence was played out amid library silence because the book was written the wrong 'way round. He and Orton had annihilated one another in an escalating procession of over-the-top angles in the build-up. A more or less straight singles match, which Triple H had green-lighted as creative overlord, was a complete anti-climax.

Triple H was already owner-elect by 2009. He had the power to alter the match as it was in progress - and he was never shy about professing his supposed wrestling acumen. He should have sensed that the crowd had already been punted into a permanent state of tedium, brought forward the ref bump, and smashed Orton to pieces in a rousing display of destruction. He could have even blindly punted the referee, knocking him out for a second time, reinforcing his Cerebral Assassin persona in a classic babyface turnabout-is-fair-play trope while ripping up the prearranged, methodical structure.

Their match was an interesting experiment, on reflection - a somewhat inventive method of subverting Orton's callousness - but it was ultimately too clever - or too stupid - for its own good.