10 Times Backstage Politics Ruined WCW

8. Stick The Belt On Benoit To Placate Him!

If Gunther told Triple H that he wanted out of WWE so he could go to AEW, then 'The Game' wouldn't stick a World Title on his want-away wrestler and hope for the best. Similarly, Tony Khan surely wouldn't bung his top belt on Kenny Omega if it became clear that he, The Young Bucks and Hangman Page could head to WWE at any given moment.

WCW in 2000 was no ordinary outfit - they were bonkers.

Chris Benoit won the group's World Title at Souled Out 2000 then told WCW he was leaving a mere 24 hours later. In truth, Benoit and other pals like Dean Malenko, Perry Saturn, Eddie Guerrero and Shane Douglas hadn't been happy for a while, but this title change was done largely to placate Benoit and maybe stop him from leaving. So much for that!

It was also booked because the World Title scene heading into Souled Out was a mess due to injuries. Bret Hart, Jeff Jarrett and a few select others had been gunned down on TV in the weeks before that pay-per-view, so someone had to wrestle Sid Vicious in the main event. Why not Benoit? Maybe giving him that nod would make him think twice about going to the federation.

WCW's scheming backfired, and they ended up with the latest in a long, long line of title vacations the night after putting the title on Benoit. He, Saturn, Malenko and Guerrero wound up debuting in the WWF as The Radicalz a short while later. Douglas stayed, and so did fellow rumoured unhappy camper Konnan.

Oops.