10 Wrestlers WWE Protected In The WORST Way Possible
WWE didn't actually do these guys any favours by shielding them from criticism.
WWE doing all they can to creatively protect wrestlers is one thing, but sometimes the company has taken it too far. Way too far. In a bid to make these men and women look like the greatest going, writers have shielded them from criticism that's totally valid - whether that's coming from fans in the stands or the rest of the roster behind the curtain.
Look, jealousy is clearly a factor in all of this. Wrestling locker rooms can be childish, and Bruce Prichard's story about Bob Holly claiming WWE should just stick the top title on him because he's tough springs to mind. Bob thought he was overlooked for the belt and it was unfair. Not quite. Maybe Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle etc had the big prize because...they deserved it, drew money and fans accepted them as main-event talent. "Maybe".
If management wanted to play along with Holly's delusion, then they'd have bent over backwards to give him a lengthy reign on top. Unfortunately for ol' Hardcore, he was never important enough for WWE to ignore obvious personality flaws or book him like the second coming of Roman Reigns from 2020-present day.
Nepotism, outright favouritism and undeniable talent/box office appeal can skew the promotion's approach though, and there's no denying it. Some folks get away with more than others, but this isn't always a good thing. Often, it leads to egos running completely out of control or someone's glaring issues being exposed in the worst way imaginable.
These wrestlers thought they could play by different rules than everyone else. Sometimes, they did!
10. The Ultimate Warrior’s Archaic Style Is Exposed
Only around 4 years had passed between The Ultimate Warrior being fired in 1992 and his early-1996 return, but it felt like a lifetime. Vince McMahon, who was starting to feel the competitive heat from WCW post-Nitro launch (which would only worsen when the nWo landed), was desperate for big stars and attractions. So, he turned the other cheek on Warrior's glaring deficiencies.
Ultimate returned in time for WrestleMania XII and squashed a young Hunter Hearst Helmsley like he was nothing. Fair enough, Triple H wasn't what he'd become in '96, but there were bigger problems with Warrior than that. He was a one-note act when fans had grown accustomed to seeing more than that on top of cards.
People popped for Warrior and enjoyed the Hunter squash at 'Mania, but it didn't take long for them to grow bored of the same old, same old. Since Warrior's 1992 exit and the end of the Hulkamania boom he benefitted from generally, the WWF fanbase had been reconditioned to enjoy stellar, workrate-heavy matches in the main event slot by the likes of Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels.
Anyone who didn't fit neatly into that category, like Diesel or The Undertaker, proved talented/smart enough to adapt. The Ultimate Warrior was just never going to do that. He neither wanted to nor saw the need to do so. By protecting Warrior and effectively letting him relive the late-80s/early-90s, the federation shot themselves in the foot and woefully exposed how limited he was compared to others.
The returning "saviour" was never going to thrive in a 'New Generation' that required more than muscles and rope-shaking.