10 Wrestling Storylines That Wasted Incredible Premises
In which the NXT invasion tanks.
You might expect the Nexus to appear on this list but, following Daniel Bryan's firing, the complexion of the stable wasn't exactly formidable.
The formation angle was a derangement of the senses laced with a legitimately dangerous energy, a tone expertly orchestrated by the disquieting manner in which the "Rookies" of NXT season one approached the ring. It was a great, incredibly inspired idea to have the Rookies turn on the system that had humiliated them, but they weren't a gang of studs that functioned all that effectively beyond angles. Some had much raw potential, others were limited, one was f*cking hopeless.
So how much of a wasted premise was that incendiary June 7, 2010 angle?
On strict principle, SummerSlam 2010 was trademark WWE short-term trash, but those in charge aren't quite a car full of dumbf*ck clowns, much as they do an impression of one most of the time. Maybe they knew of what would eventually happen; Wade Barrett had it in him to improve his physique, Heath Slater's endearing jobber essence was a bad fit for a stable built on intimidation, and Justin Gabriel wasn't particularly charismatic.
There are worse creative atrocities...
10. Sting Brings Down The Authority
The premise:
At Survivor Series 2014, Sting debuted in WWE to take down the Authority in an inspired continuation of his anti-nWo vigilante character. The Authority had destroyed, brazenly, any thin remaining notion of a meritocracy with insufferable, relentless condescension. They told us what was "best for business" in tedious recurring segments, which in storyline damned the surging crowd favourites (and reality, too, creating the first wave of nihilism from which no party has really recovered) - but Sting had descended from a position of judgement to damn them right back.
The scope for an epic saga was vast, one that might have culminated a year later in a traditional Survivor Series match fought between two teams led by the opposing establishment and anti-establishment. Sting's team, revealed over the months in the rafters as disillusioned, browbeaten midcarders - and later, emerging untarnished acts playing to the old, whose-side-is-Sting-on mystery - would overcome in a match with the ultimate stakes: ending the Authority and doing the exact same show but with a babyface General Manager.
The waste:
WCW sux lol.