10 Alternative Happy Endings To Universally Hated Wrestling Storylines

8. War, And Then Peace

Cm Punk Triple H
WWE.com

The Reality:

Prior to WrestleMania 25, Randy Orton becomes wrestling's preeminent psychopath through concussing old men, taunting their traumatised daughters, and terrorising their husbands. The Legend Killer reassumes his killer aura, thus priming him for a big babyface turn in the ensuing months. Violent home invasion angles continue to set the scene, but the bang dissipates to a whimper as Triple H somehow contrives to fashion a boring, methodical, heat-free Triple H match from the most over-the-top exciting Road to WrestleMania in an age. He wins, and puts Orton over a month later at Backlash, when it doesn't count for nearly as much.

The Alternative:

Don't do wrestling in reverse, basically; the straight singles match between Triple H and Randy Orton was typical, "logical" WWE storytelling employed when it was least logical to do so. In this alternate timeline, Orton puts Trips through hell, costing him the WWE Championship but saving him from the embarrassment of failing to reach the heights set by The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels

Randy Orton gets over; Triple H staves off accusations of big match failure; the fans aren't bored into submission.

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 current Undisputed WWE 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!