10 Awesome Storylines That WWE Totally Ruined

Great storylines are supposed to be the glue that holds professional wrestling together. Matches exist not only as an athletic spectacle, but a tool through which the performers act out their tales. Without motivations, stakes, and a solid narrative, the matches lose much of their value and become near insignificant affairs with no consequences for the winner and loser.

The matches are the sport’s foundation, but the characters and storylines are what reel fans in. At its best, pro-wrestling is one of the most exciting and unique storytelling mediums on the planet, but at its worst, it’s an absolute shambles.

WWE’s creative team has been drawing fans’ ire for years, and for good reason. Classic storylines like Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon and the Hogan, Savage, and Elizabeth saga are timeless gems, but the writers fluff their lines more often than not.

Though rarely as laughably bad as TNA or latter day WCW, WWE have thrown out some atrocious angles over the years. The Rey Mysterio/Eddie Guerrero custody battle and the Anonymous Raw General Manager set new lows for the company and left fans exasperated, but if there’s one thing worse than a story that’s bad throughout, it’s one that starts with a roar and ends with a whimper.

For a variety of reasons, WWE Creative have an annoying habit of running good things into the ground, particularly when it comes to angle. History is littered with stories that promised so much, but ended in complete disaster, and here are the very worst of them.

The Damien Mizdow saga has the dubious honour of standing not only as a great storyline that WWE botched with a terrible ending, but a depressing burial of an an extremely popular worker.

It started in summer 2014. Damien Sandow had ditched his old “Intellectual Savior of the Masses” schtick and had become a full-time impersonator. Magneto, LeBron James, Sherlock Holmes: Sandow copied them all, and while his performances were stellar, it was sad to see him relegated to comedy jobber status.

This changed when The Miz hired him as his stunt double. The role often meant Sandow taking a few beatdowns intended for his master, but Mizdow’s popularity soon exploded. The sight of him copying Miz’s every move was hilarious, particularly when selling offence from invisible opponents, and the fans loved it.

Miz, of course, was deeply jealous of his stunt double’s surge in popularity, and became increasingly domineering towards his charge. The logical pay-off was that Mizdow would eventually turn on the bully to a gigantic pop from the crowd, cementing his status as one of WWE’s biggest babyfaces, and moving him on to bigger and better things.

What happened? Mizdow did turn on Miz at WrestleMania 31, and while they wrestled a couple of times in the aftermath, they were drab, lifeless affairs. The feud ended on a whimper, and instead of becoming WWE’s next top babyface, Sandow became “Macho Mandow,” before eventually being released earlier this year. A crying shame, as WWE had the framework in place for a near perfect feud.