10 Awesome Storylines That WWE Totally Ruined

If there’s one common thread running through most of WWE’s botched angles, it’s missing the opportunity to create a major star. This is especially true with the Edge/Lita/Matt Hardy love triangle, which should’ve seen Matt break through to the main event, but ultimately doomed him to an eternal midcard role.

In 2004, Matt Hardy fell to a serious knee injury that took him off the road and sidelined him for close to a year. At this point, Matt’s girlfriend Lita started travelling with Edge, and while Hardy thought nothing of it at first, the two forged a bond way beyond friendship during their time together. Matt uncovered the affair after finding a suspicious text on Lita’s phone, the story went public, and while fans rallied behind Hardy, the company released him.

Why? Edge was being pushed as a main event star, Lita was the most popular woman in the country, and Matt, in WWE’s eyes, was injured and expendable.

The severe punishment only amplified the sympathy for Hardy, however, and he soon became a huge cult hero among WWE fans. Edge’s heat went through the roof, meanwhile, and Lita, a babyface at the time, was so besieged by the fans’ disdain that the company had no choice but to turn her heel and pair her up with Edge on-screen.

Matt eventually returned, and the stage was set for one of the most personal rivalries in WWE history. The problem lies in the booking, however: WWE completely failed to take advantage of Hardy’s huge surge in crowd support, and continually had him lose ground to Edge throughout. This would’ve been fine had Hardy won in the end, but no: Edge defeated Matt on an October 2005 episode of Raw, and Hardy was banished to SmackDown.

Edge would’ve likely been a megastar regardless of the feud’s outcome, but the victory would’ve sent Matt stratospheric. The result remains a huge WWE misstep, and the biggest “what if?” of Matt’s career.