10 Bad Habits WWE Must Kick In 2019

9. 50/50 Booking

Andre The Giant HBO Vince McMahon
WWE.com

Who won the programme between Finn Bálor and Baron Corbin?

Bálor defeated Corbin at Extreme Rules, but he used a legitimate wrestling hold that wasn’t an impact finisher, i.e. a fluke, and so this became stupid, stupid pretext for a rematch to something people barely wanted the first time ‘round. Corbin won that rematch, because that’s how WWE books. He won all 20 endless minutes of it. Nobody wanted to see a repeat of it.

WWE repeated it.

Bálor, as the Demon, squashed Corbin at SummerSlam. Not fair! He was wearing paint! We can only react to that with pedantic cynicism, because it’s not as if WWE has done a bloody thing to show us the lore behind the alter-ego. So they clashed again. Corbin won that No Disqualification rematch, because that’s how WWE books.

Are you keeping score, or have you lost all interest?

Finn Bálor 2-2 Baron Corbin. They went 50/50. So did Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley, The New Day and The Bar, The Miz and Daniel Bryan in singles, Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler…

WWE runs two types of lengthy rivalries: one in which clean enough wins are traded arbitrarily, and one in which massively contrived f*ck finishes are used as a means of prolonging them.

Neither does much for anybody.

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!