10 Biggest WWE Creative Mistakes Of 2016
6. The New Day-letion
WWE aren’t exactly shy when it comes to imitating other companies’ ideas. From aping ECW with the hardcore division to repurposing Eric Bischoff’s villainous boss character with Mr. McMahon, the company have been “borrowing” from their competitors for years, and it continued in 2016.
WWE’s monopolistic situation means they can get away with almost anything they want these days, including blatant theft. “Broken” Matt Hardy and The Final Deletion saw TNA benefit from an upsurge in viral popularity this year, and WWE just couldn’t help themselves: they took themselves a slice of the pie, and the results were middling at best.
Creative attempted to recreate The Final Deletion during The New Day’s feud with The Wyatt Family. As the rivalry escalated, Bray Wyatt invited Xavier Woods & co. to fight at the Wyatt Compound, and it was every bit the toned down, PG-friendly fugazi you’d expect. There were no dilapidated boats or drone assaults here: just a bland outdoor brawl from a company terrified of hitting the same levels of absurdity as Broken Matt and Brother Nero.
A terrible idea from start to finish, the Wyatt Compound brawl was rightly slated by all who watched it. The Final Deletion succeeded for its self-aware ridiculousness and all-out fun, but this was just a typical WWE scrap in a different setting.