10 Biggest WWE Creative Mistakes Of 2018

2. Daniel Bryan Vs. The Miz

Sasha Banks Bayley
WWE.com

This programme wrote itself, but WWE creative were tasked with writing it, and so it failed.

You know that Pulp Fiction scene, in which the Jerry Seinfeld lookalike storms through the door, screams "DIE MOTHERF*CKERS!", and fires his gun, only to not even graze Jules and Vincent? That's WWE creative failing to hit a story beat. And yet, everything somehow does die. It's really quite astonishing.

WWE cannot write storylines, nor provide moments of hard-earned triumph, and so the Daniel Bryan Vs. The Miz storyline died. We can't just have one match, ever, and so The Miz defeated Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam. This was actually well done (the incredulity never fails to depress); the scheme concocted by Miz and Maryse, a clever subversion of Bryan's pre-match promise, was just despicable enough to maintain Bryan's integrity: Who cheats in front of their infant son? The issue here, and many wider issues affected the programme, was the card placement.

Following a lengthy WWE Championship match, an exhausted crowd failed to muster much enthusiasm for an unlikely dream match two years in the making. It was a very good match - but nothing great. Not the life-affirming stuff we booked in our heads. Just as the bloated pay-per-view model compromised everything, so too did cross-promotion. Bryan, who had wanted to punch Miz in the face for two years, instead asked his wife to do the honours for him. It was nice, really: Brie genuinely helped Bryan on his road to recovery. But that was no way of booking what should have been the nastiest in-ring rivalry of these times.

The feud arrived out of nowhere, with neither man built effectively as final boss nor uprising hero, and ended just as suddenly: at Super Show-Down, Bryan wrapped Miz up in a small package, in what was an uninspiring "fluke". Maybe that's all Daniel Bryan ever was to them.

Maybe that's why, and the following six words would have bled your eyes if you'd read them the night of March 20, Daniel Bryan turned heel in November.

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!