10 Dumbest Decisions In Wrestling History
Herd's the word.
WWE is so wealthy that it is literally incapable at this point of making dumb decisions because there are no consequences to them.
In any other paradigm, the formation of NXT UK is a dumb decision. WWE loses money just by operating it. WALTER, Pete Dunne and the other name stars don't earn significant money, but they don't come cheap, either. WWE, aware that NXT UK is a cold brand, no longer bothers to tour it. There are no tickets to even sell to the public because NXT UK exists entirely out of spite. It's essentially WWE's version of the Bullingdon Club; they burn money in the face of the working class for daring to aspire. Any emerging UK talent was purchased - "That will cost 30 scorched Yemeni schoolchildren, thank you" - to ensure that the competition starved.
WWE created a sub-company, knowing it would die, knowing that it didn't matter, just to ensure the death of the nascent British wrestling scene. NXT UK defines this weird new era in which we exist. WWE killed a company - its own - with the most cynical of motives.
Other wrestling companies died out, or flatlined, because...
10. Verne Gagne Refuses To Believe In Hulkamania
Owner and promoter of the American Wrestling Association, Verne Gagne, was hesitant to push Hulk Hogan as the face and Heavyweight Champion of the company. He won the title in April of 1982, but this Dusty finish was retconned six days later.
Perhaps Gagne's impulse to lean towards legitimate technicians meant he couldn't allow himself to go all the way with the Hogan push. It's telling that the technically formidable Nick Bockwinkel bookmarked Hogan's reign. That is the consensus: Gagne, himself a legitimate athlete and traditional grappler, resisted Hogan's demonstrable star power under his rigid and soon-to-be-unfashionable philosophy.
Prior to Hogan's AWA run, Vince McMahon, Sr. fell out with him for taking the role of 'Thunderlips' in Rocky III, believing it to expose his pro wrestling persona.
Vince Jr. was exponentially less reluctant to push Hogan; where his father felt the role undermined his credibility, the son was astute to realise the opposite was true, and that Hogan was the perfect vehicle with which to cross over into the mainstream. He already had; 'Thunderlips' was an unforgettable cameo received well by critics, and under Vince Jr.'s new vision, Hogan was an ideal candidate precisely because he wasn't a traditional-looking wrestler.