10 Exact Moments WWE Stopped Trying

8. Vladimir Kozlov Gets Drafted To ECW

The Revival FTR Usos Back Shaving
WWE

WWE announcers called ECW "the third brand" with an alarming amount of patronising, feigned hype towards the end. On screen, the pretence that the Raw and SmackDown wannabe was anything other than Sunday Night Heat with a Paul Heyman-inspired name raged on, but fans weren't fooled.

That's why, when Christian beat Shelton Benjamin and secured the show a pick on the 2009 Draft special in mid-April '09, everyone in attendance yawned at Vladimir Kozlov's announcement. He'd been jousting with The Undertaker and Triple H, and been in the WWE Title mix, so this was defo a step down for Koz.

Drafting Vlad to ECW was Vince McMahon's way of saying, 'I give up, pal'. WWE had done everything they could think of to make Kozlov a monster heel, but they chucked it with the ECW move then plonked the emotionless brute into a comedy tag-team alongside miracle worker Santino Marella.

Thanks for coming, Vladimir.

Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.