10 Failed WWE Pushes One Tweak Away From Excellence

8. Ryback

Ryback WWE
WWE.com

Why it failed: For all the reasons any wrestler fails if and when they lose an undefeated streak - far too many underlying weaknesses are exposed. Throughout much of 2012, Ryback squashed geeks without recourse and never once looked like he couldn't handle the midcarders put in front of him when he was tested.

This was the case when he received a sudden elevation thanks to John Cena picking up an injury before October's Hell In A Cell pay-per-view. Undefeated, untouchable and unbelievably over, Ryback was an easy choice to slot into the position because fans were going barmy for him - but it was as though the company hadn't considered the ramifications of the decision until the show itself.

One Tweak: Keep him the f*ck away from the WWE Championship until you're 100% ready to put the thing on him.

The show with him on top drew one of the last decent buyrates, highlighting just how thirsty fans were for his act and for a change at the top of the card in general. Unfortunately for 'The Big Guy', Punk had a Royal Rumble date with The Rock three months later. He was a speedbump compared to that. Saving him for the traditional post-WrestleMania the following year really wouldn't have been that difficult.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett