10 Fascinating Facts About WWE In 2010
WWE binned Dominik Mysterio plans 12 years early and almost killed The Undertaker all in one year!
WWE was in a strange place as 2010 dawned.
Bret Hart returned to company TV for the first time since 1997, Vince McMahon was talking about retirement, Shawn Michaels did retire, and the company planned to scrap longstanding pay-per-view favourites it now deemed "obsolete". Fans weren't happy with that, so plans changed, but it was clear WWE was seeking something new to reinvigorate the place.
NXT debuted as a replacement for a show that had defo outstayed all welcomes, WrestleMania XXVI was bloody massive, and there were high hopes an upstart heel group could furnish the top line mix with fresh stars for years to come. That'd end up being the case, but the main breakout star probably wasn't who McMahon and cohorts thought it would be.
In a fascinating thought, WWE also considered having CM Punk pull the trigger on something that'd be put on ice for 12 years. It's safe to say one of 2022's most shocking moments wouldn't have had the same impact had it become wrestling's latest repeat.
Here's everything you might not have known about 2010. A new decade, the full-time in-ring end of the road for some old faves, and a disastrous moment that could've realistically killed a company legend!
10. It Had The Final ECW PPV Match Ever
ECW was dire by 2010. Truthfully, the third brand had been on its last legs for a good few years, but it limped into the new decade anyway. Vince McMahon eventually decided to put a bullet in his less-than-extreme take on Paul Heyman's brash original in February, and the original NXT concept was readied as a hasty replacement.
Before that, "ECW" had one last pay-per-view stop.
Christian was tasked with pulling something worthwhile out of pet project monster Ezekiel Jackson at Royal Rumble. The match was decent, and Zeke would end up being the final ECW Champ, but not even the addition of William Regal as Jackson's manager could convince fans he was the next big thing.
The history books would lay it all out: Rumble 2010 marked the final ECW World Title scrap on PPV ever. February's change of pace was a mercy killing though. The title had become a lower-midcard belt in all but name, and that had been the case for a long time.