10 Main Event Wrestling Gimmicks That NOBODY Liked

4. Antiestablishment Big Show

Chris Jericho Painmaker
WWE

For a distillation of Vince McMahon's wildly unpopular decline, indeed his entire modus operandi, one need only recall the late months of 2013.

Daniel Bryan was pushed, rather cruelly, as the antiestablishment pro wrestler raging against the meta sports entertainment machine that was the Authority stable. WWE even had him go over John Cena clean at SummerSlam, and for what? So that it would feel that bit more gutting when he was relegated to the midcard? Were they really that cruel?

Yes.

Yes they were.

And, for added sh*ts and giggles, they thought - they really thought - that the Yes! chant was more over than Bryan, and simply gave it to the Big Show. This was a profoundly arrogant misinterpretation of what the audience wanted, since, as a lumbering big man, Show was Bryan's literal in-ring antithesis. Antiestablishment Big Show was promoted to the main event, and if they really wanted to make him cry, they should have shown him the Survivor Series 2013 buy amount. The show drew a lamentable 179,000 buys, down from Hell In A Cell (200,000).

Does that mean relegating Daniel Bryan in favour of the Big Show was, in fact, not best for business?

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!