10 Major Flaws With WWE's Current Pay-Per-View Model

6. Screwy Finishes

Jinder Mahal WWE title
WWE.com

If you like your big wrestling matches to finish cleanly, decisively, and logically, WWE isn’t the promotion for you. Athletic standards are higher than ever, but the company continually ruin great wrestling with bad writing. No show ever passes without a myriad of distractions, disqualifications, and countouts, and the habit is wearing thin.

Such conclusions can be valuable storytelling tools when used sparingly, but their use expires when they’re called upon multiple times on every single show. Sadly, WWE just aren’t content to let matches succeed on the quality of the actual work anymore, and it’s no surprise that their two best matches of the year (John Cena vs. AJ Styles, Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne) featured hard-fought, clean finishes.

There’s a perception among certain sects of the audience that every clean loss is a burial, but this just isn’t true. Nobody will look down on a wrestler for losing a good match, and burials only happen when WWE go out of their way to deliberately make a performer look bad (see: Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss). They don’t need to do away with screwy finishes entirely, but they’d definitely benefit from applying some restraint.

Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.