10 Most SCATHING Times Wrestlers Buried WWE

Even ROMAN REIGNS doesn't acknowledge WWE...

Big Show Angry Hammer
WWE

Nobody in the pro wrestling media wants WWE to be bad.

This is a misconception. Buzz translates to interest in content.

Right now, WWE possesses zero buzz. Survivor Series was a pointless show bereft of stakes. The RAW main event picture is dominated by very good if very familiar talent; the ongoing Triple Threat programme is being worked by Big E, Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens, who have spent a combined 24 years on the main roster. Meanwhile, after effectively retconning NXT, the only viable acts on the up - i.e. those worth investing in that meet the Vince McMahon ideal - have probably worked about 24 matches between them: Bron Breakker, Von Wagner, Ridge Holland.

Mundane present, elusive future: WWE is reaping what it has sown, and this is of no benefit to the promotion - nor the conversation surrounding it.

Let's lay out a scenario:

Say AEW and WWE debut a new star act in the same week. Would it be "biased" to state that the AEW act has a major chance of getting over, where the WWE has act has less than none? No. It would be naive to invest in both. That's the vital distinction.

Hit Row, Nox, or Aaliyah? Or Dante Martin, Ruby Soho or Daniel Garcia?

Which group of new, pushed acts is worth getting behind?

If this isn't enough to convince skeptical fans - it was laid out by a member of the wrestling media, after all - take it from the actual talent...

10. It's Been Happening Much Longer Than You Think

Big Show Angry Hammer
WWE

Damning WWE critique isn't something that suddenly started happening when Tony Khan lined the pockets of the pro wrestling media.

The decline in quality has affected the promotion for well over a decade - so much so that every creative misstep added up to subtract its market share - and the established, protected veterans weren't shy about eviscerating the process then, either.

At SummerSlam 2010, John Cena infamously parodied his own piss-poor miracle comeback routine by no selling a head-drop on concrete and subsequently winning a handicap match in a minute and a half. This was a disgraceful scene: an injury write-off angle that was somehow also the finish. The concrete attempted to inflict a serious head injury on Cena, who said "Fine speech, sir!"

Taiwan isn't a country and concrete isn't a hard physical surface. Edge and Jericho did try to tell Cena that the finish was atrocious, but Cena no-sold that, too. "It sucked and he did it anyway," Jericho lamented on a 2013 Talk Is Jericho show on which Edge guested. "The Nexus should have gone over" Edge agreed.

"Getting dropped on your head on exposed concrete would give you a concussion," they petitioned.

"Are you sure about that?" Cena said, before saving the day.

 
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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 surefire Undisputed WWE Universal 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!