10 Ridiculously Ambitious WWE Ideas That Failed Horribly

4. WrestleMania VII

vince mcmahon xfl
WWE

With WWF business flailing, post-Hulkamania, the WWF simply elected to retcon the Ultimate Warrior's failed succession as the top guy - drastically misjudging the Hulkster's own fading pull.

Maybe they didn't - and maybe that explains one of the cheapest cheap heat measures even undertaken by Vince McMahon. Hulk Hogan was built as a legend through his ability to defeat all comers, even the most gigantic - but could he defeat the nation of Iraq, brother?! That was the stupid implication of Sgt. Slaughter's Iraqi sympathiser bit. Well, ish. The WWF made sure to point out that Slaughter wasn't a political acolyte, but rather he appreciated the "brutality" of the Ba'athist Iraq regime.

So: death=good.

The WWF planned on taking this thing all the way to the 100,000-seat Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum - before treacle-slow ticket sales condemned the strategy as woefully ghoulish. Ironically enough, the WWF couldn't even fill the cheap seats.

The WWF exploded in popularity with a massive brigade of massive, colourful megastars performing under the bright lights of its über-glamorous production sheen - but this exercise in pure carny posturing was perceived by the public as a regression to the hoary, lowbrow wrasslin' tactics of old.

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!