10 Shocking Times WWE Pulled The Plug On Mega Pushes

2. Paige

Lacey Evans
WWE.com

Paige's 2014 main roster debut was the sort of NXT call-up any number of graduates could have used ever since - even with a small botch, it was a supremely effective way of trying to usher in a sea of change.

'The Anti-Diva' was the NXT Women's Champion at the time, and talked her way into a Divas Title quick-win against the dominant AJ Lee on the post-WrestleMania XXX edition of Monday Night Raw.

Surrounded not by New Orleans natives but hardcore superfans and travelling British supporters, Paige went down a storm in front of what amounted to a hometown crowd. She'd gone down in flames by the end of the summer, and inadvertently taken AJ with her.

The two were assembling some decent displays with a pathetically small allocation across WWE's broadening weekly schedule, and the lack of care and attention predictably scuppered their chances of breaking out from the p*ss-break slot the Divas had been consigned to for years.

Months spent alongside Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks and others throughout the latter half of 2015 weren't enough to reinvigorate her act before a 2016 surgery sidelined her for over a year. She'd tragically be forced into early retirement within months of her return.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett