10 Storylines WWE Has Already Messed Up In 2018

Storytelling is the core of professional wrestling and the aspect of the art form that distinguishes it from simply being a staged version of any other combat sport. Fans come to wrestling for soap opera revelations, shocking twists and turns and characters that make sense, even if their motivations, friendships and allegiances might change along the way.

Anyone who spends any time reading about wrestling online, though, will know there's a certain class of fan that enjoys nothing more than complaining about booking. As much as a perfectly told storyline arouses plenty of discussion, there's also plenty to talk about when the company gets it wrong. Fortunately for those fans, Vince McMahon and his creative team over at Titan Towers are often unable to get things right when it comes to booking a coherent storyline from start to finish.

At this stage, only a third of the way through 2018, the casualties of WWE's hyperactive writing team are piling up behind them. There have been high-profile feuds turned into incomprehensible narrative messes and stars shunted to one side just as they should have been in the centre of an enormous push.

So it's time to take a look back at some of the missed opportunities of the year so far and a series of storylines that WWE probably should have kept a closer eye on before they drifted over to the trash heap.

Whether it was due to uncertainty about Ronda Rousey's match or a simple desire to leave the Asuka door open, the SmackDown Live women's division was all over the place between Royal Rumble and Fastlane. Charlotte Flair, the dominant champion, became embroiled in an initially intriguing feud with the new trio known as the Riott Squad. The newbies sought to make an impression by taking out Flair, as well as her friends Naomi and Becky Lynch.

The booking of this rivalry was a total mess and it did nothing to improve the standing of the Riott Squad, who have since been shuffled across to the Raw brand. Flair tore through Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan in convincing singles victories one week after the other, before turning her attention to Ruby Riott, who received a championship match at the Fastlane show. That match was solid, but it proved to be a lacklustre culmination to the feud.

Everything about this story from the beginning screamed that it was a placeholder rivalry to fill time. Rather than using it to further the growth of the Riott Squad and sell them as a formidable force, this was instead a simple stopgap to ensure the SmackDown Women's Champion had something to do on TV.