10 Things WWE Did When It Was Huge (And Need To Do Now)

3. Make Wins And Losses Matter

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WWE.com

Wins and losses do matter in wrestling. They have to.

Steve Austin was incredibly selective over who he lost to because he knew the power of aura and how unrecoverable it is. He refused to even enter a programme with Marc Mero because he allowed himself to be Powerbombed by his wife on television. He refused to work with Jeff Jarrett because he accurately viewed him as a career midcard act, one who would have dimmed his star power through association. He refused to put Brock Lesnar over on free television because it would have been both meaningless and impactful on his career. Austin was smart. He knew Triple H in 1999 was not ready. If wins and losses didn't matter, he would have been happy to go along with these proposals. They do, so he didn't.

Austin wrote the bible on how to get over in the post kayfabe age. You'd think WWE would subscribe to his preachings.

Bray Wyatt, meanwhile, has been stigmatised as a loser because he has lost several significant wrestling matches over the course of his run. This is not a coincidence, Road Dogg.

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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!