10 Times Wrestling Fans Got What They Wanted (But Didn’t Realise)

7. "We Want Vince McMahon To Stop Ruining Stars He Didn't Make"

trish stratus mandy rose
WWE.com

Vince McMahon's last WWE run wasn't as horrific as his worst stretches as a promoter.

Think of 2019, when it truly felt like Vince had lost the plot entirely. Doppelgängers, Wild Card Rules, Two out of Three Falls matches, trying to bring back the Attitude Era by...slightly dimming the house lights for the third hour of PG WWE Raw: it was all staggeringly mental.

But 2022, by his standards, wasn't...actually...that bad.

He promoted Cody Rhodes as Cody Rhodes, thereby answering a longstanding complaint: Vince McMahon almost invariably treated talents that had jumped like total sh*t, at least initially, before they'd proved themselves to him. After he had to not be mean-spirited, amid the original expansion, only Ric Flair was afforded the megastar treatment. For a long time, he stood alone as the rule-proving exception - until Cody made his return in WWE. Presented as a superstar immediately - much of WrestleMania's selling point was built around his return - Cody proceeded to defeat Set Rollins in a superb trilogy, clearly cut promos in his own distinct voice, and retained his entrance theme.

It was staggering, and Vince elsewhere was a boring promoter (and ar*ehole human being), but the broken clock ticked nonetheless.

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!