10 Times WWE Completely Abandoned Their Talent

7. Seth Rollins

Dean Ambrose EC3
WWE

"Seth Rollins: Babyface Brand Leader" was an optimistic pitch before 'The Kingslayer' ran headfirst into a version of The Fiend no longer being given the benefit of Bray Wyatt's deft touch.

Their angles together were generously spooky but pragmatically stupid, with their first encounter not only tanking an entire pay-per-view but going down as one of the worst main events in company history. WWE - the f*cking cowards - blamed their lousy non-committal booking on the poor referee, and teed up a Saudi Arabia rematch destined for a Fiend victory. Rollins, meantime, was left to rot in the aftermath.

To reset, as a babyface, he'd cowered and cried in fear over the heel before the company oversteered in the other direction and him attempt some sort of homicide when the two actually met in the cell. Dangerous enough for the referee to call it off but not for Seth to score the victory, Rollins was by then a man without a country. The "Burn It Down' wail from his entrance seemed to be an instruction from even the most pavlovian WWE fans about the story in general, rather than what remained of his dwindling fanbase.

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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