10 Times WWE Had Their Head Up Their Ass

The Big Show: Daniel Bryan, but better! Because he is large and Daniel Bryan is not!

Vince McMahon Big Show
WWE

WWE exists in a bubble formed by arrogance.

A not particularly nice carny blew up his wrestling company, reimagined the industry in his own image, and grew even more entitled and aloof when he was able to masquerade as a legitimate businessman upon floating his empire in 1999.

This is a company so detached from wider society and the conventions of reasonable human behaviour that they think it's some incredibly benevolent thing that, some 95 years after women were given the vote, they allowed their female independent contractors to participate in Hell In A Cell matches and not exist as masturbation material for its boomer commentary team. Like, f*cking hell.

Women are equal to men! To demonstrate this, Paige is going to invoke the name of Charlotte Flair's deceased brother for cheap heat. This truly is a watershed day in the battle for equality.

"And they realised they were no longer little Divas. They were little women."

It's like upper WWE management are a different species to the rest of us, as if the world we mere peasants live in must adjust to their whims and wants.

And if they want to feud with the owner of a basketball team, then who the f*ck is going to stop them?

10. Vince McMahon's Feud With Stan Kroenke

Vince McMahon Big Show
WWE

Nobody in wrestling - beyond the fans that were set to attend the event - gave a single f*ck that Denver Nuggers owner Stan Kroenke double-booked his venue back in 2009.

What happened, briefly, was thus: Kroenke, who mustn't have rated his team's chances of making the playoffs, booked RAW for the Pepsi Center without conceiving that they might, and the Nuggets made the playoffs. Kroenke claims he was apologetic, and offered the Sunday, before McMahon reminded him that the name of the show was Monday Night RAW.

Vince blew a gasket that mutated into a childish and Very WWE publicity stunt. He appeared on ESPN, presumably after telling Jonathan Coachman that he'd f*cking knock him clean out if he couldn't, and said Kroenke should be arrested for impersonating a good businessman. Phenomenal line. You have to give the awld f*cker that. He then challenged Kroenke to a Steel Cage match beforem in a cute PR move that secured WWE another day in the news, relocating RAW to the home of Denver's opponents: the LA Lakers.

But then Vince put great, disproportionate effort in continuing this thing only he gave a sh*t about by booking a babyface Team Lakers Vs. babyface Team Nuggets main event infamous for that Mr. Kennedy back suplex. But just the sight of Randy Orton, top heel, selling in a Nuggets jersey, conveyed so much.

This was the audience of one, and f*ck what anybody else thought or what the more important people looked like.

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!