10 Times WWE Mocked What We Really Wanted

7. The Brand Split

Demon Vince McMahon
WWE

You really wanted the grand WWF Vs. WCW war, didn't you?

Of course you did!

Practical issues undermined the whole thing. The WWF had to rebuild the aura of WCW itself, which was difficult enough without considering that most of the name stars opted to sit at home earning vast sums of money for doing nothing.

But, also, f*ck them. The ECW twist was a masterstroke, and Rob Van Dam was almost certainly over enough to lead the charge alongside Booker T and Diamond Dallas Page provided - and this is crucial - they weren't booked as an imbecile and an incel, respectively. DDP was scripted to say that he wanted 'Taker to make him famous, when he was doing better numbers working Lance Ringo in 1997.

So you didn't get your little dream programme.

You got something better.

WWF Vs. WCW...it's almost there. What if, instead of that, you got WWF Vs. WWF?!

That's twice as good! Gets rid of the problem, if anything.

The brand extension proved that WWE had the resources and personnel to in effect run a second nationally televised promotion. They just didn't want to run one with the WCW branding. Stupid hick losers. F*ck them and their sacrilegious fans.

The brand split, while grim consolation, was good-ish...for a while...

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!