10 Times WWE Stopped Promoting Its Own Products
Such good sh*t... or simply, just sh*t.
Vince McMahon has made quite the name for himself as a businessperson, taking his father's regional professional wrestling promotion and turning it into a billion-dollar global enterprise. For the longest time, the pinnacle of pro-wrestling careers was reaching WWE, but the company didn't climb to the top because all of McMahon's ideas were strokes of genius.
Today, wrestling fans are more vocal about 'Mac Daddy's' mishaps, and he is often pinned as being far too bullheaded to produce products his consumers actually want. However, from time to time, he does admit WWE's shortcomings, albeit sometimes rather quietly.
As a business magnate, the 'Genetic Jackhammer' can't resist but try to generate revenue from outside sources. Unfortunately, such a greedy desire to broaden WWE's financial horizons has led to many embarrassing failures.
While WWE rarely comes out and admits it's wrong, it has quickly extinguished numerous products over the years, and after much razzmatazz, they are rarely spoken of again. The wrestling juggernaut might not always be able to erase a bad move from its history, but it can always pretend it never happened in the first place.
11. Honorable Mention: The Saudi Arabia Shows, Sort Of
Putting it in the kindest way possible, WWE's relationship with Saudi Arabia has been an absolute mess.
Most recognized the partnership in 2018, but WWE actually began its alliance in 2013. In the early goings, the house shows were more low-key and received minimal criticism.
It was when WWE announced its first Network Event from Saudi Arabia in 2018 that troubles started to arise. Early promotion led fans to believe the event would be PPV-quality, but it turned out to be an over-glorified house show. The company was criticized as well for creating propaganda-like bumpers for Saudi Arabia in the beginning.
Conversely, following the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi - presumed to be at the hands of the Saudi state - the sports entertainment company didn't so much as mention the venue leading up to Crown Jewel. It was just in some desert with an orange sky.
Still, controversy has ensued whenever WWE travels to Saudi Arabia, not to mention the ongoing lawsuits from March and April 2020, which focused on alleged fraud and hostage situations, respectively.
No wonder WWE failed to mention where the shows hailed from. Additionally, despite a few title changes, the results hardly mattered weeks later. Since the disaster began, it seems as though the company might simply be riding out the rest of its partnership, especially if the deal isn't panning out.