10 Times WWE Was Literally As Stupid As WCW

4. Forgetting The Rules Of The Show Literally In The Middle Of The Same Show

Ultimate Gunther THUMB
WWE.com

On an infamous episode of WCW Thunder in May 2000, amid the war between the New Blood and the Millionaire's Club, Vince Russo declared that a series of matches were to settle the score. They were all to be held under 'New York Rules' (in Memphis) which - initially - meant that there were no rules, no referees, and the winning wrestler had to count their own fall. None of these f*ckers attempted a fast count because Vince Russo was much too stupid to think of the most gaping plot hole.

By the second match, the rules had changed, which allowed Lex Luger to defeat The Wall via table wreckage. In Russo's defence, he did effectively say "Do what you want, who gives a f*ck".

In 2019, WWE, having encountered ratings woes once again, decided to implement a "Wild Card Rule" which allowed the promotion not to end the brand split but also to not carefully build new stars, all at the same time.

Three roster members from RAW and SmackDown were permitted to appear on different brands for one night only. Initially, this number was limited to three: SmackDown's Daniel Bryan, Kofi Kingston and Roman Reigns headed to RAW to kick off the new initiative.

They were swiftly joined by Elias and Shane McMahon, and then Lars Sullivan. On the same night. The arrivals of these fourth, fifth and sixth SmackDown talents convinced McMahon to set a new limit.

Of four.

Christ, even Russo could f*cking count.

On the subject of which...

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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!