10 Times WWE Were Obsessed With Strange Things

Part of what makes professional wrestling so fantastic is its utter absurdity at times. Everyone has their own flavor and tolerance of craziness, but no matter what it is, it can be found (and tested) within promotions such as WWE.

The overall concept of rasslin' is a bit wacky in and of itself (most other sports don't have a theatrical counterpart), yet there are also countless nonsensical storylines and characters that somehow make the show a fluster cluck... in a good way.

Unfortunately, with endless whims coming from the big office at Titan Towers, sometimes WWE can lose sight of both the sports and entertainment aspects of its company's mission statement to humor some irrational fascination of the higher-ups. Throughout its near half-century of existence, WWE has often pushed actual pro-wrestling and compelling storylines aside to explore its most recent obsessions with all things grotesque.

There have been a few rare instances in which WWE's odd afflictions have developed into something genuinely enjoyable (or at least digestible). However, most of these puzzling infatuations were simply bizarre, if not also incredibly repulsive.

Worse, they often have had a habit of repeating themselves.

The theatrical nature of WWE has always made it stand out (no, rasslin' wasn't all that made the Attitude Era so good). However, within its endeavor to lattice sports and entertainment, the company sometimes makes leaps that are hard to digest.

Like the fantastical genres of fiction, pro-wrestling requires onlookers to suspend their disbelief. But the burden isn't just on the fans. The company also has to make an effort to stop people from going, "Well, wait a minute... "

To establish such verisimilitude, kayfabe was born to protect ongoing feuds, and a semi-realistic presentation helped keep viewers reeled in.

So, it stands to question how fire ever came into play. What other sport has competitors scorching each other as Alexa Bliss did to Randy Orton? Not even the Harlem Globetrotters shot fireballs at their opponents, and they sometimes snatched little children from the crowd to shoot some hoops in the middle of a game. (Then again, Braun Strowman did something similar once.)

Whatever the case, it's clear that there are those within WWE who are pyrotechnics. In most cases, performers have merely lit inanimate objects aflame, but some took it a step further and threatened to sear their opponent. Now with Orton burning 'The Fiend' to a crisp, it's hard to tell when the McMahon Machine will stop playing with fire. The unfortunate part is, fans will have to endure many smoky acts for years to come, even if they age about as well as a cliché.