10 Totally Stupid Things WWE Has ALREADY DONE Since WrestleMania 33

7. Stipulation Backtracking

Bray Wyatt Randy Orton HOH
WWE.com

The stipulation for the Payback match between Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens was hastily retconned - at first, the match was set to decide the brand on which the United States Title would call home. Then, it was quietly announced that the title would remain on SmackDown and that Chris Jericho would follow it if he managed to win. The whole affair was handled so poorly that even SD Live creative bod Road Dogg apologised for it on Twitter.

The House Of Horrors match between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt was originally scheduled as a WWE Championship bout, which makes sense. Wyatt lost the gold at 'Mania 33 and per WWE lore was due a mandated rematch.

Soon, any mention of that was omitted from the event's promotional material. It became apparent even more quickly that the title stipulation was scrapped because it got in the way of some neat 50/50 booking. Bray Wyatt is destined for an early summer showdown with Finn Bálor, for which he needs to look strong. Losing two major matches consecutively was too much for Wyatt's aura to take - but having Jinder Mahal win the second on his behalf was fine.

Everybody has to look strong, but everybody ends up weakened. This paradoxical nightmare has been killing the integrity of and meaning behind the product for years.

WWE evidently has no real idea what it's doing from one week to the next - is it little wonder fewer people are watching from one week to the next?

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!