10 Very Bad WWE Ideas That Lasted For Years

4. Brand Warfare At Survivor Series

Roman Reigns
WWE.com

In 2016 - and this was still a painfully early 2000s-adjacent development - Shane and Stephanie McMahon oversaw SmackDown and RAW respectively as part of a faithful brand split.

Fighting on behalf of bosses in a bid to appease them, while still a dire worker bee mentality that makes the pro wrestler feel more like a put-upon admin assistant, at least made sense in 2016. The stakes were nonexistent beyond "attempting to subdue Stephanie's anger for a week or two," but there was a reason - a sh*tty reason - for the show to happen.

In time, and what an indictment of modern WWE this is, WWE took a thin premise and ruined it beyond recognition.

The colour of fabric alone magically compelled acts to invade the respective shows - on which certain wrestlers actually enjoyed more success a month prior - leading to hysterically contrived brawls fought for no purpose whatsoever.

Those t-shirts weren't emblazoned with the lamentable "Property of..." branding, but they might as well have been. No agency, no stakes, no nothing, except some "brand supremacy" marketing spiel that nobody cares about in September or December.

Even the top stars think it's a load of sh*te, but it's easy money, isn't it?

 
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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!