10 Ways WWE Treats Its Fans Like Idiots

When the Monday Night Wars ended and Vince McMahon hoovered up the assets of WCW into the gaping maw of his own company, WWE became an island. The next two decades saw the promotion become the one true giant of the industry and everyone else wrestled in its shadow.

Props must go to places like Impact and ROH that formed during these years and fought valiantly for their own audience. Numerous incredible independent stars made their names in places like these who would eventually make their way to WWE: Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe and so on.

Very sparingly, WWE will make reference to other companies and when they do it’s usually only tiny promotions that either pose no threat or have a working relationship with the sports entertainment giant. Despite big stars of the likes of Impact and ROH coming in with a huge boost of momentum, WWE wants to pretend that they just plucked them out of the ground one day.

WWE hires these men and women based on their experience and popularity and then does everything they can to distance themselves from it with name and gimmick changes galore. It is the Vince McMahon way to make sure that the Cesaro we see is not the Claudio Castagnoli who was lighting up the independent scene.

And if you were a world champion elsewhere? Forget about it. Didn't happen.