10 Worst Excuses For Terrible Wrestling Moments
Times when WWE, AEW and WCW came up with the dumbest excuses imaginable.
More fans would've flocked to the building if only the weather had been better. TV ratings would've been higher had that basketball/ice hockey game not been on at the same time. People just didn't get what the writers were going for. Wrestling is full of excuses like that, but hey - if that's what it takes to help the folks in charge sleep at night, then fair enough.
Not all excuses are valid though.
Sometimes, companies like WWE and AEW just mess up but don't want to throw their hands in the air and admit it. So, they deflect blame onto someone/something else and pray fans are in a forgiving mood. Most of the time, they are. The biz hurls so much content at you that it's impossible to stay mad for long anyway.
It is, however, funny to look back on some of the excuses these promotions and their wrestlers have thought up over the years. On occasion, even those who seemingly don't have any skin in the game on the outside attempt to justify poor decision-making and pass clangers off as an easy fix.
That's wrestling 101. It's often hard to determine what's the bigger bluff: Action in front of the cameras, or all of the nonsense that goes on behind the curtain, in meetings and during interviews.
10. James Ellsworth Must Look Handy
What Happened: Enhancement worker turned full-blown member of the roster James Ellsworth wrecked the finish to WWE's first ever women's Money In The Bank match. During the 2017 pay-per-view, Ellsworth shimmied his way up the ladder, grabbed the briefcase and pulled it down before tossing it to main gal pal Carmella.
The Excuse: On TV, WWE explained away Ellsworth's involvement by having GM Daniel Bryan set up a rematch on SmackDown, but it was too little and definitely too late. It didn't sit well with fans that a male wrestler had effectively won the ladder match originally.
Sure, James needed to look effective as a gopher to Mella, but having him haul down the case sullied what should've been a historic moment for women's wrestling in the company. The idea that Carmella needed a dude to do the heavy lifting for her knackered the point of pushing women to the forefront.
Making Ellsworth look useful was more important than women's wrestling, apparently.