10 Worst Things To Ever Happen To Wrestling Creatively
9. Automatic Rematch Clause
Mercifully abandoned - selectively, of course, they hold you in utter contempt - the automatic rematch clause effectively branded 'CHAPTER 7' on the inside of your eyelids. WWE had filed for total creative bankruptcy by permitting - nay, stipulating - that "same old sh*t" was a contractual right of its talent. Most fans would have preferred health insurance.
There is precedent in real combat sports for this plot device, but they don't box every week. Wrestlers should not punch one another full-force in the skull, and nor should they exchange shots at the same title in a relentless succession of trilogies. The clause created such a mundane, samey vibe around WWE programming that it arguably led to the rise of its competition.
What happens if King Corbin and Elias found themselves unable to each hold onto the Intercontinental Title, resulting in an infinite loop of 15 minute TV matches that literally never ended? What happens if your face is weathered in its image, over time, much like when married couples begin to resemble one another? Some of you would say it would be good if it happened in AEW.
This practice of course led to...