10 Worst WWE Set Designs

5. No Mercy 2000

WrestleMania X8
WWE

WWE managed to get four monster buyrates out of Stone Cold Steve Austin getting mowed down by an unknown assailant in November 1999.

The sold the Survivor Series itself as a show he was set to main event. They flogged Backlash the following April on the strength of his partial return. They promised that he'd figure out exactly was behind the wheel at September 2000's Unforgiven. The guaranteed he'd beat the f*ck out of revealed driver Rikishi one month later at No Mercy.

The story already started to feel botched, but it was undeniably the biggest one in the company when the company presented the October show. That was reflected in a video clip of the hit-and-run being played on a loop all night onto the stage. A novel idea, but did the screen really need to be some tacky corrugated plastic?

This was the year of taxis hanging atop the Madison Square Garden tunnel, the swinging blades of Backlash or a SummerSlam structure big enough for Shane McMahon to be in the air for an eternity when he fell off it. Much like the Rikishi payoff itself, this was shockingly low on inspiration.

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett