10 Worst Years To Be A WWE Fan

2020 Vision.

Goldberg Universal Champion
WWE

There is no criteria beyond fundamental subjectivity for a list like this. "Worst" can apply to so, so much in pro wrestling. Think of the questions posed against every 12 month period in the past.

How good were the television shows and pay-per-views? What about the top stars? Was Vince McMahon in trouble with the law? How many wrestlers survived the 12 months to tell the stories? Should buyrates and ratings make a difference? Were WWE swimming in money or removing the water coolers to save it? How much did that even matter from a fan experience point of view? What did the shows look like? What did the logos look like? Was the f*cking SmackDown fist still hanging there or...?

And on it goes.

Everybody has a favourite year (some of us have 10 for a list coming soon as a complementary piece to this one), but there have been plenty of extended periods to forget in the history of a company that is currently as creatively bankrupt as it is financially flush.

And, worst of all, where else to start but right here and now?

10. 2020

Goldberg Universal Champion
WWE.com

What are you finding easier at the moment? Looking in the mirror, looking outside your window, or looking at the television when Monday Night Raw is on? All of them result in deep introspection, but at least you have control over one of them. Don't you?

Raw's numbers have dipped lately - in line with drops across the board for all mainstream wrestling - but the loyalists are sticking around for whatever reason, suggesting that the existing figures will forever be WWE's rock bottom whenever the shareholders come knocking. Physical health of talent be damned. Mental health of released and furloughed talent be damned to hell.

With rule proving exceptions such as the Firefly Fun House and the upcoming Money In The Bank matches, necessity hasn't proven the mother of invention, unless "invention" can be defined by how to effectively spotlight and promote a ceiling fan.

The company making their own new normal from this extremely challenging real one is exactly the sort of thing everybody woefully predicted right as global circumstances confined folk to their own homes en masse. Opportunities for the first ever (welcome) season finale were lost, and the Performance Center became wrestling's elephant graveyard until otherwise instructed.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, 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