10 Wrestling Stipulations WWE Never Followed Through
Somebody isn't going to lose an eye live on Pay-Per-View, and other false narratives.
At The Horror Show At Extreme Rules, neither Rey Mysterio nor Seth Rollins lost an eye. Past tense in case you're reading this after the match has taken place, not because it's been taped and the spoilers are out there.
The words on your screen right now were typed five days before the their battle, but there are some things we should all feel confident enough to discuss in terms that will satisfy those reading this article after the fact. It's sometimes referred to as "timeless" content - something the Eye For An Eye match at The Horror Show At Extreme Rules will never be.
It couldn't be more of its time. This wretched, frustrating time. WWE's crowdless experimentation continues to baffle, drawing morbid curiosity rather than genuine intrigue. They told us WrestleMania was "too big for just one night" even though it's been that way for years. They sold somebody taking the plunge off a building at Money In The Bank despite explaining the roof was a mezzanine when two poor souls actually went flying. They promoted "The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever" at Backlash despite being the Sports Entertainment company longer than most of the key demographic have been alive.
Rollins and Mysterio might have hugely overdelivered as a match thanks to the drama of the story, or them both actually being great wrestlers. Or the CGI or some sh*t. Buy the idea of that, if not the stipulation WWE have sold you. And perhaps reappraise the following matches with that same lens...
10. Stone Cold Steve Austin Is Fired (Judgment Day 1998)
In an effort to spice up a dreadfully dreary heel/heel Undertaker Vs Kane main event at Judgment Day 1998, WWE positioned bona fide megastar and needle-mover Stone Cold Steve Austin as a guest referee under threat of getting the sack. When he failed to register a fall, McMahon seemingly went ahead with the threat...until it was undone the very next night.
In storylines, Austin had been screwed out of his title one month prior, with this match set to determine a new champion. In reality, the company needed to find unique ways to sell his presence without selling matches. Niggling injuries and knocks to the neck were a constant for 'The Rattlesnake' after his injury the prior summer, but both man and machine wanted to keep powering through in order to capitalise on the phenomenal growth both were experiencing.
McMahon gave Austin the big "You're Fired" speech from the safety of a box behind the TitanTron that night, but was forced at what he believed was gunpoint 24 hours later to read a fresh new contract soaked in his own piss. 'The Rattlesnake' had already been re-signed by McMahon's rebellious son Shane before the pay-per-view had even aired.
He got good at this sort of thing...