10 Wrestling Storylines That Wasted Incredible Premises

1. The Invasion

HHH Adam Cole Shayna Baszler
WWE.com

The premise:

The dream wrestling storyline nobody thought possible in waking life: the WWF Vs. WCW, at last, foreshadowed at WrestleMania X-Seven by a promotion at the pinnacle of its immense creative prowess. Steve Austin Vs. Goldberg! The Rock Vs. Hulk Hogan! The Undertaker Vs. Sting! A megastar-studded battleground the likes of which were unprecedented, all built towards via the compelling, twisting episodic television at which the WWF excelled!

Had WWE recognised WCW as a credible threat, or worked to get it back over, it might have worked. It did not.

The waste:

Bruce Prichard, as he is wont to do, didn't half talk some absolute b*llocks on WWE's Ruthless Aggression series. You can't simultaneously suck your own star-making process of the late '90s, only to then turn around and say "What could we do? WCW didn't have any stars!"

They did, but as Prichard pointed out, it was cheaper to pick the real ones up a year or two down the line following the expiration of their Time Warner deals. This lazy and cheap approach bred a level of disinterest so drastic it removed WWE from relevance, and for what?

The Two-Man Power Trip?

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!