10 Wrestling Storylines Totally Different To How You Remember
Nostalgia is biased - and Steve Austin and Vince McMahon prove it...
The passing of time is a spell. We are all unreliable narrators.
Precious nostalgia informs our memories of things we enjoyed in the past, even the very recent past. CM Punk and MJF just crafted what was, at the very least, one of the best feuds of the century. Capped off by a spellbinding bloodbath classic, it was so phenomenal, heated and well thought-out at a granular level that "of the century" might do its genius a disservice. It was the very best version of a traditional wrestling feud before both students of the game ripped up the textbook to draft a new curriculum based on the complex reality of the modern fan experience and what a bad guy actually is.
It was perfect, but Punk did work a gentleman's three with QT Marshall in, of all places, Chicago, Illinois. A weirdly quiet and only solid match, it functioned effectively as a story beat - MJF was insistent that the "old man" was no longer the "Best In The World" - but it was rather too effective.
Even the absolute very best programmes dip at some point.
Some, conversely, are even better than you remember...
10. The Undertaker Vs. Kane Saga
How you remember it:
A worthy, unforgettable storyline even if you aren't necessarily into supernatural horsesh*t. The WWF, marshalled by Jim Cornette's brilliance when he still had it, built Kane as a terrifying monster in the theatre of the mind before unveiling him. And then, marketed by Vince McMahon's brilliance when he still had it, the aesthetic and the presence matched the expectation. The eerie head tilts, the committed beat-downs, the over-the-top theatre; from Badd Blood to Unforgiven, the WWF spun a memorable, daft yarn with cracking set piece angles. It went to sh*t when they reconciled, fell out again, and the real arsonist all along was revealed, but when it was good, it was good!
What it was actually like:
It was also pretty sh*tty and nonsensical when it was good. Ahead of the Inferno match, the WWF ran an angle on RAW in which Paul Bearer dug up the corpses of 'Taker's deceased parents. They of course had been burned to a permanent end. But because you, WWF fan, are as thick as f*ck, the mere visual of a coffin wasn't enough. They didn't think you'd think they were dead enough, so they stuck a bone in there. Bones that are of course impervious to fire.
Idiots.