10 Wrestling Storylines Totally Different To How You Remember

5. The Rise & Fall Of Evolution

Undertaker Bones Thumb
WWE.com

How you remember it:

A star vehicle that worked in the end, whether by accident or by design. Genius premise, too; with multiple generations of talent working in collaboration, the very presence of Ric Flair and Triple H endorsed Batista and Randy Orton before they even did anything. Yes, they bungled Randy Orton's face turn by repackaging him as a smug coward, but he got over enough to launch the longest main event run in company history. The Batista turn was all-time great storytelling; flashing his teeth that bit more every week, it was so good that AEW, by virtue of pattering the Wardlow push after, it considers the storyline as much a cornerstone of pro wrestling storytelling as the peaks of JCP, ROH and NJPW.

What it was actually like:

The television and match quality was largely very drab. Even Batista's WrestleMania 21 coronation mostly worked because the goodwill extended towards the storyline was so glowing. Beyond the Hell In A Cell blow-off, not a single match worked by or between members of Evolution while they were in Evolution even approached "classic" status.

And the promos, Jesus Christ: given that Trips was playing the Ric Flair role, the Four Horsemen comparison acts as the ultimate indictment. Flair cut legendary, enduring promos as the World Champ of his stable; Triple H spent 15 minutes saying "The fact of the matter is..." eight times a night for about three years.

 
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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!