10 Wrestling Storylines Where Evil Won
4. Stephanie McMahon Vs. Brie Bella
In an attempt to extract every last bit of juice from the Daniel Bryan Vs. The Authority storyline, Brie Bella was folded into the saga long after it was dead, and in a miraculous development, this subplot was actually really good!
For a bit!
It was good because Stephanie McMahon was a great heel character undermined by just one rather glaring flaw: she can't put anybody over. Since that is the exact f*cking point, most everything she did from 2013 onwards, beyond the odd obligatory bump at WrestleMania, was unbearable.
Her delivery was great.
She was almost phenomenal at depicting herself as the domineering boss who held sway over everything and everyone. The disingenuous cadence; the aloof disgust; the specific awfulness of the dialogue: if she'd just taken a slap to the f*cking bracket every other week, she'd have been an elite-tier heel.
She did take a slap in the build to her match with Brie Bella at SummerSlam 2014. Brie slapped a giggling Stephanie square in the mush. It was great. It was the endgame for Steph's very character!
Steph slapped back when the feud heated up, and won the match at the pape when Nikki turned on her sister. Evil won, and WWE separated a big drawing act, only to put them back together when Brie also turned. Turns out Stephanie's awfulness is catching. Good.
Good escapism.