10 WWE Plans Doomed From The Start

The Super Show-Down main event between The Undertaker and Triple H divided the wrestling audience between those that loved and those that loathed.

Criticisms for the laboured work tackled praise for the nostalgic overtones, in a battle as closely fought as the match itself. It mattered not to the naysayers that for many this was one more chance to see heroes do what they once did best. It mattered even less to the satisfied customers how critics just couldn't bathe in the magic of the moment.

There were ways this match could have satisfied both sides too, which only makes the debate more frustrating. In an ideal world, WWE presents a product that uniformly entertains all fans rather than dividing them into defensive tribes. In reality, there is a rich history of ideas and concepts destined to fall flat.

Presenting a 'Last Time Ever' headliner between two men with a combined age of 102 (or four of 206, if cornermen Kane and Shawn Michaels are to be counted) was always likely to result in this sort of aggro. Some ideas had even less foundation than that - at least 'The Game' and 'The Deadman's storied past had its supporters/apologists (delete as appropriate) before the match took place.

These poor souls weren't as fortunate...

Fans went into meltdown when Chris Jericho returned ahead of the 2012 Royal Rumble and said absolutely nothing until the go-home edition of Monday Night Raw.

His comeback was foreshadowed by the airing of some elaborate vignettes set in an empty school but Jericho appeared to be attempting to skew the obvious narrative by shutting the hell up instead of explaining what the f*ck it (or even, his return) was all about.

Thirsty for intrigue during one of the most creatively barren periods in company history, audiences relentlessly speculated on what it could all mean. His return had played to type before he subverted expectations with silence, sadness, then cynicism.

Was he making a point about the overly scripted promos killing characters? Had the serious gimmick he'd previously played in 2010 warped his ability to be himself? Was he testing everybody's patience with fake smiles, fake tears and a fake appearance in a six-man tag he walked out on?

Nah.

"It's gonna be the end of the world as you know it", were the long-awaited last minute words.

"All of that, for those few words?" quibbled commentator Jerry Lawler, in gimmicked confusion. It was the most astute remark he'd made in years. Jericho didn't win the Rumble, the world didn't end, and his charge into a WrestleMania didn't remotely focus on what audiences had seen - or hadn't - the prior month.