Had this article been written in August instead of December, the feud between Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair would have easily, easily made it into this list as an entry unto itself. As the year's moved forward though, it becomes apparent just how symptomatic the angle was of a much bigger problem rather than simply the problem itself.
The most generous assessment is that WWE offers relative parity with their time, some of the time. Raw or SmackDown aren't generally accused of only featuring one match or segment (though that has been the case), but quality is a far bigger problem than quantity. The angles are so awful that it's hard to know if the writing times are spending no time on the characters or more than anybody elses. The heel/babyface dynamics are impossibly fluid, the pushes stop and start with alarming schizophrenia and the scripting and dialogue still absolutely reeks of the blatantly obvious diversity issues in the writers room.
These are dark days, and if there's a light at the end of a tunnel it's a long, long tunnel. And, as if to highlight just how worst meant w o r s t, the absolute dirt f*cking worst was still to come, and from their supposed best...
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
