9 Exact Moments WWE Booking Stopped Making Sense

2. The R Stands For "Retcon"

John Cena CM Punk
WWE

When R-Truth's contract wasn't renewed by WWE in June, the outpouring of support was even strong than that usually extended to those that have sadly just lost their jobs.

It was understandable; Truth was a near-two decade long TV fixture, and a charming comedic one at that. He'd accomplished plenty in and out of WWE before a 2008 return that stuck, and for periods where there was almost nothing to enjoy about WWE, R-Truth was there to ensure fans had at least something - if fleeting - to smile about. He'd continued that following the regime change in 2022, working his way into The Judgment Day by the end of 2023 and Tag Team Title glory as part of a critically acclaimed WrestleMania XL weekend.

He was and is a made man, but fans of a certain age found out for the first time that no jobs in WWE are ever forever when Ron Killings was given notification that his services were no longer required. Until, strangely, he was. Responding in kind to loud protests, the market leader (allegedly Nick Khan himself) reversed the call, had him re-signed and revealed as much during John Cena and Logan Paul's tag battle with Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso at Money In The Bank. The only problem was, it didn't appear as though the returning hero had been in Triple H's longterm plans.

'The Game' made space for Truth to cut one serious promo and cut his hair, but whispers of a top-line push were deemed laughable within weeks. Speaking of which - the entire Ron Killings character got its own time machine after John Cena stepped out of one in the summer. When 'Big Match John' saw the light, so too did Medium Match Ron.

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Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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