The WORST Wrestling Story Every Year (1989-2025)

2019 - Roman Reigns Gets Attacked

Erick Rowan Doppelgänger
WWE

The Seth Rollins Vs. the Fiend programme might top your list - probably because, in their infamously terrible Hell In A Cell main event, Seth was disqualified for attempting to use a sledgehammer when the Fiend was free to use a bigger mallet earlier in the match (which, definitionally, can’t be thrown out).

That, or those times when Aleister Black hid in a dark room and asked people to pick a fight with him when he was better off interrupting a match himself. Had he not watched WWE before? Had Vince McMahon not watched WWE before?!

Or the Usos pranking the Revival and calling it a programme. Or the relentless cuckolding angles. Or Erick Rowan petting an unknown creature in a cage. Or Baron Corbin treating Roman Reigns like he was an actual dog, and Roman selling for it like this nonsense was a grave insult.

2019, infamously, was the most nonsensical year in WWE history - an utterly insane procession of non-stop bullsh*t. It was the year Vince started to defecate internally, and upwards, into his brain.

In the summer, Roman Reigns was attacked by a mystery assailant. The angle was horrendous. The hysterical acting on Kayla Braxton’s part in particular was as poor as wrestling acting gets - and the worst wrestling acting makes a porn star pizza delivery driver look like Daniel Day-Lewis.

Erick Rowan was spotted at the scene. Rowan attempted to convince Roman and his boss Daniel Bryan that his doppelganger just happened to be there, backstage at SmackDown, that very night - and the babyfaces were scripted to legitimately contemplate that explanation as the show went off the air.

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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!