8 Hyped Wrestling Matches RUINED By Backstage Politics

Wrestling storylines never seem to end nowadays; in both WWE and AEW, in an extreme reaction to the death rattle of Vince McMahon’s creative regime, we live in an era of long-term storytelling for the sake of it. After a rousing and yet all too brief creative resurgence under Triple H, we’ve returned to a time where the most fascinating stories all unfold offscreen - among them, the future of the man himself. Are TKO losing their faith in Triple H? 

The build to WrestleMania 42, and the baffling, desperate inclusion of Pat McAfee, might indicate as much. If you can even begin to unpack the logic behind it, the story told was thus: WWE and effectively Triple H failed to shift the desirable number of tickets, so TKO drafted their guy in to sort out the mess. That does not reflect well on Triple H at all, and it’s not as if he opened WrestleMania 42 with the same proud, celebratory promo he did two years ago, is it? He might have worried about receiving the same negative response that greeted him in the wake of John Cena’s last match. Has the Rock - who didn’t take the opportunity to save the day this year - lost interest? Or is he simply giving Triple H enough rope? 

What exactly sparked WWE’s creative downfall, and might it have something to do with Triple H’s self-serving “saviour” narrative? Was he too preoccupied with taking the credit, via Unreal, to actually do his job? 

In a dishonorable mention for this list, it might be the case that Triple H’s loosening grip on power and authority is what caused Cody Rhodes Vs. Roman Reigns III - hyped at Survivor Series: WarGames 2025 - to get mysteriously dropped. 

It wouldn’t be the first time that a star overruled a booker…

There’s a story, told by CM Punk, that WWE should listen to.

Punk was the best promo in wrestling from the moment he first opened his mouth. He was a venomous, sanctimonious prick with more drive and ego than body art. He could draw heat when heat had ceased to exist. On February 9, 2002, in a Tables And Ladders match, his rivalry with Chris Hero was cemented as a cult classic war - the second indication, after the legendary 2001 ECWA Super 8 tournament, that the indie circuit was set to explode. CM Punk thought he was hot sh*t - until he first locked up with Eddie Guerrero, in a three-way match also involving Rey Mysterio, on March 1, 2002. Punk’s self-assessment after that match?

“Boy, do I suck”.  

Punk realised that there are levels to the game that even those involved cannot fathom. He was grateful for what was a humbling experience, and Guerrero’s friendship and advice in its aftermath. It drove him to be better. He used the match as fuel to become an all-time great. If the match had not happened - if the landscape was different - he might never have refined the dark arts and crowd control that only a true veteran can master. The landscape is different now. 

If you are a remotely good U.S.-based wrestler, AEW or WWE will come calling, even if you aren’t ready in the way that CM Punk was in 2005. In an era of long-term contracts and actual competition, wrestlers of Eddie’s calibre don’t pop up on what is a bleak and profoundly depleted independent scene. The conditions to develop young talent are further stifled when you consider the median age of the modern TV wrestler. They don’t really leave anymore. The lifestyle and schedule allows most mainstream talents to perform at a very good level at an age at which the average 1980s worker was finished. The space for a spot is too narrow. 

WWE has further issues of its own making; while nobody wants a return of the Killer Kalender, the near-total lack of house show reps is evident. Wrestlers often regress when they make it to the main roster. 

All of which is to state that Leon Slater - in whom WWE sees a lot as one for the future, since he worked the undercard of John Cena’s Last Match - should have wrestled Ricochet at the Mark Hitchcock Memorial SuperShow on WrestleMania Weekend this year. This one match wasn’t make or break for Slater, and Ricochet isn’t as good as Guerrero was. Slater goes out there and grabs as many dates as possible. You can see that in his work. But as a philosophy, WWE should want this match and others like it to happen. They are potential shortcuts to valuable experience in an era of dysfunctional talent development. 

It didn’t happen, and most people connected the dots and inferred the reason why: dumbass politics of the self-rhinoplasty variety. 

Slater is a TNA talent. 

Ricochet is an AEW talent. 

WWE has established a working relationship with TNA. 

WWE perceives AEW as a threat. 

TNA President Carlos Silva pulled the match, citing “partner conflicts” when pressed for comment by Fightful. 

Connect those dots, and you might agree with Dave Meltzer’s report in the April 13 Observer: “Many if not most involved with this believe the Silva about-face came from WWE”.