GREATEST LETDOWNS IN WRESTLING HISTORY

[Swiss Ultimate]

THE TWO THAT COME TO MIND FOR ME ARE

GLACIER NOT ACTUALLY BEING THAT GOOD DESPITE THE AMAZING HYPE.

AND.

MANKIND'S BIG MATCH LOSING STREAK NEAR THE END OF HIS WWE CAREER. IT WAS SUPER SAD SEEING HIM LOSE SO MANY TIMES

HOW ABOUT YOU GUYS?

[Stickman]

Roman Reigns.

[Fignuts]

Ultimo Dragon in WWE.

Bray Wyatt's booking from WM 30 onward.

TNA squandering their amazing roster with dogshit booking and creative.

[Swiss Ultimate]

Roman Reigns.

THAT IS ALMOST /ENDTHREAD LEVEL GOOD. THAT GUY COULD HAVE BEEN A TRIPLE H LEVEL (2000-2009) HEEL

[Swiss Ultimate]

Ultimo Dragon in WWE.

Bray Wyatt's booking from WM 30 onward.

TNA squandering their amazing roster with dogshit booking and creative.

I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE HOW BADLY THEY FUCKED UP THEIR INITIAL TELEVISION DEAL AND THE HOGAN/NWO ROSTER.

LETTING AJ AND JOE GO WAS JUST RETARDED.

[Fignuts]

At one point they had an arguably better roster than WWE.

[Anybody Thrilla]

Obviously the Invasion.

[Fignuts]

Feel like they were between a rock and hard place on that one. The big stars contracts were tied up, but if they waited, they'd be doing it when the Monday night war heat had really cooled off.

It's easy to look back in hindsight and say yeah, they should have just waited, but in the moment, it's a tough decision to make.

[Anybody Thrilla]

Sure, but it was a big letdown to me as a fan.

[Rammsteinmad]

Not so much for me, but Bret Hart in WCW must be one of 'em.

For me, at the time, I was only 10 years-old, so wouldn't have known the difference between good booking and shit booking, hell, Hak vs. Kendall Windham in a Kendo Stick match was Wrestlemania main-event quality TV for me. :D

[Sixx]

Diesel's Royal Rumble comeback.

[KIRA]

Mordecai

WWE 3HR RAW

Cruiser weight division

[Lock Jaw]

Christian not getting a push in 2004/2005.

A big deal not being made about Christian coming back to WWE.

Christian losing the world title so quickly and never getting a proper long reign.

Christian quietly retiring with no fanfare or final story.

[Emperor Smeat]

Rikishi's heel turn.


Obviously the Invasion.
Yeup. Either they should have waited longer to do it or at least made it into a 2-part story so they could get more of WCW's bigger stars involved later.

Also having too much focus being towards another McMahon family feud.

[KIRA]

Christian not getting a push in 2004/2005.

A big deal not being made about Christian coming back to WWE.

Christian losing the world title so quickly and never getting a proper long reign.

Christian quietly retiring with no fanfare or final story.

He probably got a heros retirement party backstage.

[Sixx]

Oh, DDP's WWE run.

[A.J.K]

Jerry Lawler not winning the WWE title in 2011. Mr. Perfect never winning the big one, Austin Aries's wwe run.

[A.J.K]

Christian not getting a push in 2004/2005.

A big deal not being made about Christian coming back to WWE.

Christian losing the world title so quickly and never getting a proper long reign.

Christian quietly retiring with no fanfare or final story.

Could not agree more. Christian deserved better.

[DAMN iNATOR]

Christian not getting a push in 2004/2005.

A big deal not being made about Christian coming back to WWE.

Christian losing the world title so quickly and never getting a proper long reign.

Christian quietly retiring with no fanfare or final story.

It also still sticks in my craw that they had him drop the WHC to Orton on a random SmackDown! 5 days after winning it.

[Jari]

CM Punk getting squashed by HHH after returning (when he should have been gone from WWE for a year)

Brock Lesnar's initial booking upon his return

The way the Nexus became a nothing faction

[#1-norm-fan]

Lesnar's 2014-2015 monster reign fizzled into a pretty huge letdown. He beats The Undertaker's streak and squashes Cena for the title. Starts a great "Who can possibly stop this man?" story. He ends up just losing the title without getting "stopped" and the man who finally beats him is... The Undertaker.

[DAMN iNATOR]

Lesnar's 2014-2015 monster reign fizzled into a pretty huge letdown. He beats The Undertaker's streak and squashes Cena for the title. Starts a great "Who can possibly stop this man?" story. He ends up just losing the title without getting "stopped" and the man who finally beats him is... The Undertaker.

Hooray for 50/50 booking! :shifty:

[DaveWadding]

The Higher Power.

[#1-norm-fan]

Oh, easy one I forgot about even though it was out of their hands...

Muhammad Hassan. Could have been an all-time great heel.

[Mr. Nerfect]

* TNA from the time they got Kurt Angle...then hired Vince Russo the same week.

* "We will get Roman Reigns over as a babyface!" - Vince McMahon, 2015 to present

* The Invasion

[Cool King]

A big deal not being made about Christian coming back to WWE.

"It's....It's Christian".

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Road Warrior Animal as the mystery entrant in the match Sid broke his leg.

[Fignuts]

For that to be a letdown, you'd have to actually look forward to a wcw main event.

[Swiss Ultimate]

I CAN ONLY EVEN REMEMBER A HANDFUL OF NON-DISSAPOINTING WCW MAIN EVENTS.

GOLDBERG VS. NASH WAS AWFUL.

[KIRA]

I'd say Sting's WWE run was a massive letdown

Dolph Ziggler after winning Survivor Series

Sting vs Hogan it was ...ok right up till the end where it just collapsed

I would say Hido Itami but he seems to be finding his feet as a heel.

R-Truth's heel run

Booker T VS Triple H

William Regal after winning KOTR.(next to Booker this one pisses me off the most)

Batistas ring gear when Evolution faced The Shield

Luke Harper

[Nicky Fives]

Awesome Kong in WWE

Desmond Wolfe/Nigel McGuinness in TNA

Big Show's initial run

[Sixx]

Hogan back in WWE. Other than The Rock match, he once again pushed himself down our throats. How they coulld put the belt on him is beyond me? Also, didn't he beat Lesnar once?

[DAMN iNATOR]

Hogan back in WWE. Other than The Rock match, he once again pushed himself down our throats. How they coulld put the belt on him is beyond me? Also, didn't he beat Lesnar once?

No, he never did, actually. Brock beat him on the August 4, 2002 edition of SmackDown! in their only singles match with each other.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

How they coulld put the belt on him is beyond me? Also, didn't he beat Lesnar once?

nah Lesnar squashed his ass.

[Sixx]

Oh, good. That run was so fucked up I thought that might have been a possibility.

[Sixx]

Oh, according they also had a longer match at SummerSlam.

[Sixx]

Both times he lost was from passing out of a bearhug. Guess he really didn't want to get pinned.

[Fignuts]

He wasn't shoved down anyone's throat. he was the most over guy in the company.

[RP]

I thought Buff Bagwell could have been a whole lot bigger than he was in WCW. Also felt like Benoit was terribly underused in WCW

As far as WWE, Ted Dibiase was so much better than what he actually accomplished. Kerry Von Erich could have been one of the greatest of All Time, but for some reason he got jobbed after a honest IC title run. The Brainbusters should have had a more dominant run. Though they did end Demolitions run. Also, I thought for sure Adam Bomb would be a superstar.

Some current guys.

I'd love to see a storyline of Neville taking on people outside the CW division. And Dolph Ziggler is way too good for the WWE to not know what to do with him.

[Fignuts]

Regal getting suspended right before his main event push was the exact moment my passion for wrestling started to fade.

[RP]

ya i forgot Regal

My appreciation for him as grown so much since i saw that Goldeberg match where he shoot wrestled the entire match and brought a fantastic match out of Goldberg in the process lol.

[XL]

Kennedy...























Kennedy!

[#1-norm-fan]

Oh, fuck yes. Kennedy should have been mentioned way before now.

[#1-norm-fan]

Also, Ryback's initial face run.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Nexus seems like a good pick.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Summer of Punk? It started off so hot and seemed to drum up actual interest. Then it turned into a Triple H vs. Kevin Nash feud.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Regal and Kendrick in 2008 cut me deep at the time.

[#1-norm-fan]

Summer of Punk? It started off so hot and seemed to drum up actual interest. Then it turned into a Triple H vs. Kevin Nash feud.

Another good choice for the top of the list.

I'm starting to think we could easily make a "Top 100 Biggest Letdowns" list just from WWE 2001-today and still have the need for honorable mentions.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Another good choice for the top of the list.

I'm starting to think we could easily make a "Top 100 Biggest Letdowns" just from WWE 2001-today and still have the need for honorable mentions.

I like to give you a hard time for being too negative but I think you're understating the let downs.


Realistically we're talking at least 4-5 monthly let downs since 2001.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Retroactively I'm trying to remember the last thing the WWE did right that delivered on what it could have. The Daniel Bryan stuff was laced with lots of ill-will and saw the sacrifice of Batista. Speaking of that guy, WrestleMania 21 might have been one of the best builds to an actual main event that they've done this century. Benoit and Eddie winning at Mania XX might have existed in that realm, but coming out of Mania neither was treated particularly well. Still, I guess you can maybe say that? I mean, you can't fault WWE for what would eventually happen.

Maybe some people feel that way about Braun now?

[Evil Vito]

Nexus springs to mind immediately for me. When that initial attack happened, it had been the first time in years where I was just standing right in front of my TV just thinking "what the FUCK is going on???" As bad as wrestling had felt, stuff like that was the reason I always wanted to keep watching.

Bryan getting released days later gave me a bad omen, but they wrote him off in a way that set up an eventual return and they gave the group so much steam. Them beating the fuck out of Vince was a personal favorite of mine because I was at that show.

Then of course, SummerSlam they cocked up massively by putting Cena over in classic "overcoming the odds" fashion. EVEN STILL - I think the angle could've been salvaged after SummerSlam.

Wade Barrett had a WWE Title opportunity for winning NXT Season 1. His opportunity was wasted in a multi-man match which just made him look stupid. And then when he got a chance later at Survivor Series he got dropped clean as a whistle with Cena being the ref.

The easy story would've been Barrett winning the belt at Survivor Series with Cena actually showing some inner conflict and helping Barrett win despite it killing him inside. Cena in the Nexus actually lasts a while instead of only a few weeks.

Cena wins the Rumble ("accidentally" eliminating Nexus members in the process), Barrett orders him to go to use his WM shot on the World Heavyweight Title so Nexus can take over SmackDown too. Then you get the whole "Batista turning on Evolution" type moment where Cena's all, nah fuck you, I'm coming for the WWE Title.

Cena wins the title and his freedom at WM 27. The next night they can book Cena vs. Rock like they did in real life if they want......Nexus leave Cena laying and Miz cashes in his MITB or something.

I dunno. Bottom line is they couldn't have fucked up that angle worse than they did.

[Evil Vito]

Oh and for the record, while yes Barrett wound up being an injury-prone liability, there was no reason to think this would be the case in 2010/11. He didn't get his first big injury until 2012. Hindsight doesn't change the fact that it was really shit booking.

Speaking of injury, Skip Sheffield would've become a big deal even earlier had he not gotten hurt during Nexus. He looked like a fucking killer during those group beat downs. Granted the name Skip Sheffield was ridiculous and I don't know when they'd change his name to Ryback, but he could've been great as either the "final boss" to get to Barrett or just getting a huge rub as a face when he ends up being the first guy to leave the group on his own accord.

[#1-norm-fan]

Remember those street fighter vignettes they ran for Barrett before his return? He looked badass. I think it was his first match back when he ran away from a fight like a chicken shit heel, going against everything the vignettes hyped him up as. lol

[Mr. Nerfect]

Almost every heel ends up being ruined by some sort of chicken-shit makeover.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

The problem is if heels don't back down they're pretty much just faces. I guess the key is to only have them back down at the right time.

[Evil Vito]

It's all in the delivery. I can buy a heel getting the fuck out of there if the face is somebody we're supposed to buy as a serious threat...or a monster type (Kane, Big Show, etc.)

In Barrett's case though......if memory serves he flew out of the ring to run away from R-Truth. No way should a supposedly badass bareknuckle fighter be openly fleeing from R fucking Truth.

[Evil Vito]

It wouldn't even have been as egregious had they done the whole "tease a fight only for the heel to back out and say NOT TODAY" deal. At least that's a classic way to get heat, allow the fans to boo the heel for ducking the fight but allow the heel to justify that they're not scared, just being smart and picking their spots. Works especially well when it's a case where you actually would think the heel would kick the face's ass anyway. Neville and Enzo just did that recently.

But no, let's have Barrett legit run away from R-Truth. Terrible.

[Swiss Ultimate]

The problem is if heels don't back down they're pretty much just faces. I guess the key is to only have them back down at the right time.

BAD GUYS DON'T BACK DOWN ALL THE TIME IN REAL LIFE. THE TRICK IS NOT TO PUT YOUR HEEL IN A POSITION WHERE THE FANS HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO CHEER HIM.

YOU WOULDN'T HAVE 6 FACES BEAT DOWN ONE HEEL BECAUSE IT'D MAKE THEM LOOK SHITTY. I DON'T MIND A HEEL THAT WANTS TO FIGHT.

[Nicky Fives]

"The Chosen One" Drew McIntyre

[#1-norm-fan]

The problem is if heels don't back down they're pretty much just faces. I guess the key is to only have them back down at the right time.

Not every heel needs to back down. A monster heel shouldn't be a chicken shit, for example. If he starts backing down, it kinda defeats the purpose of him being a monster. In Barrett's case, he would have been fine as a heel who could back is shit up because of his street fighting background. Just have him be a dick and start shit with the faces. Even have him cheat once in a while because... why the fuck not?

[#1-norm-fan]

In Barrett's case though......if memory serves he flew out of the ring to run away from R-Truth. No way should a supposedly badass bareknuckle fighter be openly fleeing from R fucking Truth.

Yeah, that was it. Fucking abysmal. lol

How do they not think for a second about the character they've built with those vignettes when they book that on his first night back?

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Not every heel needs to back down. A monster heel shouldn't be a chicken shit, for example. If he starts backing down, it kinda defeats the purpose of him being a monster. In Barrett's case, he would have been fine as a heel who could back is shit up because of his street fighting background. Just have him be a dick and start shit with the faces. Even have him cheat once in a while because... why the fuck not?

Even Vader backed down at certain points.

[#1-norm-fan]

I'm sure he did at times. Usually when a face was running in with a chair or something. It didn't stop him from becoming a face though. If he was just manning up and showing no fear to Sting, he wouldn't be in danger of turning face.

[#1-norm-fan]

"I'm going to/This monster I'm managing is going to murder your heroes." is more than enough to make a heel without having to have him back down.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

But as proven by Braun, people just cheer that guy.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

I agree though.... they can't be standard chicken shits. Or else they're just like everyone else. But there has to be that hell kind of cowardice.

[#1-norm-fan]

But as proven by Braun, people just cheer that guy.

Roman Reigns is not those people's hero...

[Swiss Ultimate]

I DON'T WANT TO GET RID OF THE COWARDLY HEEL. I JUST WANT VARIETY.

RAVEN DID A GOOD "COWARD".

[Mr. Nerfect]

It really helps if you have babyfaces people believe in. A big problem with keeping these guys heel is that you don't have a hero that you want to see overcome them.

[Sixx]

It really helps if you have babyfaces people believe in. A big problem with keeping these guys heel is that you don't have a hero that you want to see overcome them.

Reigns could turn BATB '96 Hogan face just by challenging him.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Yep.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Different times, but Hogan probably would have been cheered if he "turned heel" in the same context today. Reigns would be booed in whatever era.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Well I mean did Diesel get booed? Just didn't draw much but he didn't consistently get booed.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I see Reigns are more of a flop than Diesel, personally. I understand the comparison, but I think Reigns would have gone worse. As presented. There is a bad-ass motherfucker in there, but if he were wearing body armor and being protected like he was the son of the booker, I think he would have been getting more backlash than Hogan was getting circa '96.

[Anybody Thrilla]

I wouldn't call Reigns a flop just yet.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Oh, he'll be a relative star. They're not giving up on him, he's really good, and eventually the product will warp to fit him. His run so far has been though. If you took this Reigns, as he is, back in time it wouldn't work. There's no charisma there to sustain the position.

[Danny Electric]

For me as a kid it would either be the Tatanka heel turn, just never made sense.

Or that Razor never won the big one , he just oozed charisma and knew how to work the ring .

[Tom Guycott]

Mark Henry's fake retirement to ambush Cena. "I GOT A LOT MORE LEFT IN MY TANK!!!"

Soon after, he falls into the rotation of three "proud Americans" that Rusev padded his resume against (the other two being Zack Ryder and Jack Thwagger) and is barely seen on TV.

[Tom Guycott]

For me as a kid it would either be the Tatanka heel turn, just never made sense.

Or that Razor never won the big one , he just oozed <s>charisma</s> machismo and knew how to work the ring .


fix'd

[Tom Guycott]

Oh, obvious! When King Hippo went from this badass mound of monsterous "I will destroy your heroes!!!" potential to dressing like 80's LL Cool J and dancing to Ernest "The Cat" Miller's theme song with personal cheerleaders. That's the way to kill a career before it starts.

[Tom Guycott]

Summer of Punk? It started off so hot and seemed to drum up actual interest. Then it turned into a Triple H vs. Kevin Nash feud.

Another good choice for the top of the list.

I'm starting to think we could easily make a "Top 100 Biggest Letdowns" list just from WWE 2001-today and still have the need for honorable mentions.

Stepping away from post 2001 and WWE, AND in speaking of Kevin Nash...

That time Nash killed all that time and effort WCW put into building Lance Storm- one of the few times WCW put time and effort into anything- just to cut a wholly unimportant promo.

[TSI]

Its got to be Sting losing to HHH at wrestlemania. There was no reason for that at all

[Schlomey]

1. Regal failing that drug test when he was king of the ring and RAW GM..he was absolutely brilliant during that time period and that ruined his career.

2. Jack Swagger after his world title run.

3. DDP in WWE.

[Schlomey]

I was at the RAW where all the doping scandal guys got written off TV. Regal & Umaga stood out the most.

[Stickman]

Ultimate Warrior in WCW

[Maluco]

I can remember at the time being disappointed. It felt like the end of an era, but when WCW closed I tried to tell myself that it would be great seeing all these guys interact.

Turns out that it was the single worst thing to happen to the wrestling business

[Loose Cannon]

Oh, easy one I forgot about even though it was out of their hands...

Muhammad Hassan. Could have been an all-time great heel.

THIS!!

bad timing and from all the stories I heard afterward, the guy wasn't really into wrestling anyway. he wanted to be an actor. so i don't even know how far the gimmick would of even went anyway

[Big Vic]

He was rumored to win the title.

[Swiss Ultimate]

DAMN WRESTLING JIHAD.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

How about Tazz? Had about as great a debut as you can, then was virtually a nothing the rest of the way thru?

[Simple Fan]

Really surprised that Daniel Bryan's injury hasn't been brought up. The build that he had to the main event was highly supported and played out well in my opinion. His injury kind of helped his legacy as he didn't have to deal with WWE ruining anything after the fact but was a huge let down to his fans.

Me personally though would be Stings WWE run. Sting is my all time favorite and I still want to see Sting vs Undertaker at Wrestlemania. While I'm glad he finally came to WWE they used a 15 year old story that was irrelevant for today. Very underwhelming in my opinion.

[Swiss Ultimate]

How about Tazz? Had about as great a debut as you can, then was virtually a nothing the rest of the way thru?

I love Taz. I was a huge mark for him. However, his size and the size of the general roster hurt him.

[Arrogance]

Second on WWE's use of Tazz, Sting as well. WWE's crap version of ECW.

[James Steele]

DDP’s WWE run for me. I was a huge DDP mark during WCW.

[Anybody Thrilla]

I feel like saying Brawl For All for some reason.

[Schlomey]

Wrestlemania 25 and the lack of it feeling any bigger than any other show.

[Anybody Thrilla]

Wrestlemania 25 and the lack of it feeling any bigger than any other show.

Ah yes, I had converted my girlfriend to a wrestling fan the year leading up to this show, and I was hyping it up as the biggest spectacle and all that other stuff, and it fell super fucking flat outside of HBK v. Undertaker. What a shame.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Wrestlemania 25 and the lack of it feeling any bigger than any other show.

2008 was such a hot year, with some cool stuff coming through the pipeline. Regal, Kendrick, Umaga, Edge as a top heel, John Morrison, CM Punk, Fucking Heel Jericho, etc. Then, when you get to 2009 I remember I just didn't care until we got to CM Punk turning heel on Jeff Hardy.

Triple H sprayed his stink on the first half of the year. He just had to beat Orton at WrestleMania, because top babyfaces have to go over at Mania, right? Unless it's 2000, of course.

[Mr. Nerfect]

DDP’s WWE run for me. I was a huge DDP mark during WCW.

That fucking pop when he unmasked.

[Swiss Ultimate]

I wouldn't call Reigns a flop just yet.

Now?

[xrodmuc316]

Kane after unmasking and being awesome for a few weeks to then have to feud with Shane McManon and job yet another title match to Triple H.

AND WWE constantly ignoring the most over guys instead of pulling the trigger. Ryback, Ryder, Rusev, maybe they just don't like guys with R names that aren't followed by Ollins or Eigns.

[Anybody Thrilla]

Now?

Not even. Who knows what happens from here?

[Swiss Ultimate]

Maybe Roman Reigns will snap and become a badass submission machine.

[Sixx]

Shamrock in the WWF. Not that he was bad, just that didn't use him right.

[Stickman]

Shamrock in the WWF. Not that he was bad, just that didn't use him right.

He was a badass IC champion. I'd say they used him well.

[Sixx]

Considering he was a legit badass big name outside of wrestling, too, he should've been in the main event scene.

[Emperor Smeat]

Think part of the reason was due to HBK and/or Triple H hating him backstage and politicked their way to hurt his chances at being a big star. Also didn't help that he sided with the Rock I think during the time Rock and HBK had their own backstage issues.

[Sixx]

Think part of the reason was due to HBK and/or Triple H hating him backstage and politicked their way to hurt his chances at being a big star. Also didn't help that he sided with the Rock I think during the time Rock and HBK had their own backstage issues.

Eh, Kliq holding people back. Fuck those cunts.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

To this point Reigns has been a complete failure. They've pushed him to the moon for 3 years and he's still not their top star despite beating everyone but Lesnar. Maybe he's salvaged but to this point he's been a failure as the next main guy

[El Fangel]

To this point Reigns has been a complete failure. They've pushed him to the moon for 3 years and he's still not their top star despite beating everyone but Lesnar. Maybe he's salvaged but to this point he's been a failure as the next main guy

He's Strowman without the it factor.

A big guy with fairly limited moveset, and worse mic skills.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Shamrock felt like a guy they were going to do more with, and then they just totally cut bait on around 1999.

[Sepholio]

Bray :(

[Damian Rey 2.0]

If they don't eventually crown Strowman as the man he might end up on this list

[Fignuts]

1. Regal failing that drug test when he was king of the ring and RAW GM..he was absolutely brilliant during that time period and that ruined his career.


2. Bray Wyatt from WM 30 onwards

3. Ultimo Dragon in WWE

[El Fangel]

2. Bray Wyatt from WM 30 onwards

3. Ultimo Dragon in WWE

3) That was a bad slip up

[EIWF]

gobbledy gooker
Bret Hart in wcw
DDP in wwe
Hennig and Hall not winning wcw or wwf world titles
Nwo black and silver formation
Vader in wwe
Raven in wwe
Vince russo when he moved to wcw

[Bad News Gertner]

When should Hennig have won the title?

[Tom Guycott]

Maybe Roman Reigns will be snapped by a badass submission machine, Samoa Joe.

[Shisen Kopf]

How the WWE booked THE RYBACK

[Fignuts]

When should Hennig have won the title?

Had he stayed in WWE, he could have made a good heel champion during the Bret/HBK era, but there was never a good time to put it on him in the time he was there.

[DAMN iNATOR]

Maybe Roman Reigns will snap and become a badass submission machine.

LOL @ the thought of him ever becoming a badass, let alone he rest of that sentence.

I mean, COME ON, Swissy, even you have to admit there's no way you typed that whole sentence while keeping a straight face.

[DAMN iNATOR]

Kane after unmasking and being awesome for a few weeks to then have to feud with Shane McManon and job yet another title match to Triple H.

AND WWE constantly ignoring the most over guys instead of pulling the trigger. Ryback, Ryder, Rusev, maybe they just don't like guys with R names that aren't followed by Ollins or Eigns.

Also Ock comma The.

[Bad News Gertner]

Had he stayed in WWE, he could have made a good heel champion during the Bret/HBK era, but there was never a good time to put it on him in the time he was there.

That's what I'm getting at. There was never a really good time to put it on him during his run. The gave him a run with Hogan and it drew poorly.

[Ruien]

How the WWE booked THE RYBACK

[Blue Demon]

Think part of the reason was due to HBK and/or Triple H hating him backstage and politicked their way to hurt his chances at being a big star. Also didn't help that he sided with the Rock I think during the time Rock and HBK had their own backstage issues.

I also think he was friends with Bret backstage....or at the very least he took Bret's side...may have been a factor.

[Destor]

Starrcade 97. Lost WCW the war

[Mr. Nerfect]

They had a really good one-two with their Starrcades. First they fuck up Sting, then they do Goldberg in. It's incredible how fast they dropped in '99.

[johnsmagic]

Starrcade 97.. thanks a lot Hogan

[Destor]

Sting deserves 97% of that blame

[Fignuts]

Dan Severn

[johnsmagic]

Sting deserves 97% of that blame

how do you figure ?

[Shisen Kopf]

Trish Stratus getting her implants out.

[Bad News Gertner]

how do you figure ?

Sting was horribly out of shape

[Destor]

how do you figure ?

Sting was horribly out of shape

Yeah came in fat and got blown up right out of the gate. Hogan carried him through that nightmare of a match. (Still contend that that match is the most influential match of all time ftr.)

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Meh. Just protect the guy. You've invested so much time into the storyline. Make it a 5 minute semi-squash. It's what the people wanted.

[Destor]

lol no. That wouldnt have worked. People paid for a main event.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

They wanted to see Sting fuck up Hogan. You literally had the guy single-handedly beat the shit out of the nWo for 18 months. They'd have been happy. Happier than requiring 46 year old lazy fucking Hogan "carry" a match. At best it'd be a success. At worst the lesser of two evils.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

And I'll double down. 10 minute semi-squash. Hogan did them as a babyface in main events for years.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

I mean it's Sting's fault in that he left himself open to get fucked by Hogan. It's not like Hogan's gonna go "Brother! we need to protect the Stinger even though he's not in shape, we'll do a 10 minute semi-squash and I'll give 3/4s of the match to sting and he can no-sell my shit". He's obviously going to leverage Sting not being in shape as much as he can to keep himself on top.

[Destor]

In 97 that wouldnt have worked. 10 min main events would have had drunken crowds throwing trash into the ring.

[Destor]

This was the most hyped match ever and you're wanting it to be a huge let down to protect it from being a huge let down.

[Big Vic]

WCW fans threw trash in the ring regardless of what happened.

[Big Vic]

Hogan/Andre went about 10 minutes with a 6 minute bear hug.

[Destor]

Hogan/Andre went about 10 minutes with a 6 minute bear hug.

Wrestling was better when holds were over

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

This was the most hyped match ever and you're wanting it to be a huge let down to protect it from being a huge let down.

You honestly think people want to see Hogan wrestle for more than 10 minutes? They wanted the finish and they wanted Sting to beat the hell out of Hogan. Believe me, they'd have been happy with that.

[Dark One]

Not sure how this isn't a TNA EARTHSHATTERING ANNOUNCEMENT thread.

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[Sixx]

How can anything about TNA be a letdown really?

Who in the fuck expects anything good from them?

[Lock Jaw]

You honestly think people want to see Hogan wrestle for more than 10 minutes? They wanted the finish and they wanted Sting to beat the hell out of Hogan. Believe me, they'd have been happy with that.

As a kid, I would have loved it.

Sting/Hogan to me, personally, is still the match that I felt the most "hype" over ever. It was like the biggest thing ever.

The intros were great, with Sting and his laser show thing and the half dissolves to Hogan......

If Sting had just gone in there and wrecked Hogan, I would have been jumping up and down in joy.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Goldberg was putting on 10 minute main event matches less than a year later and the crowd what white fucking hot. Sting should've been in better shape, but he also should've stream rolled Hogan. The crowd would've eaten it up.

[Fignuts]

Seriously, the Monday Night War was not an era of 5 star main event matches. The majority of people watching tuned in for the characters and the drama.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Honestly I wouldn't have even had Stinger take his jacket off. Keep the mystique alive.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Hindsight being 20/20 of course.

[johnsmagic]

Yeah came in fat and got blown up right out of the gate. Hogan carried him through that nightmare of a match. (Still contend that that match is the most influential match of all time ftr.)

Yeah fair point, the whole match was weird right off the bat... the finish just capped it off

[Mr. Nerfect]

I'm with Dale on this one. Really feels like people just wanted to see Hogan finally get his. A completely one-sided affair would have been appropriately cathartic and would have been surreal to see Hogan the victim of at that point in time.

[DAMN iNATOR]

Not sure how this isn't a TNA EARTHSHATTERING ANNOUNCEMENT thread.

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More importantly, has Bram re-signed with Impact Wrestling?

C'mon man...the people need to know!

[Bad News Gertner]

You honestly think people want to see Hogan wrestle for more than 10 minutes? They wanted the finish and they wanted Sting to beat the hell out of Hogan. Believe me, they'd have been happy with that.

That would be the equivalent of booking a 5 minute squash in the main event of Wrestlemania. Hell, they had Sheamus beat Bryan in 38 seconds and people still piss and moan about that.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

That would be the equivalent of booking a 5 minute squash in the main event of Wrestlemania. Hell, they had Sheamus beat Bryan in 38 seconds and people still piss and moan about that.

Think about who Bryan is, and think about who Hogan was. Bryan was "playing" heel, but he was a babyface with the crowd. Hogan was a lonnng winded, meandering heel, and they were ready for Sting to steamroll him.

Honestly, 10 minutes, 3/4s Sting offence, some bells and whistles and it'd have been great. Crowd would have eaten it up. Especially with the way the feud was built... it was clear Stinger had Hogan's number. You and I both know Hogan would have found any reason not to do business the right way. Sadly, Sting gave him the reason.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

And a 10 minute pseudo-squash is not the same as an 18 second match that leaves the fans feeling cheated.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Yeah, it's about what you're paying for. I watched WrestleMania 28, much like WrestleMania 27, sincerely, because I wanted to see Daniel Bryan wrestle. They cheated me both times. I would have watched Starrcade '97 to see Sting kick Hogan's ass and some closure to this nWo shit.

But weirdly enough, I was just thinking about Mania 28, and I actually thought of it as the WWE's Starrcade '97. I think at some point in history, when people are looking back over the WWE and where it went wrong, they're going to see that moment as a point in history where the fans started to set their own perception that the product had to play catch-up to. It's heralded as this moment that got Bryan suoper-popular, but I think the Catch-22 is going to become more and more evident and the cons are going to outweight the pros when the history books are written.

[KIRA]

Not sure how this isn't a TNA EARTHSHATTERING ANNOUNCEMENT thread.

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TNA succeeding is way scarier than them f****** up because you'll start to enjoy it it's like being depressed all the time and you're used to it then when you feel happy the crash is just going to be that much harder.

[Sixx]

Did anyone say Glacier already?

[Swiss Ultimate]

Did anyone say Glacier already?

Yeah, first post.

THE TWO THAT COME TO MIND FOR ME ARE

GLACIER NOT ACTUALLY BEING THAT GOOD DESPITE THE AMAZING HYPE.

AND.

MANKIND'S BIG MATCH LOSING STREAK NEAR THE END OF HIS WWE CAREER. IT WAS SUPER SAD SEEING HIM LOSE SO MANY TIMES

HOW ABOUT YOU GUYS?

[Sixx]

Oh. Damn.

Well, I concur.