Wrestling fans are a surprisingly patient bunch and are willing to endure a truly awful storyline due to the company’s fascinating stories and unusual moments where gold is attacked in five-star matches. Still, even the most loyal fans have limitations.
It seems to be a wrestling promotion for many years WWEWCW, TNA and others have asked the devilish booking decisions, questionable creative hires and virtually deaf people to tune the moment. Whether they were pushing the wrong star, ignoring fan responses, or simply illuminating long-term momentum, some mistakes were simply too many to forgive. The wrestling company thwarted the wrestling company 10 times with a decision to drive away the audience.
10
The era of the new generation
The show was too cartoony
- Filled the gap between the Furucamania era and the attitude era
- WWE’s creative and commercial low.
In the mid-1990s, WWE tried to distance themselves from the steroid scandal of the Furucamania era by entering a new era of younger, more athletic stars like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. This era, known as “The New Generation,” earned high points in the ring, but was often undermined by the company’s overloaded cartoonish presentations.
With characters like Doink the Clown, Duke “The Dumpster” Droese, and TL Hopper, many fans have had a hard time taking WWE seriously and simply adjusting it.
9
NWA accepts WrestleMania
Counter programming backfires
- Both companies have reversed several shows in the past
- The Champion Clash was a serious success, but also a commercial failure.
The match between Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat on April 2, 1989 was a masterpiece that is still welcomed as one of the biggest matches in wrestling history. Unfortunately, the Champions, which are scheduled to compete with WrestleMania 5, aired in an inadequate clash.
It was a competitive strategy that completely backfired. The champ’s clash drew a disappointing rating, but WrestleMania dominated the night from a commercial standpoint.
8
WWE ECW
It was far from the extreme
- WWE released the ECW version in 2006
- The show had little in common with the original
If WWE’s goal by bringing back extreme championship wrestling was to attract fans of the original hardcore promotion, it certainly wasn’t a success.
Despite featuring many ECW originals, WWE’s third brand was counterfeit, something that ECW couldn’t offer much of what it had been successful in the first place. The fans gave it a chance, but quickly disappointed and turned off the TV.
7
The pillar of the finger of destiny
The beginning of the end of WCW
- The incident took place on the nitro episode of January 4th, 1999.
- Kevin Nash defended the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Hulk Hogan
Kevin Nash vs Hollywood Hogan in the WCW World Heavyweight Championship has been heatedly promoted as a major main event that fans can’t afford to miss.
Coming at match time, Nash lay on the floor following a light faucet on his chest from Hogan, causing Hollywood to pin him. It seriously damaged the reliability of WCW, and the incidents have sunk the rating and never fully recovered.
6
TNA brings Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff
It took the company years to recover
- Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff joined TNA in 2009
- The two tried to revive the war on Monday night
Talk to wrestling fans about the cause of the end of WCW mise. It won’t take long for the names Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff to join the conversation.
So when Dixie Carter hired the pair to TNA at the next level, it wasn’t the smartest move ever made. The revival of Hogan and Bischoff’s unfortunate Monday Night War dragged the company to a point that took years, rather than promoting it.
Fans wanted pro wrestling, not this…
- WWE took advantage of the growing popularity of MMA
- Many wrestlers were legally injured
Brawl for All was a legitimate shoot-fighting tournament featuring professional wrestlers who have not been fully utilized from WWE midcards. The intention behind it was to promote Dr. Death Steve Williams to the main event program with Stone Cold Steve Austin, while increasing the success of MMA companies like the UFC.
It was an unauthorized disaster. Many wrestlers were injured, Williams was knocked out by Burt Gunn, and the contest itself was so boring that fans changed channels.
4
WCW brings Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara
Car accident fans can look away
- Ed Ferrara and Vince Russo were former WWE authors
- They joined WCW in October 1999
Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara helped WWE counter WCW with a “car crash TV” approach to writing professional wrestling television. But when the duo switched sides, what WCW fans got was not a car accident, but a complete train wreck.
While coming up with booking themselves as on-screen characters, the pointless storyline and humor of their boys, Russo and Ferrera’s actions, WCW lost countless royal fans.
3
WWE Unleashes Super Cena
“Big Match John” was a turn-off for fans
- John Cena was booked as an invincible babyface
- China was often made to look strong at the cost of others
Young fans loved the unstoppable, heroic babyface John Cena, but his actions quickly became old in the eyes of an old audience.
Cena’s limited move set, cliché promotions and reputation for holding back other deserving stars meant that many fans weren’t watching WWE more than they could see another Super Cena match.
2
I’ve let go of Hulk Hogan
Verne Gagne accidentally started Hulkamania
- Hulk Hogan was a major star in the AWA
- Promoter Verne Gagne refused to make him the world champion
High riding behind successful roles Rocky III, Hulk Hogan quickly became a major star in the early 1980s. The promoter, with all meaning, would have been given him the title and exploited the rising popularity of Hulkster and made him the focus of the company.
Verne Gagne was not such a promoter. Preferring his champion to be a technical wizard like Nick Bockwinkel, Gagne’s decision eventually led the Hulk to stop promoting and join Vince McMahon’s expanding World Wrestling Federation. A few months later, Hulkamania was born. WWE has become a global entertainment juggernaut, and AWA has become obsolete.
1
Tony Schiavone gives raw results
It puts the butt in the seat
- WCW announcer ruined humanity’s WWE title victory
- The comment was a dict order from Eric Bischoff.
- Thousands switched from nitro to raw
In the history of professional wrestling, there has been no better example of a wrestling company literally driving fans in real time than on Monday night, January 4th, 1999.
On the live broadcast of WCW Nitro that night, lead announcer Tony Schiavone revealed that Mick Foley will win the WWE Championship in a pre-recorded episode of Raw, which aired simultaneously. Schiavonne’s comments were meant to be a sarcastic jab for WWE and Foley himself, but they backfired spectacularly when 600,000 fans quickly changed channels.
