6 WWE rules that simply don't make sense

#2 Making booking decisions to SPITE fans

With Vince McMahon, it really doesn’t matter what you think

Picture yourself as the top authority of a big company that has a vocal fanbase. You want to make decisions that’ll both bring you more money and appease the people that purchase your product. You might not always agree on what’s best, but you do strive to give them what they want.

Then, suddenly, you make a decision that gets rejected by your audience en masse, and they make it known just how much they disapprove of your decision.

What do you do? Do you, A) Realise you made a mistake and try to fix things so that you continue to grow and retain loyal fans? Or do you, B) Keep doing what you’re doing, despite the overwhelming disapproval, and then change other things around to ‘get back’ at the fans because you don’t like it when they screw up your plans?

If you picked the first option, you’re a reasonable person that understands the unpredictability of having a large audience and understand people. If you picked the second one, your name is Vince McMahon.

Several key decisions over the course of the year have been done, seemingly, to spite the wrestling audience, especially the most vocal elements. Nowhere was this more prominent than at WrestleMania 32, when several booking decisions were made that defied all logic and seemed to have been done solely to spite the fans.

Zack Ryder won the MITB briefcase, despite overwhelming support for either Sami Zayn or Kevin Owens winning (long-term booking would’ve likewise suggested either one of those as a logical decision).

Chris Jericho, the long-time WWE veteran that’s beloved by many, who can come and go as he pleases without having to worry about his reputation, defeated the new arrival A.J. Styles, who was in dire need of a win at WrestleMania.

The League of Nations, a group that no one liked (or even liked to boo, it was more like XPac heat) defeated the New Day, despite the latter team’s overwhelmingly greater fan support and importance to the tag team division.

Dean Ambrose lost to Brock Lesnar, despite Ambrose needing a key win to maintain any momentum he had, going into WrestleMania.

Roman Reigns, a man that many noted observers predicted would get booed unrelentingly at the event, won in the main event. Fans were so upset that Triple H and Stephanie, the heels in the match, had to placate the audience afterwards to try and send them home somewhat less angry (making them happy was not an option by that point).

If someone with key decision-making power makes decisions like these that not only confuse potential casual fans but also alienate existing fans, many of whom are still loyal to the product due to sheer goodwill carved out of years of loyalty, it really makes one question whether those in power use any logic whatsoever.