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In theory, wrestling companies should not struggle to be successful. Unlike the UFC or other legitimate sporting competitions, WWE and others can book their most popular talent to be their most successful superstars. They can book results that are guaranteed to find favour with their audience, encouraging their fans to part with their hard earned cash to see what they want from their favourite wrestling promotions.
Wrestling promoters can also book storylines and matches to be as entertaining as possible. Therefore, in a sense, it is baffling that the last wrestling boom period ended way back in 2001 and hasn't come close to recapturing that early millennium magic. The Invasion storyline of summer 2001 should have been the greatest wrestling storyline of them all. See part 1 of my nine-part series of articles to see what that storyline could have been if booked correctly.
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Had WWE focussed on delivering fantasy matches with top line WCW talent (of which names like Scott Steiner, Sting and Ric Flair remained, even if Hulk Hogan and Scott Hall, etc... were long gone), and booked them on a par with the WWE's main event level talent, then WWE would have had a license to print money. As it turned out ego got in the way and the best potential storyline of all time was over four months after it began with WCW and ECW's names well and truly dead and buried.
This is where the political climate of wrestling booking comes into play which can inevitably lead to booking blunders in a way that does not plague legitimate sporting competitions. There have been many booking errors that have caused almost irreparable damage to the company's that have written them. This article looks at the five least successful booking decisions ever made in wrestling.
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#5 David Arquette becomes WCW World Champion
What? Why? How?
That was the reaction of all wrestling fans back in April 2000, when actor, David Arquette was crowned WCW World Champion.
It is cited as one of the final nails in the coffin for an ailing WCW, which had been unprofitable for the previous 18 months, after numerous booking blunders that had alienated it's own audience.
While WCW was an entertaining product in spring 2000, this was a bad decision and resulted in many fans vowing never to watch their programming again.
It was a shame, as the new booking team of Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff had been getting rave reviews after "resetting" WCW on April 10, 2000 and initiating a New Blood (of young or underutilised WCW talent) versus Millionnaire's Club (WCW's veteran main event crew of Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair etc...) feud and had been producing a dynamic, must see product.
However, the booking call of April 25 to crown Arquette champion put paid to any progress made.
The title winning bout had WCW Champion, Diamond Dallas Page teaming with Arquette versus Jeff Jarrett and Eric Bischoff. The stipulation called for the man who earned the pin to win the belt. So when Arquette pinned Bischoff, he won his tag team partner's title. It was booking that defied all logic and regrettably it was a booking call from which WCW would never recover.
#4 Jinder Mahal becomes WWE Champion
An experiment went hideously wrong. After Randy Orton defeated Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 33 to reclaim the WWE Championship, he seemed set to enjoy a long reign.
However, his run lasted just a few short weeks as he was stunningly dethroned in his first title defence by career opening card act, Jinder Mahal.
Mahal had surprised many when he won a number one contenders match on Smackdown to earn the opportunity and everyone predicted a routine by the numbers win for the champion.
It was not to be. Mahal won and reigned for six months, during which time he devalued the title once held by Bruno Sammartino, Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold. Mahal did not connect with the audience on any level, did not have the cardiovascular conditioning to work a match longer than five minutes and did not have a wide array of moves he could perform exciting main event matches with.
His feud with Shinsuke Nakumara irreparably damaged the Japanese legend and ratings dropped markedly during his title run.
After Mahal dropped the belt, he won the United States title at WrestleMania 34, then disappeared from television. Mahal has now returned to his natural level as an opening match wrestler but the title he held will take much longer to rebuild.
#3 Goldberg turns heel
Ahh WCW circa summer 2000. That is probably all that needs to be said, but that wouldn't make for a very interesting slide.
The month after David Arquette's WCW World title reign came to an end, head booker, Vince Russo happened upon another booking idea which he hoped would turn WCW into a force in pro-wrestling.
Like his previous idea, it failed miserably. The Arquette call nearly destroyed WCW, the Goldberg heel turn solidified the company's demise.
Goldberg had been out injured for months after he had suffered deep cuts to his arm after he smashed a Limo window with his elbow.
His much-anticipated return occurred a fortnight before the Great American Bash pay-per-view, and he seemingly went to war with WCW's bosses, Russo, and Eric Bischoff, as part of the New Blood versus the Millionaire's Club storyline.
Goldberg had been banned from the building but interjected himself in the main event, when he speared Kevin Nash instead of Jeff Jarrett to ensure Jarrett defended the gold successfully.
He then embraced Russo and Bischoff to stunned silence from onlookers. The WCW fans did not bombard the ring with trash or boo vociferously; they just sat on their hands in disappointment.
This was a heel turn that no one wanted. The decision was reversed a few short months later but the damage was done. WCW's greatest drawing card was ruined beyond repair.
#2 Ending The Streak
Five years after Brock Lesnar ended The Undertaker's famed two decade long undefeated WrestleMania streak, that booking decision still makes no sense whatsoever.
The win did not make Lesnar any more over than he already was and The Undertaker has never been as popular since.
Any booking decision that ruins the aura of a bonafide legend, with no upside at all, has to be considered a monumental failure.
Taker's undefeated streak that began way back in 1991 versus WWE Hall of Famer, Jimmy Snuka was a highlight of any WrestleMania card and a key draw as fans lined up to see if anybody could end that incredible run.
However, no one actually wanted the streak to end. The fact that the decision on the result was only made on the day of the card by Vince McMahon himself tells the story. Rarely has such a huge decision made on a whim proved successfully.
The booking move did not benefit Lesnar, Undertaker or WWE in any way. What a disaster.
#1 Stone Cold turns heel
Everyone knows that Stone Cold Steve Austin turned heel at WrestleMania X-7 in April 2001.
Few remember the turn fondly. In truth, at the moment it was an incredible spectacle. The sight of Austin drinking a beer with his sworn enemy was a magnificent one; a vulnerable Rattlesnake who had sold his soul to the devil to regain the WWE Championship.
It was a logical and layered storyline but one that could never be regarded as a success.
The problem was not necessarily the turn itself but the timing. When Austin turned he had no ready-made challengers.
Triple H would have fit the bill as he was already feuding with the "Bionic Redneck", but he aligned himself with Austin instead, in another swerve. The Rock disappeared to film The Scorpion King, which left then-jaded veteran, The Undertaker as the only viable challenger, in a match-up that had not gelled since 1997 and had been overexposed in 1998-99.
Maybe WWE should have thrown money at Goldberg, Sting and the like, post-Wrestlemania X-7 and WCW buyout.
18 years later and WWE still has not regained the popularity, ratings or merchandise numbers they lost post-Wrestlemania X-7. For those reasons alone, this booking decision must be regarded as the worst of all time.
