Dumbest Booking Decisions in wrestling history

[Brada]

With all the back and forth as to whether Cole winning the title back at WK11 was the plan BEFORE the contract issues, that has made me think about the dumbest booking decisions in the history of wrestling....here are a few right off the top of my head

1. David Arquette winning the WCW title.

I don't think this needs much of an explanation. I don't buy into that "it gives us main stream media attention" crap. Yeah, it does. It also makes your committed fan base, that has been your financial backbone, want to change the channel. Enough said.

2. The finger poke

Kevin Nash laying down for Hogan. Another one of Russo's idiotic decisions. This slaps your fan base right across the face as well. You want them to believe "its real", yet decide this is a good idea. Nice work Russo.

3. Cole/O'Reilly

If there is any truth to the "this was the plan since June/July" theory. I think I would put this right in at number 3. Let's spend damn near a year investing in the Kyle gets screwed over and over again storyline. Then, at the company's biggest show, you give him the payoff and put the belt on him. Then, a month later, with NO company shows in between, you put the belt back on the guy he was chasing, ON ANOTHER COMPANY'S SHOW. So, that nets you a total of ZERO dollars.

Don't give me the crap of "its wrestle kingdom", or "its the tokyo dome". While those are both cool for wrestling fans, for the wrestling company, who is in business to make money, that's doesn't mean jack shit.

If contractual roadblocks were the reasons, then while I still don't agree, I can live with that a bit better. If that was the plan all along, its time to fire that retard. Plain and simple.


I know I have to be forgetting some others...

Turning Nikita face after the Magnum TA tragedy was fairly dumb to me. I get the capitalizing on the moment angle, but still to try to get everyone to believe that the big bad Russian you spent months building who hated America, now loves it because his rival is down and out....a bit far fetched to me.

RoboCop saving Sting was pretty stupid....

What are some of the others I am forgetting?

[Brada]

sorry, didn't mean to post it twice..

[famicommander]

Putting The Miz in any match, ever.

[Brada]

I forgot to add....

Goldberg beating Lesnar in less than a minute.

Hey, lets spend 2 years having Lesnar mow down everyone on the roster, including manhandling your top merch seller in Cena, break the Mania streak of Taker.............to get beat by a 50 year old who hasn't been around in over 10 years.....

Yeah, makes total sense.

[Thelone]

Russo had nothing to do with the FoD.

[Brada]

Russo had nothing to do with the FoD.

Thought he did.....well his previous bad decisions is where will lay the blame...lol

[WHG]

Cole/O'Reilly isn't even close to one of the dumbest decisions even ROH has made, much less the history of wrestling. If you include TNA, I don't have the energy to type all of the dumb things they've done. Speaking of departing champions, them booking AJ's contract despute as an angle while he had the title and was really leaving was way dumber...and then it took a ridiculous amount of outside interference for him to lose when he dropped the title on his way out. At least Cole won clean.

Arquette is absolutely #1. The Robocop one was near the top for me, too. It made me dislike wrestling for a while at the time because JCP/WCW was my place to get away from the silliness in the WWF.

I actually thought the Nikita thing was brilliant under the circumstances. He'd kind of run his course as a heel and here they were a month out from their biggest show of the year and the guy they were planning on winning the title from Flair was suddenly out of the picture. It was so believable because the accident was so jarring on a human level. Plus, Rocky IV had just taught us that everyone can change.

The other one that comes to mind was Starrcade '87. They had legit sold out the UIC Pavilion and The Road Warriors absolutely should have won the NWA Tag Titles that night. They'd been chasing them for 2 years without ever losing matches. It was their kayfabe hometown and they did a bullshit DQ finish. Meltzer has said that that finish killed Chicago for the promotion.

[Brada]

Cole/O'Reilly isn't even close to one of the dumbest decisions even ROH has made, much less the history of wrestling.

We will agree to disagree here. Strictly from a business standpoint, it is BY FAR the dumbest business decision in the history of the company, without question. Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles could see that.

[Brada]

Considering that since ROH jumped in the PPV pool that the majority of their title changes have happened on PPV shows, that dumb ass call was definitely a 6 figure mistake.

[WHG]

Considering that since ROH jumped in the PPV pool that the majority of their title changes have happened on PPV shows, that dumb ass call was definitely a 6 figure mistake.

What?! You're contradicting yourself. If the decision to do the quick change was dumb (which I agree it was) you don't want to flip it back on a show that you're trying to sell people when the outcome isn't something people are going to like. Cole vs O'Reilly again wasn't going to draw some huge buyrate...and it's not like they could have realistically added another PPV beyond what they already plan. And if they had Final Battle end in a deflating Kyle O'Reilly failure that would arguably have hurt future business more than this will.

In fact, I'd argue that booking a non-finish in the Main Event at Global Wars on traditional full price PPV in the low-cost Network era was FAR more damaging to their business than this was. It's not like they could have sold ANOTHER PPV this month headlined by Cole and OReilly. The Anniversary show isn't going to draw $100k fewer dollars because they changed the title at the Tokyo Dome.

It wasn't a good booking decision by any means...so don't think I'm defending it. But I think you're vastly overestimating the financial impact.

[Brada]

I get the point your making. I guess I am just saying I don't agree. I'm not meaning to contradict myself. What I am saying, is that even while I don't agree with the booking decision, and think it is retarded, you still don't make your title change on another promotion's show.

Put that on YOUR show. If they were confident enough to go with that booking decision, stand behind it and put it on a show that they can make money on. Even if it is a shit finish, transition it into a new challenger. For example, if Fish is your guy, have him come out afterwards leading to a pull apart, beat down by Cole, whatever...any scenario you create is a scenario you make $$ on.

They aren't making shit putting that on a show that the people watching it live don't give two shits about.

[Brada]

I should have articulated my thought more clearly.....the 6 figure comment was meant to come across as...between the live gate and profit from the PPV buys, a show in which the World Title changes hands is a 6 figure show.....so by Cole beating KOR (again which I don't agree with), you could have done that on a 6 figure show....the only caveat being that to keep the crowd from shitting all over it, you would have to include an immediate rub from the next challenger....as in my Fish example.

I completely agree with the Global Wars assessment being crap. I don't think that was near as dumb of a decision though as this, particularly from a booking standpoint. Global Wars was obviously a NWO type "we beat the shit out of everyone" finish, to portray faction dominance. I thought they could have done that in a different spot than the PPV main event, but whatever....

[Mr. Mojo Risin]

Cole/O'Reilly isn't even close to one of the dumbest decisions even ROH has made, much less the history of wrestling. If you include TNA, I don't have the energy to type all of the dumb things they've done. Speaking of departing champions, them booking AJ's contract despute as an angle while he had the title and was really leaving was way dumber...and then it took a ridiculous amount of outside interference for him to lose when he dropped the title on his way out. At least Cole won clean.

Arquette is absolutely #1. The Robocop one was near the top for me, too. It made me dislike wrestling for a while at the time because JCP/WCW was my place to get away from the silliness in the WWF.

I actually thought the Nikita thing was brilliant under the circumstances. He'd kind of run his course as a heel and here they were a month out from their biggest show of the year and the guy they were planning on winning the title from Flair was suddenly out of the picture. It was so believable because the accident was so jarring on a human level. Plus, Rocky IV had just taught us that everyone can change.

The other one that comes to mind was Starrcade '87. They had legit sold out the UIC Pavilion and The Road Warriors absolutely should have won the NWA Tag Titles that night. They'd been chasing them for 2 years without ever losing matches. It was their kayfabe hometown and they did a bullshit DQ finish. Meltzer has said that that finish killed Chicago for the promotion.

All of this post is 100% spot on. The absolutely largest pop I have heard in my life was when The Road Warriors were introduced at War Games 3. And yes Starrcade '87 was like getting kicked in the face. If The Road Warriors win that night, the roof blows off the UIC Pavilion and everyone is too fucking winded to boo Ronnie Garvin.

[Brada]

You guys are going to make me go back and watch that now to refresh my memory....

[Brada]

TNA did have some dumb ones as well.........the AJ/pregnant girl chick whatever her name was, wow that was stupid. Seems like they had a bunch of factions that seemed to last a month....Main Event Mafia....Fortune....Voodoo Kin Mafia....

Could probably create a TNA list that would stand alone...

[Mr. Mojo Risin]

I forgot to add....

Goldberg beating Lesnar in less than a minute.

Hey, lets spend 2 years having Lesnar mow down everyone on the roster, including manhandling your top merch seller in Cena, break the Mania streak of Taker.............to get beat by a 50 year old who hasn't been around in over 10 years.....

Yeah, makes total sense.

You know, I see your point, buuut Goldberg has been doing good numbers for them so maybe the 1 minute job isn't bad. Lesnar hasn't been hurt by this at all and it'll payoff in the rematch. Supersonic told me that Lesnar had the fucking balls to do what Nash should have done. Now that in hindsight was a terrible fucking booking decision. It killed Goldberg's run in WCW.

[Brada]

from a continuity standpoint, how do you book your monster to mow over EVERYONE, shit on 20 year streaks, crush the guy kids love, blah blah blah, then not get a single offensive move in on a 50 year old that hasn't been around in a decade...

[supersonic]

The 2015 Royal Rumble Match

[Brada]

The 2015 Royal Rumble Match

Was that the one that came down to Del Rio and Santino?

[Brada]

answered my own question....nvm