Worst Booking Decisions In Professional Wrestling History

[BringThePain834]

There are a whole lot of booking decisions in the professional wrestling industry that just fail to show any logic or reason behind it, especially if booked by somebody with the surname of McMahon, Russo, Bischoff, Hogan, Flair, Rhodes and more recently, Levesque. Just watch all the matches he shouldn't have went over in (WM XIX not included) Anyway, this thread is for the discussions of the worst of the worst regarding booking pro wrestling whether it comes for WCW, ECW, (yes, even they had some horrible booking) WWE and more recently, TNA. If there are any horrible booking decisions that come to mind from any promotion, please feel free to post about it.

 

[Planet_Velvet]

That's easy. David Arquette as WCW World champion. Then again, Russo was champion too. Damn, I'm torn!!!

 

[harrythem]

WWE letting Mae Young get her tits out at Rumble 2000. The move so horrified Channel 4 over here in the UK they pretty much decided to end their contract with WWE asap and it cost them oodles of money and publicity in the process.

 

[Sexcellence of Sexecution]

The main event of Starrcade 1997.

It was the huge blow-off to a feud that had been going for over a year. It was time for Sting to beat Hogan and take the WCW World Championship back from the clutches of the NWO. After all the build-up, at the biggest PPV of the year, Sting avenges the WCW. That was the story.

Instead they had Hogan first win via a fast count from Nick Patrick (that had to be the worst fast count in wrestling history, as it was not a fast count). Then Bret Hart comes out and restarts the match and pulls a "screw-job" on Hogan allowing the BABYFACE Sting to win. Just a horrible way to handle the finish to that match.

This is a classic example of a booker out-thinking themselves. Sometimes you can't try and be too clever, and you've just go to keep it simple and give the people what they want. Sting should have beat Hogan clean in the middle of the ring to win the WCW Title, end of story.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

That's easy. David Arquette as WCW World champion. Then again, Russo was champion too. Damn, I'm torn!!!

In the grand scheme of things, these two are definitely in my top 5 if not higher. Quite a while back, I made a thread in this section detailing who, in my opinion, had the worst World Championship reign of any company in history. If I'm not mistaken, these two were my top two with Arquette & Russo taking the #2 & #1 spots.

I will say one thing about David Arquette and that he's been a passionate fan of pro wrestling his whole life. I can respect that but that doesn't mean that he should have been the top champion of the 2nd biggest wrestling company in the world. Whether you're very much an old school fan or not, it was a lousy decision that flat out turned off a ton of people from wrestling insiders to writers to fans. Of all the greats that have never held a major World Championship, it was simply a lousy moment for me as a fan.

When it comes to Vince Russo, aside from being a vastly overrated booker, he's someone that only helped to devalue WCW to its lowest level of all time. When Russo won the title, he held it for a week and came on Nitro and just tossed the belt down saying that he didn't want to be champion as he wasn't a wrestler. This is a prime example of the sort of chaotic, nonsensical booking Russo loved and would use when he didn't have anyone above him acting as a filter for his ideas. Even though logic is often strained in pro wrestling, there has to be at least some modicum of it. For instance, if you don't want to be World Champion because you're not a wrestler, then don't book yourself into World Championship matches as a wrestler. It made Russo look like a talentless clown and a supreme hack who had no business being in the spot he had. Even though Russo didn't actually kill WCW, as corporate executives at TNT ultimately did that, he certainly stuck the knife in and twisted it a couple of times.

 

[BringThePain834]

Whoever approved of the Tim White suicide storyline just makes me sick.

 

[shalliin]

Depends on what you're asking. Are you asking about just matches and win/loss of a match or title? Or are you talking of a whole storyline? Maybe a interview or segment that was horrible? Lot's of ways to answer depending on the drive behind the question.

Worst Match Booking: finger poke of doom, Nash and Hogan.
Worst Segment booking: Mae Young giving birth to Handy.
Worst Storyline: Katie Vick and more recently Claire what's her name in TNA. the one that supposedly had an affair with AJ Styles and got pregnant.
Worst booked Departure: Kharma's wwe tenure. Shouldn't have let her on tv and then have her breakdown like that. If scripted, just a waste of time, if not, then just cruel to her. if not scripted or planned and no one else knew, then shame on her for letting things get to that point before backing out.
Worst booked Arrival: Rick Rude/Lex Luger back in WCW appearing on both Raw and Nitro in same night.
Worst booked 'revelation': Bischoff spoiling Foley winning the title causing many to turn off Nitro and watch Raw to see it happen. completely backfired on him. Or Shockmaster. Never forget Shockmaster.
Worst booked gimmick matches: Any time Howard Finkel got undressed, either in tuxedo matches or bra and panties
Worst booked entrance: Owen Hart. If I need to explain, you need to stop reading forums and watching wrestling.
Worst booked heel turn: JR and the false Diesel/Razor period.

 

[Rayne]

That's easy. The travel agent who booked the plane tickets and hotel for X-Pac and Chyna's trip to China.

 

[braveh]

Recent candidates IMO:

CM Punk over Ryback @ HIAC 2012

The HHH/Punk/DelRio-Swerve @ Summerslam 2011

Blowing up Nexus 2010/2011

Austin Aries heel turn on Impact in the fall of 2012

 

[braveh]

Cena over Lesnar @ Extreme rules 2012....but in the end it did a shitty buy-rate anyway and Lesnar didn't draw on Raw so what does matter anyway?

 

[Mr. Book This Section]

Bringing Hogan into TNA

 

[braveh]

Bringing Hogan into TNA

Riiiiiight but that was a business decision and not a booking decision.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

Recent candidates IMO:

CM Punk over Ryback @ HIAC 2012

Hmm, are you sure you know what the word "worst" means?

 

[braveh]

Hmm, are you sure you know what the word "worst" means?

it is what it is......it did a great buy-rate without Cena...that was thanks to Ryback's streak. They wanted to protect Punk so he could have his shitty feud with Rock...

In the process they killed Ryback who was probably the most over new guy they've had since Punk's match at MITB2011

 

[#tamale]

-The controversial finish to the Sting vs Hollywood Hogan at Starrcade 1997.

-Giving away Hollywood Hogan vs Goldberg on Monday Night instead of a PPV.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

-Giving away Hollywood Hogan vs Goldberg on Monday Night instead of a PPV.

On four days of build-up. Dont forget that.

 

[Барбоса]

The bad booking in the CM Punk-Ryback HIAC wasn't the fact that Punk won. It was the string of decisions that led up to them being in the ring together at that time for the title - Rock having a title match at the Rumble, having him challenge a long-reigned Punk and yet putting the extremely hot Ryback in his way.

Given all those decisions, Punk had to go over Ryback that night.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

The bad booking in the CM Punk-Ryback HIAC wasn't the fact that Punk won. It was the string of decisions that led up to them being in the ring together at that time for the title - Rock having a title match at the Rumble, having him challenge a long-reigned Punk and yet putting the extremely hot Ryback in his way.

Given all those decisions, Punk had to go over Ryback that night.

Not necessarily. EPSECIALLY since it was going to be the rock's belt all along. They could have put Ryback over, and then had him lose in absurd fashion at TLC. You get your Punk - Rock showdown, you put Ryback over as an unstoppabe monster with a title win.


Nay, let us stop his undefeated streak with a ball shot from Brad Maddox. When Punk is just holding the title for the rock anyway. Yea, sweet.

 

[FlexAmerican Dynamite]

Not necessarily. EPSECIALLY since it was going to be the rock's belt all along. They could have put Ryback over, and then had him lose in absurd fashion at TLC. You get your Punk - Rock showdown, you put Ryback over as an unstoppabe monster with a title win.


Nay, let us stop his undefeated streak with a ball shot from Brad Maddox. When Punk is just holding the title for the rock anyway. Yea, sweet.

That's what they should have done but they were determined to let Punk have a year long title reign at this point and have Rock be the one save us from tyranny when he was just a placeholder for Cena. Even having Ryback win HIAC only to be screwed by The Shield at SS would have been a better result than what they went with.

Still, they should have never had Ryback go up against Punk anyway.

 

[Барбоса]

Oh I agree that Ryback could and likely should have won the title that night but given the booking decision that had already been made for Punk to put his year long WWE title reign on the line against the Rock, there was only going to be one winner.

Perhaps the bigger problem for Ryback was the keeping of him in and around the WWE title scene when there was no way he was ever going to win it. Perhaps he should have been sent after the Big Show's WHC.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Yea, because Rock needed THAT rub. I mean jeeze, ya gotta get the guy over!! Dontcha! AMIRITE!
















I fucking hate the wwe.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

Let's see:

1) Not giving Lex Luger the title at WM X: I don't care if he blabbed about the booking the night before. This man was the hottest wrestler in America from Summerslam 1993 to WM X. Furthermore, Luger was both a great babyface and a great heel. He wouldn't have affected Austin's rise to stardom in a few years' time and they would have had a great rivalry as well.

2) Not giving Booker T the title at WM XIX: Great booking leading up to his match with HHH, but what a fucking moronic outcome. In hindsight, though, this should have come as no surprise: HHH's win over Chris Jericho at WM X8 ushered in a dark age that didn't until well after WM XXV.

3) The booking of the WHC for the past 3 years: Since its only use now is to give mid-carders a test run in the main event, it's no wonder that this belt now has no practical value. Hopefully WWE will reclaim this belt by giving RVD a lengthy run and sending the bland ADR to a Raw oversaturated with heels.

 

[Con T.]

Where do I even begin with the Invasion angle?

 

[FlexAmerican Dynamite]

Where do I even begin with the Invasion angle?

Letting Booker T face Buff fucking Bagwell in the RAW main event.

 

[Wolf Pac]

Bret vs. Hogan on Nitro.

It should've been saved for a PPV (this was the match everybody wanted to see at Summerslam 93 for fucks sake), and the whole point of the match was just to swerve and lure Sting into a trap for Hogan.

Bret fakes a knee injury in the middle of the match, Sting replaces him for the rest of the match, and Bret comes back out at the end and attacks Sting.

No wonder Bret hated his run in WCW.