Wrestling’s WORST Storyline Payoffs!

Wrestling’s WORST Storyline Payoffs!
When a storyline sticks in the landing in wrestling, it can be a truly magical moment. You only have to look to the likes of The Boyhood Dream coming true, Daniel Bryan overcoming the odds, or Becky Lynch making history for evidence of this. But what about those times when the ending isn’t as good as the build is? What about those times when, even if it seems like the bookers have an open goal, they still manage to miss and botch the whole thing? Well, that’s exactly what we’re going to be looking at today. So, join us as we take a deep dive into some of the worst examples of screwing up the big finale in Stumbled at the Finishing Line: Wrestling’s Worst Storyline Payoffs.
Music Credits:
JAYDEGARROW
► TWITTER.COM/WRESTLEWITHANDY
► WRESTLEWITHANDY
THANK YOU!!!
#WWE #WWENews #WWEList

[@WRESTLEWITHANDY]

Thanks for watching, what should we cover in future videos? Also, make sure to drop a like to help get the video picked up by KZbin’s algorithm 💪🏻👊🏻🤘🏻

[@ultimobw]

incredible video. mostly stuff we've never seen other wrestling channels cover bro or different perspectives on them

[@BoereViking]

Most prominent wrestlers careers cut short.

[@degenratex4834]

This was a good video but you should have cut the Austin theory part out and put a new one for #1 since he just won the US title last night which I'm pretty sure you seen because that did not aged well.

[@drewblevins7016]

“Feed me more” The Ryback Story

[@danalong1237]

Maybe The WWE in 2005: A Year in Review?

[@antwoneallwood6352]

Kurt Angle's retirement was one of the most disrespectful booking decision I have ever seen it's the worst one here.

[@cliffordjackson3]

ALL FACTS NO CAP.

[@d.52555]

FR, I understand why he didn’t get a perfect send off because Vince probably was still bitter from when Kurt left in 06 but cmon man

[@brettrossi034]

I was at that WrestleMania and it was my first one in the stands ever. That match was just so fucking sad and everyone hated it. Especially hated Corbin too. That event as a whole though minus a few matches (the two title matches and the tag team title 4 way) was pretty dreadful. Seeing that match with Angle truly seared anger into me

[@genshin.gameplays3385]

Honestly I think it was one of the biggest fails because I think Angle wanted to give Corbin something he could build on it just never happened hopefully Corbin does well with JBL but as Angle fan I didn’t like him losing to Corbin or taping to Drew on raw

[@sedrickgipson8088]

Facts

[@Hatman8]

I think for Theory the failed cash in was more a way to reset him, and give him a different path to still getting the US title

[@kevinlee9929]

Still was bad booking

[@kevinlee9929]

@@girlbossperiod Winning a briefcase that guarentees you a World Title shot whenever you get ready for 1 calander year. That you then choose to Cash In after 6 months for midcard title that frequently has Open Challenges is a TRASH payoff. Especially for the weak reasons he gave for doing so.

[@GameBreaker1055]

@@girlbossperiod Given that he had a reset, the storyline itself ended with the loss to Seth, making it the worst pay off to him winning MitB

[@kevinlee9929]

@@GameBreaker1055 It's sad that people are defending that horrible payoff. Imagine Vince giving HHH MITB 15 years ago. And then telling him he was going to have him Cash In on the US Title lol

[@GameBreaker1055]

@@girlbossperiod Just like Bobby Lashley's heel turn... Oh wait...

[@kadharefinley224]

Still to this day I think Booker T should of beat Triple H at Wrestlemania 19 for the World Heavyweight Championship

[@renealvarado817]

Triple H has shown to be very selfish when it comes to pushes for other wrestlers. That alone should keep him from the Hall of Fame. He also refused to let Sting pin him in their epic matchup.

[@metalgamer83]

Yeah that was some racist bs.

[@brynellsidney3983]

Agreed fam

[@willlamoureux1690]

Wow such a hot take🙄

[@user-zb3hn6ho9p]

I'mma be honest here: even if Booker was a transitional Champion 'til the next PPV (which was Backlash '03), I would've been fine with it.

[@MrTrueCaller619]

Drew's title match aftermath was the dumbest since Kofi's against Brock, he lost it in 8 seconds & went singing & dancing with his new day members .

[@keithratel6590]

Booker T losing to HHH sucks for a number of reasons but main problem I had was that Triple H's next feud with Nash didn't even need the title.

[@SirAsdf]

Considering that Austin Theory literally just won the United States Title yesterday, I think he's going to be just fine going forward, he just needed to rework his character a bit since it was clear he wasn't going to get one over on The Tribal Chief anytime soon. EDIT: As for Drew's Singalong, that wasn't meant to air live, members of the production team have spoken openly that it was meant to be a fun, non-canon little video that would've been uploaded to WWE's social media feed. But the problem came when someone on the staff forgot to cut the Peacock feed, so the whole world got to see Drew make an ass of himself. It was a simple production mistake, that's all.

[@gzenko3408]

It's rare that a video ages poorly before being posted, but Andy pulled it off

[@M._mkid]

Beyblae Austin

[@kevinlee9929]

Still doesn't change the moronic booking of having him cash in MITB on midcard title.

[@gamergonegaming6811]

you ever heard of hindsight? Theory hasn't reworked shit, he won on a fluke in a triple threat match, he is the Same goofy heel that lost his mitb

[@SirAsdf]

@@kevinlee9929 oh yeah, cause it would've been so smart to try and cash in on the guy who barely has one match a month, is constantly surrounded by 3 Samoan Badasses (and one Sami Zayn), and has been an Unstoppable God for the better part of 2 years

[@zainraza6026]

Up start Goldberg had me in tears😂

[@bigcisco85]

I think the worst payoff of a storyline goes to Bobby Lashley, Lana, & Rusev. That angle went on for months with nothing ever coming of it. Then for some strange reason they unexplainabley added Liv Morgan with no context added. Then they just dropped it with no one gaining anything

[@claymathewselevator8121]

The Rhodes Family vs The Shield at Battleground 2013 was legendary

[@Hydro_9293]

“Young upstart bill Goldberg” that’s fucking hilarious 😂😂😂

[@drphot6050]

I had to rewind that part just in case I wasn't hearing things lol

[@Hydro_9293]

@@drphot6050 EXACTLY DR PEPPER I WAS SURE I WAS HEARING SHIT

[@vegan4life660]

He must watch OSW 😂

[@ASirensFlame]

Jericho and Owen's was 2016 - 2017 And Jericho won the US title from Owen's at Mania 33

[@newgame897]

Owens won the US title from Jericho**

[@mr.cooper8148]

Rowen's 'pet' that he brought to the ring for weeks ending up being a Spirit Halloween decoration. 😂

[@master-of-mind5881]

I remember that. 🤦🏿‍♂️😃😆😅😅🤣😂🤣🤣

[@Kacpi55]

Rowan's mystery cage was a big disappointment too. Lol

[@devinv4403]

His explanation the next week was actually a perfect explanation imo

[@stevegallo8483]

Talk about a storyline with a terrible payoff: The higher power storyline with none other than Vince McMahon being revealed as the higher power.

[@Work_husband_energy]

Well when you think about it. Vince really was the higher power in WWF sooo

[@drewskidewsk]

And we could've gotten Christopher Daniels from it instead

[@amandagrothmann308]

Not really the whole highest power angle set up for Stephanie betraying her dad for triple h

[@stevegallo8483]

@@amandagrothmann308 It was all about Vince continuing to screw with Austin.

[@glasschin871]

@@Work_husband_energy would have maybe worked if the screw job hadn’t happened and Vince wasn’t shown as the owner.

[@meanmug5258]

I always thought Lex Lugar looked like a human Simpsons character.

[@BoereViking]

Damn!!Now I can't unsee it...

[@RisingRecluse]

When ddp removed his ski mask the pop was on par with The Rock showing up. That crowd reaction was the fans immediately saying this storyline won't work. They went through with it anyway to feed McMahon's ego.

[@allencollins5666]

Fans Would've Cheered WCW Top Stars Wrestling On Raw Rawi Is WCW. Booker T & Buff Bagwell Weren't 2 Of WCW Best. That Match Would've Never Main Evented Nitro.

[@JackQSmith]

Shocked that Vince being revealed to be the higher power isn't on this list.

[@RisingRecluse]

They should've gotten Ted DiBiase for it.

[@johnyang1731]

That at least went somewhere.

[@raidernation7427]

I don't mind the Austin Theory angle. It brought out a new attitude for him & it actually is starting to pay off with him winning at Survivor Series.

[@philipkaltsounis8097]

I disagree with Theory, after his cash in he reset his character, The execution of the cash in might not have been my liking but the aftermath certainly is

[@marlowstanfield6815]

Triple H shouldn't have had as much power as he did, him not losing to Booker T and Sting ruined both those story lines..

[@jmls3584]

Wow I completely forgot about Rowan's twin, that was one of the most unintentionally hilarious things I've ever seen.

[@squarepickle]

As someone who watched Kurt Angle become one of the first victims of Super Cena back in '05, the only way I would have accepted John Cena vs Kurt Angle is if Kurt would have been allowed to tap him out in his Wrestlemania retirement match. If Kurt would have been the one man to make John Cena "give up" in almost 15 years, I would have been down. If it had been another John Cena victory over Kurt Angle, then in my opinion they made the right choice going with Baron Corbin. How Cena gets a pass at being part time (which marks hated Brock and The Rock for), being god awful in the ring (which fans hated Lex Luger for), and being the biggest burial machine in pro wrestling history (with a 12 year reign of terror that puts Triple H's 2002-2005 run to shame) is absolutely mind boggling. Kurt deserved a great accomplishment in his final match. Especially with how he was treated in 2006. He should have retired at Wrestlemania after making John Cena tapout.

[@zinniaq3020]

Cena was quite good in the ring. Haters like to downplay his abilities

[@CervezaModeloEspecial]

Austin Theory was the worst choice for MITB in WWE history and I thought his run with the briefcase ended properly. Excellent payoff, IMO!

[@MrParker-ux2mh]

Probably should have left the Austin Theory clip on the cutting room floor.

[@GameBreaker1055]

I mean, it was the worst pay off to someone winning MitB. The briefcase has essentially become a joke at this point.

[@jacohenn42]

And the McIntyre one, since it was meant to just be a fun thing for the crowd and not air for everyone

[@FranklinSteele]

Should have made your words on Theory a bit sweeter. Hindsight is 20/20 obviously, but I think we need to stop thinking about WWE as if Vince is still running it. Triple H deserves more of a leash. His shows in NXT were gold and WWE has been so, so much better lately.

[@zemox2534]

Booker getting buried is just another reason why the hhh reign of terror was bloody awful.

[@cijmo]

I think the thing with Theory that everyone had was that he was being pushed immediately to the top because he was Vince's new sweetheart. He is good and he's getting better. His drop kick is amazing and if you watch interviews with Austin White rather than Austin Theory, he says he is forever watching, asking questions and learning from the others. He'll make it. He's just such an insufferable little "****" right now.

[@namenamename390]

I can't stop thinking about an alternate reality where the Gobbledy Gooker would have a legendary, decades long career at WWF/WWE.

[@johnyang1731]

He had another garbage character in wcw as Lazortron

[@YooSouth]

I Don’t Feel Like Austin Theory’s Cash In Was A “Fail” I Believe Hunter Is Just Restarting Austin From Scratch. Plus, In The Long Run He Did Win The US Title

[@Panwere36]

Theory's story line wasn't botched: it was cancelled. Triple H and Vince made an agreement, and Theory got the shaft. He now is on a better and more believable path to getting a shot at the main event.

[@willijs8]

Didn't they say that it was a broadcast mistake showing the sing along....show was supposed to had cut off by then.

[@mahantesh149]

Austin Theory is finally become the US Champion at SS Wargames

[@keithjohnson6051]

How about Rikishi being reveal as the individual running down stone cold

[@cliffordjackson3]

I dId It FoR tHe RoCk😂.

[@brianlogsdon4824]

When he said “mean Gene Okurland couldn’t get gobbledygooker over” that was Howard Finkle in the picture

[@goldensp3038]

Singalong was one of the major burials. Holy shit it's laughable

[@MrParker-ux2mh]

HHH’s Racist Reign of Terror was the most tasteless racist angle in wrestling history….and that includes Col. DeBeers in AWA and the weird racist angle between Iceman King Parsons and Savannah Jack.

[@TopShelfJustin]

Jericho/Owens run started in 2016, not 2018.

[@JackQSmith]

Bulldog won the IC Title from Bret at Wembly 3 decades prior, not 2. Same with Lex coming up short at Summerslam 93. That was almost 3 decades prior not "almost 2 decades prior".

[@BmanTheChamp]

I don't know if they check their dates or what before recording, another botch was they said Owens and Jericho feuded in 2019 when it was 2017.

[@markula_4040]

People try to point to Theory's aftermath as a positive but that doesn't forgive the path taken to get there. Years from now when they bring up facts about Money in the Bank cash-ins, they will probably always mention him being the only one to do it on a non-world title (while the reason why will not). That will be on his WWE resume FOREVER. It was just unnecessary. They could have gotten the same result with him failing against Roman.

[@kevinlee9929]

THIS SIMPLE

[@VishalSingh-st5xd]

Very true. I knew that hhh has something for theory but for mitb it will remain permanent that it can be cashed in on any title.

[@miroslavtomic7038]

DDP was originally set to feud with The Rock in 2001 as their gimmicks were very similar. However, for what ever reason, WWE decided to go with Booker T, who only had one kinda common thing with The Rock - a similar looking finishing move - and absolutely nothing else.

[@adriannieves6722]

We don't talk about who was in the egg or the egg itself.

[@zvikisegal2845]

Great video!!! The Austin Theory booking has been very smart!

[@marcohavokkhaos]

Styles needs to go to AEW. He went on 2nd with Jericho at Mania. And had the opener with Shane. He didn't even get to main event, as WWE champion.

[@M._mkid]

I wouldn't say Austin Theory got buried. I would say that Triple H didn't have any plans for Him as Mr. Mitb and didn't think Austin could be champion yet

[@kevinlee9929]

He defintely got buried

[@saeed_05]

@@kevinlee9929 well he literally just became US chanp yesterday, so how did he get buried

[@kevinlee9929]

Same way people say Daniel Bryan was buried after WM 28 and RR 2015. Even after he won the belt at WM 30 .....

[@Kacpi55]

@@kevinlee9929 Mcmahon and Triple H were forced to do it by fans. Pushing Bryan was never their priority. So all we have to do is to be thankful to fans who did it, because Bryan's story was one of the best in the entire WWE history.

[@kevinlee9929]

@@Kacpi55 Vince McMahon .... "Forced" by the fans ..... 😂😂😂😂

[@mxmschae]

No one told Drew that they were still on air for the singalong. In fact, I don’t think it was supposed to be aired. Just a dark segment after the fact.

[@ajk]

The Rowen/Reigns payoff, smacks of the Who Ran Over Austin angle from 2000. Same exact concept, obvious culprit (Triple H) denies any involvement.....random person who really had no place in the role confesses (Rikishi), obvious culprit later admits it was actually him all along like everyone assumed in the first place. Amazing how some 20 years apart, not a thing was learned about how stupid a booking choice this is.

[@patrickmilner4149]

I think the booking of Austin Theory was a little mishandled. If I had to rebook it, Theory would have held on to the briefcase a little longer until let's say Cody Rhodes was to win the championship from Roman Reigns. I would have set up a future match between Rhodes and Theory and made him lose it then. I think him cashing in on Seth Rollins for the United States Championship, didn't make a lot of sense. But, I don't think it was as bad as what it has been made out to be. He just won the United States Championship at Wargames, another problem is, that he hasn't been established enough to be a credible threat or world champion and was practically shoved into the picture

[@ozziaheeyote3861]

Honorable mentions: Kofi F5’d in 8 seconds, Liv Morgan’s title reign & the match with Kingston vs Jericho in AEW.

[@TBevill1231]

Part of me wanted that Goldust/Stardust match at WM to be a Hollywood Backlot Brawl.

[@shanefoy3720]

It's funny isn't it that ppl still think hunter booked himself bk in 202-5 isn't it, well he's the main guy in the whole sodden company now but these days everybody wants to help etc, hunters a better Man then me as I personally would tell vince nd wwe where to go if I was hunter

[@przemyslaw_teo_kocyba]

12:15 "the young up-star Bill Goldberg" - I fkn love this channel xD

[@xthevortexknightx6356]

Theory didn’t cash in on a world title because he wasn’t ready. He just wasn’t. He still needs buildup and to be put over more than just being handed everything by Vince. He’ll be world champ for sure, but not anytime soon.

[@noirknight9770]

i think theory's failed cash in was a great way to rebuild him

[@squarepickle]

I know the marks may not want to hear this, but anyone who believes Chris Jericho should have main evented Wrestlemania for the Universal Championship over Brock Lesnar or Bill Goldberg is smoking crack.

[@patrickmilner4149]

I tend to agree

[@master-of-mind5881]

Nah they got played dirty by Vince. K.O.& Jericho was the best thing about Raw at that time.

[@fj717]

12:14 I'm dying 😭🤣

[@ABJECTdeaL]

⭐ 80s #WWF Reactions ⭐ kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4PPppSvZ8Z8i5o

[@jruwilkerson1356]

"The Young Upstart Goldberg" has me crying

[@DW3010]

Lex Luger blabbing like that was rumored to have happened at wrestlemania 10… Not SummerSlam 93. On his podcast though Bruce Prichard debunked this. He said the ending wasn’t changed the day of.

[@Smiley._.Gaming]

I think the theory story is still going on, yea he lost the mitb in a very anti climatic way but it lit a fire in him he won the title again right after and he’s properly being built up to main event status slowly but surely

[@Zxlxya]

Well Mark, Theory is getting build up as someone to be taken serious. He recently won the US title, so he’s chilling now.

[@drewskidewsk]

Erick Rowan's cage was a huge disappointment. Especially after Mojo Rawley's absurd reaction

[@McThrill13]

When I saw Rowan on the card I thought the bad payoff was going to be the spider in the box!

[@joseph_gonzo-fugonzales4366]

I always thought who in the he'll would wanna stock sara?

[@amandagrothmann308]

The shield with reigns and not ohno was a huge payoff.

[@nikhilkrishnan9]

How can a segment after the match be a poor payoff of the match ? Drew's sing along happened after the show.

[@1v1_Empire]

Where was The Bella Twins 2014 feud storyline? The ending for that was abysmal! No satisfying end, no redemption or payback for Brie, no she agrees with Nikki and turns heel. She was in the right all that time, not Nikki! 😡😡😡

[@that-francis-guy51]

Don't forget the other worst payoff involving eric rowan, the thing behind the cage was a robot spider

[@master-of-mind5881]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@MikeSA14]

Lex Luger at Summerslam was almost 3 decades prior, not 2 LOL

[@midwestent.7010]

Triple h was fixing another vince mistake gave theory a reset but failing the cash in which he never should have won the briefcase in the first place I love the new vicious theory and the the fact the he just won the us title I think he will be just fine and I hope he have match with cena at wm 39

[@kamieyonce]

Happy to see Theorys cashin in fail has actually payed off as of this week

[@sachinmeghumishra]

The worst was Kevin Owens & jericho they really deserves spot of universal title scene but buried . Jericho doing best outside wwe amd owens still at mid card, why they give goldberg chance , who come sometimes & gone. 2 cm Punk rock involved, and jinder vs triple H in India worst ever after deafeat jinder doing bhangra what sense to it and even worst part hhh pedigree to jinder🤯. Three storylines/match worst ever than any.

[@tyreepowell8367]

Happy Belated Thanksgiving Andy

[@kitfo18]

And that second promotion was killed when he fired CM Punk...

[@aS-df8zj]

4:24 Almost THREE decades..

[@ashworld1016]

Whenever u said Big show, I thought u were referring to Big show. 😂

[@nixda9326]

wow, the first Point didnt age well with Austin now being a Champion and being pushed as this.

[@VishalSingh-st5xd]

Many fans try to defend the theory mitb thing by saying he won the us championship. I mean, come on!!! Why no one is bringing out the main point that why cash in on a secondary title. If they wanted to show theory as a loser they could have made him lose to Roman in squash after a match. Those who were blaming hhh for burying theory knew that he has a plan. It was very clear, no one can miss it. Please stop trying to hide hhh's mistake, for now you'll be happy to protect him but after some time these same people will try to cancel hhh on small things when they'll get bore from him.

[@VADallasCowboysFan]

Ah the top 10 or 20 what was Vince smoking that day storylines

[@allencollins5666]

Just Top 10 Or 20?

[@VADallasCowboysFan]

@@allencollins5666 I don't have all day to watch a bigger list yes

[@geoffchurchill5492]

two you missed, the Black Scorpion revealand Rikishi Ï did it for the Rock"

[@joshuameadows8197]

Add Sami Zayn and Cody Rhodes to this list

[@thelonewolf70x7]

Sami Zayn isn't believable in any way to take down Roman Reigns. Brock "Freaking" Lesnar could not do it, neither Drew McIntyre or Edge, why SZ was a good choice to begin with? Cody Rhodes returning after recovering from a pec tear injury (and only feuding against Seth Rollins) and obviously winning the RR match as the last man to enter the match, with barely any build to the feud (especially when SZ/RR mini feud was going on), how would this be believable?

[@joshuameadows8197]

@@thelonewolf70x7 easy bookings. Jey Uso cracks Roman with the chair to physically incapacitate him (as they should’ve done) setting up a storyline they could be should Jey win he becomes the Tribal Chief. Additionally, you have a match between two baby faces, one needs to win to prove he is worthy of staying on top as the champion proving all the doubters wrong with the underdog Sami Zayn against Cody Rhodes, the man who needs to finish his legacy and honor his family with the belt. I guarantee you’re getting better build between both and you get 2 main events and 2 matches people actually care to see.

[@ejscorp]

"Young upstart Bill Goldberg" 😅

[@jstappin]

Is it me or is Vince McMahon his own worst enemy?

[@acerimmer8338]

"It's me Austin!" "Oh, son of a bitch!" "It was me all along!"

[@extremeuzer3]

Haven’t seen the video but if the top one isn’t sting beating hogan at starcade 97 then the list is wrong

[@ILLRICARDO]

I remember them turning wcw wrestlers into cannon fodder.

[@theycallmedom4157]

Jericho and KO was 2016-2017.

[@geraldvanalstine3024]

Still not a fan of theory was definitely not ready for any sort of world title run or even in the picture mid card seems to be right where he belongs. Also the reign of terror really should have ended at mania vs booker they really fumbled the bag on that one

[@Beatmosh]

just so you know 1992 to 2022 is 3 decades not just 2....

[@RollerCodsterWFEW]

Sting in wwe is the worst by far. Next would be bray Wyatt/the fiend

[@cakes3958]

1. Hower Power 2. Austin run over

[@Twkout]

This looks even worse now

[@master-of-mind5881]

Regarding booker’s burial at the hands of Hunter everyone is taking it out of context. Let me elaborate: Firstly Booker T got paid handsomely for this angle. In compensation for not winning the belt they paid him a lot of money to job to Hunter. Secondly he was the last wcw champion before wwe brought it back in 01. So he was already “the man” just under a different jurisdiction. Third, he eventually became the world champ 3 years later under the king Booker gimmick. Fourth, his last reign as champ lasted 5 months. If he had won against hhh I guarantee it would have lasted no longer then a week at best! Hhh would have buried him regardless. Hhh sought out to bury the wcw talent during his reign of terror. Steiner, Nash & Booker all jobbed to him. Only Goldberg got the belt but even still fell victim to backstage politics due to his beef with Hunter at the time. Yes this storyline contained racial-tropes but that’s because the company wasn’t PG at the time. It was still an edgier product where many storylines contained explicit, coital, obscenity, crude, content. It wasn’t kid-friendly as it has been in recent times (new day) and I accept such controversial storytelling because it’s a reflection of American society. Sometimes a little truth is needed to amp up a piece of fiction. Even if hhh is racist he put over Shelton Benjamin a year later on raw. He’s now in charge and has a keen interest in black talent due to his management of NXT. Bianca Blair, street profits, Apollo crews etc are all wwe superstars thanks to HHH.

[@pushparaj-yf1mj]

Karrion kross life story please

[@jakobwedel3168]

I've never seen a video age so poorly so quickly

[@wrightgareth]

Since Austin theory has just regained the us title, then i think this was a little premature

[@ShadowCloutJutsu]

They definitely meant to have Luger look stupid celebrating after the count out win

[@Cap10BlackSparrow]

Rowan's spider was also a lame payoff.

[@M3foo1]

Lol everyone talking about Austin theory like Bobby lashley didn't interfere. He pretty much won the match until lashley