Top 10 Worst WWE Storylines of All Time

WWE has a long history of promoting films on its programming. So, when Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was in “Red Notice,” representatives got in touch with the wrestling giants. Instead of The Rock coming out to the ring and doing some promos, we had Cleopatra’s $100 million-worth egg in Vince McMahon’s possession. Soon after debuting on “Survivor Series” in 2021, it went missing. Cue a bizarre scramble by “superstars” searching for the prize and looking ridiculous. It turned out that the fan unfavourite Austin Theory had taken it to have a selfie. Instead of being punished, he got a shot at the WWE Championship against Big E, which Theory lost. Shame!

Even in 2009, this segment aged as bad as already expired milk left on the kitchen counter in the sunlight during a heatwave. This storyline, which Mickie James believes was done to humble her, began as she feuded with Michelle McCool and Layla El of LayCool. According to James, even LayCool hated doing this. This uncomfortable story had the heel duo constantly comparing James to a pig, for some reason, either through cringy photoshop, cosplay, or smearing pig cake on her. Sure, James won the Women’s title from McCool, but she dropped it to her soon after before the feud essentially finished with James in a weaker position after a brief break due to injury. Shortly after this, she was released by WWE.

When wrestling fans think of the most shocking moments in WWE, Mankind being launched off the cell by the Undertaker is one. And the referee in that match was Tim White. Sadly, due to a recurring shoulder injury, he had to hang up his striped shirt. But WWE still found something for him to do in 2005, and everyone probably wishes they hadn’t. They began airing segments of a depressed White where he tried to end it all…yep, it was uncomfortable. Played for comedy, White’s attempts would constantly fail. WWE even began uploading these uncomfortable skits on their website. Thankfully, the segment eventually came to an end with Josh Matthews being blasted. But the tone-deaf series should never have happened in the first place.

For a really long unnecessary time, WWE really wanted to get Roman Reigns over. So much so that it was doing the opposite. In 2019, they put him in a feud against irritating heel Baron Corbin that felt like it took decades to finish. He decided to mock Reigns’ nickname of the Big Dog by covering him in dog food. Well, he got his own back when he and the Usos covered Corbin in the same meaty gravy as part of a match stipulation. It was gross and childish. But this wouldn’t have been so bad if the matches and promos were interesting. But no, they really weren’t. Thankfully, the feud was put out of its misery by 2020.

After the Undertaker had to endure an imposter in 1994, 2006 was the year his storyline brother Kane got to experience the same turmoil. As Kane was taking on Shelton Benjamin for the Intercontinental Championship, the familiar red lighting filled the arena alongside a classic track. Imposter Kane has arrived!..and he looked nothing like the 90’s version, yet wrestlers and commentators acted like he was. The frizzly-wigged version quickly chokeslammed the real Big Red Machine before heading out. The duo fought a match at “Vengeance,” which Imposter Kane won. The next night on “Raw,” the feud ended when Kane took his mask back. It was short but not at all sweet. Fun fact, Imposter Kane was played by Luke Gallows.

On paper, an invasion story in wrestling sounds like it would be great. In 2020, a hooded group known as RETRIBUTION laid siege to WWE, destroying everything in their path. At least, that was what the company wanted. Instead, they were, at most, a slight inconvenience. Made up of a bunch of NXT stars who were all given ridiculous names and attire, the group was immediately slated by fans and critics. Reportedly, even other wrestlers felt bad for their co-workers. WWE tried to add the established Mustafa Ali as the leader to provide legitimacy, but it didn’t work. Just seven months later, RETRIBUTION disbanded to little fanfare.

Big Boss Man and Al Snow were fantastic and entertaining wrestlers. But when the two faced off against each other in a feud for the Hardcore Championship in 1999, the Attitude Era got way too edgy and destroyed it. After seemingly harming Snow’s beloved pooch, Pepper, Boss Man stole the pup. Later, he invited his rival to a meal at a hotel. Turns out, the dish he served Snow consisted of his dog. Massive yikes. This caused the infamous Kennel From Hell match at “Unforgiven” between the two. It was essentially meant to be a terrifying Hell In A Cell match featuring attack dogs. Only, in reality, the pups were really docile and not at all threatening. It was pretty ruff.

On top of being billed as the World’s Strongest Man, Mark Henry is regularly reminded of his stint as Sexual Chocolate. During his shenanigans in the gimmick in 2000, Henry ended up wooing the legendary Mae Young, who was in her late 70s, and they were expecting a baby. Then, Young received a splash by Viscera and a powerbomb from The Dudley Boyz, which isn’t a great mix for a pregnant woman. She later went into labor as she enjoyed a cigar and birthed a gooey hand. It was bonkers. Yet that’s not the end of the tale. Their son, who grew into a man quickly, had a cameo with Young in 2012 on “Raw.” Weird.

Over the years, Kane has had to deal with some of the absolute dregs coming from WWE’s writing room. But none topped this in 2002. With a unification match set between Triple H’s World Heavyweight Championship and Kane’s Intercontinental title, The Game mentioned Katie Vicks in every promo to get under the Big Red Machine’s skin. It turned out Vicks perished in a car accident when Kane was driving. But, to make it a lot worse, Triple H claimed Kane assaulted her afterward. Biggest yikes possible. The Game then played a skit involving him cosplaying as Kane and fondling a mannequin that was meant to be Vicks. It was a really uncomfortable viewing and made everyone lose all interest in their historic match.

Honestly, we don’t know what we were expecting to come out of a giant egg that was hyped for months. But anything else would’ve been better than this. At the 1990 “Survivor Series,” it hatched, and the crowd was livid with its contents as the Gobbledy Gooker sprang from it. The great “Mean” Gene Okerlund did his best to promote this segment, but dancing around with Héctor Guerrero in the giant turkey costume was too much. According to speculation, the Gooker was meant to be a mascot for the company. But after that crowd reaction, it fell into infamy. Instead, it's made sporadic cameos over the years and cruelly forced us to relive that initial disappointment over and over again.