Every now and then, WWE makes a booking decision that completely baffles the audience as to why it happened. From Yokozuna getting counted out against Lex Luger to Roman Reigns defeating Cody Rhodes, the largest wrestling promotion in the world has had its fair share of dubiously written moments, and while not everyone shares the same opinion about them, the majority agree that things could have been handled differently.
But there are times when all it takes to redeem a seemingly bad creative direction is what the wrestlers involved do in the aftermath - as these examples prove.
10 Zelina Vega's Coronation
Queen's Crown, to many, was a nadir of the WWE's booking of the women's division. But for Zelina Vega, it was the beginning of an extraordinary push.
Before her initial release, Vega had been better known as the manager of Andrade, and when she did enter the ring, it always resulted in a loss. But when she returned in 2021, her "client" had fled to AEW, so she was left to her own devices.
And she capitalized, beginning with Queen's Crown. Three months after winning the tournament, she became a champion for the very first time, winning the Women's Tag titles with Carmella. After a two-month reign and injury break, she resurfaced as a member of Legado del Fantasma, which subsequently led to her first-ever face turn and highly-acclaimed "homecoming" at Backlash.
9 Cora Jade's Post-Betrayal Promo
On July 12, 2022, Cora Jade shocked fans by betraying Roxanne Perez, costing the latter her NXT Women's Championship match against Mandy Rose. Many were confused, as the week prior, the two best friends had defeated Rose's cohorts Jacy Jayne and Gigi Dolin to become the NXT Women's Tag Team Champions.
But the week after the attack, Jade brilliantly revealed her reasons: Perez, in her eyes, was secretly a selfish brat who had been using Jade and her name value to catapult herself to the top of NXT - and Jade felt left behind.
8 Sami Zayn's Reunion with Kevin Owens
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens have always been intertwined with one another, whether as allies or rivals. But what made their 2023 reunion so special was the set of circumstances in the buildup.
Heading into Elimination Chamber, Zayn was hailed as the hometown hero, having turned face by betraying the Bloodline when they were about to critically injure Kevin Owens. This made fans want him to dethrone the dominant Roman Reigns, but interference prevented it from happening, to the Montreal crowd's dismay. However, all this only led to Owens returning to save his frenemy, and a month later, they finally made their alliance official with a hug, winning the Undisputed Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania 39.
7 The End of Max Dupri and Rebirth of LA Knight
LA Knight is, without a doubt, one of the most popular workers in WWE today. Despite his early jobber status and villainous character, he has been capturing fans' attention simply by virtue of his charisma and talking ability.
That charisma arguably first manifested in his ill-received initial run as Max Dupri, the non-wrestling manager of Maximum Male Models. Fans could see that underneath the stereotypical tieless suit was a well-built warrior waiting for the right moment to break out and through, and when he pulled the trigger on September 30, 2022, they rejoiced.
6 Austin Theory's Descent into Madness
Remember when Austin Theory decided to use his Money in the Bank briefcase on a mid-card title like the United States Championship? It was universally reviled, leaving many fans wondering if the concept had been utterly damaged.
But the following week, Theory, still reeling from that loss, went berserk on Dolph Ziggler, battering him to the point of a disqualification. Gone was the cocky selfie-taking brat; in his place emerged a more cerebral competitor who would retake the US title at Survivor Series and has not dropped it since.
5 Bianca Belair's Redemption
SummerSlam 2021, for the most part, was an okay show headlined by Roman Reigns defending the Universal Championship in a dream match against John Cena.
But there was one booking decision that had fans up in arms: Becky Lynch, returning from childbirth, dethroning Bianca Belair in mere seconds. It had fans questioning WWE's commitment to the EST and its current crop of stars in general, but they were answered when Belair defeated Lynch at WrestleMania 38 to capture the Raw Women's Championship. Then at SummerSlam, she beat The Man again to cement herself as the superior party.
4 The Man Is Born
Speaking of Becky Lynch, she has a terrible creative moment to thank for The Man. By SummerSlam 2018, the Irish redhead was well on her way to regaining her credibility, and her retaking the SmackDown Women's Championship from Carmella seemed inevitable. That is, until Charlotte Flair forced her way in.
When the Queen reasserted her place on the throne of the Blue Brand, Lynch snapped, unloading on her supposed friend. But to the fans, this was no heartless betrayal. This was pent-up frustration finally reaching its tipping point, and soon WWE had no choice but to cave in and book her as a top star.
3 Seth Rollins' Mid-Match Cash-In
Roman Reigns has reached phenomenal levels of popularity as the villainous Tribal Chief/Head of the Table, but back when he was being groomed as the next John Cena, he was public enemy number one.
The Royal Rumble was the nadir of that enmity, even though he had just entered the elite ranks by winning the Rumble match. WWE tried to salvage it by having The Rock himself save his cousin, but it failed. So in came "Plan B": Seth Rollins using his Money in the Bank briefcase during the main event of WrestleMania 31. And just like that, another star was born.
2 The Birth of the Monday Night Messiah
Speaking of Seth Rollins, his main event against the Fiend at Hell in a Cell 2019 was a terrible ordeal for everyone involved. Rollins came off as very unlikable, Bray Wyatt proved how hard booking The Fiend could be, and fans felt ripped off.
As the weeks progressed, Rollins was reaching peak levels of go-away heat, even as a babyface. Something had to be done to save his character, and it came in the form of an NXT invasion ahead of Survivor Series. Raw lost at the PLE to the black-and-gold upstarts in embarrassing fashion, Rollins snapped, and thus rose the Monday Night Messiah, determined to rebuild the brand in his image.
1 Daniel Bryan's Rise to Stardom
Daniel Bryan's WrestleMania 30 apex is one of the greatest examples of calling an audible in wrestling history, but that miraculous ascent dated back to two years prior.
Back then, he was defending his World Heavyweight Championship against Sheamus at WrestleMania 28. After kissing then-girlfriend AJ Lee as a good-luck harm, he turned around right to a Brogue Kick and was pinned after 18 seconds. He then snapped, was put into therapy with Kane, and boarded the train of popularity all the way to New Orleans, to the point that not even an obvious attempt to capitalize on Batista's newfound Hollywood success would derail his push.
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