Worst payoffs

[Lorne Malvo]

The giant spider thing was funny because they had a load of wrestlers sneak a peek inside the cage, iirc, then act completely freaked out and disgusted. So when it was revealed to be a shite robot spider it made everyone who was scared of it previously look like massive whoppers.

[RedTwoster]

1 hour ago, tiger_rick said:

Fucking hell, Rowan's giant spider. Was it him who had the rat in a box too?

Christ knows why I remember this, but I’m pretty sure that was Black Reign in TNA. He even had a rat on a pole match with Kazarian at one point.

[Ro_y Disco]

Even worse, there's a part of my brain wasted on remembering the rat's name. Misty. 

Did they acknowledge the spider was a robot or were viewers meant to believe it was real? 

[Carbomb]

3 hours ago, RedTwoster said:

Christ knows why I remember this, but I’m pretty sure that was Black Reign in TNA. He even had a rat on a pole match with Kazarian at one point.

He also had the stupidest of "personal" weapons, a fucking great spike called Darkness Falls (I think). 

At least with a sledgehammer there are potential ways to use it that look nasty without risking murdering your opponent. With that bloody great spike, if you're using it any other way than to stab, you look like a complete gonk. Especially if your gimmick is meant to be all dark and brutal.

[TheScarlettChad]

7 hours ago, BomberPat said:

the only reason I think that there's some truth in Christopher Daniels being planned as the Higher Power at some point is that he was revealed as Vampiro's Higher Power in WCW, and then if memory serves it was never mentioned again. So much of Russo's booking of WCW was either recycling his WWF angles, or finding dumping grounds for the ones they didn't let him run with, and a lot of the Vampiro/Sting feud, and how he booked Vampiro in general, was just a dumping ground for his ideas for Kane and The Undertaker, so the fact that he went with Daniels when he had a second stab at the Higher Power reveal makes me think Russo probably pushed for him to get the gig first time around. 

Does seem very Russo to take a nobody and make him a star. He wanted Tank Abbott as world champion for fucks sake. 

[Carbomb]

Making a nobody a star is one of the things I enjoy about wrestling, assuming they're either good enough to get there, or at least are not too shit to be carefully managed by creative.

It's when the expectation is just too far removed from the worker that it just seems ridiculous, though, to be fair, that is mostly something that tends to be seen in hindsight.

[tiger_rick]

16 hours ago, Carbomb said:

Making a nobody a star is one of the things I enjoy about wrestling, assuming they're either good enough to get there, or at least are not too shit to be carefully managed by creative.

It's when the expectation is just too far removed from the worker that it just seems ridiculous, though, to be fair, that is mostly something that tends to be seen in hindsight.

I think it's something most people love about wrestling. Every company always needs new blood who the audience love or hate too. The problem with all of the "pushes" handed out by Russo is the same as the rest of his booking, he doesn't want to do the work to tell the story. I think he said himself once, in a rare moment of honesty, that he doesn't write A to B to C, he just wants to write the best A he can. So he's always like A - you're a star now. No matter the history of the person, how unsuitable they are, how inexperienced they are, etc. 

As shit a pay-off as Vince being the higher power was, and how nonsensical it all is if you break it down, it did show that fundamentally, they understood that it could only really be a handful of people. Only Vince, Shane or Foley had the history and reputation to be believable in the role. None of them would have made much sense but Vince is probably the one that made the least sense the most!

Edited October 8, 2025 by tiger_rick

[Snitsky's back acne]

Dean Douglas apparently got 45 dollars for a co-main with Razor Ramon in Warren, Ohio once.

I'd say that's a pretty bad pay off. 

[LaGoosh]

2 hours ago, tiger_rick said:

As shit a pay-off as Vince being the higher power was, and how nonsensical it all is if you break it down, it did show that fundamentally, they understood that it could only really be a handful of people. Only Vince, Shane or Foley had the history and reputation to be believable in the role. None of them would have made much sense but Vince is probably the one that made the least sense the most!

And as bad as the Vince Higher Power reveal was they at least immediately followed it up with an a twist that went down very well - Linda giving Stone Cold part ownership of the company. Yeah it was a ridiculous twist but it suited the time period and ended up with some funny skits. The show also ended on Big Show chokeslamming Undertaker threw the ring so they basically threw enough good stuff at the audience that by the end of the show the Higher Power reveal didn't really leave a long lasting bad taste in the fans mouths.

Edited October 8, 2025 by LaGoosh

[Carbomb]

I may have missed it, but just in case I haven't, here's the obligatory mention of the Fingerpoke of Doom.

[The King Of Swing]

Thinking about it has there ever been a "power struggle" within a major promotion that hasn't ended like a wet fart? 

[Fog Dude]

10 hours ago, Snitsky's back acne said:

Dean Douglas apparently got 45 dollars for a co-main with Razor Ramon in Warren, Ohio once.

I'd say that's a pretty bad pay off. 

Paying Douglas that much for 20 minutes' work? Sounds like the promoter was the one who got ripped off there.

[Tennessee Moltisanti]

Goldberg's streak having a pay off of Nash beating him via Scott Hall and the taser, was a complete piss take. Horrible.

I don't know if this counts, but Triple H winning that Elimination Chamber Vs Goldberg at Summerslam 2003 was a complete and utter failure. So bad in fact, that my cousin who I was watching the show with, stopped watching wrestling after that.

[TheScarlettChad]

Goldberg dominated and then lost to a sledgehammer. Awful finish and it's no wonder Bill hated that first run. Absolute sabotage. 

[Arch Stanton]

10 hours ago, sukhy said:

I don't know if this counts, but Triple H winning that Elimination Chamber Vs Goldberg at Summerslam 2003 was a complete and utter failure. So bad in fact, that my cousin who I was watching the show with, stopped watching wrestling after that.

Of course it counts! Famously one of the worst finishes of all time!