Some of the WWE’s greatest stories may have never been told. Brilliant, creative, compelling angles that could have changed the business forever were left on the cutting room floor thanks to the whims of the great and powerful Oz known as Vince McMahon.
No one loves revisionist history more than wrestling fans. Perhaps the only thing we love more than the spandex gladiator ballet itself is playing the great game of “what if.”
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What if John Cena had turned heel? What if Undertaker never lost to Brock Lesnar? What if the WCW Invasion actually included WCW Superstars like Sting, Lex Luger or Ric Flair? What if the Gobbledy Gooker won the WWE World Champion?
OK, maybe not that last one, but there are millions of fans who love to imagine what might have happened if Vince McMahon had chosen a different fork in the road.
Former WWE creative team member, Kevin Eck, now blogs about pro wrestling for Pressbox.com, is now giving us a fascinating look behind the curtain in his latest article. Eck, who was mentioned by name in AJ Lee’s recent book, Crazy Is My Superpower, has a new article revealing 5 brilliant storylines that were mercilessly shot down by Vince McMahon.
Well, at least he believes they were brilliant and I tend to agree.
Dean Ambrose And AJ Lee Hook Up In A Mental Institution (2012)
Could Dean Ambrose and AJ Lee have been the WWE’s version of Bonnie and Clyde? In 2012, AJ Lee and Daniel Bryan’s relationship came to an end when he had her committed on their wedding day. A tale as old as time, right? While WWE was looking for Lee’s next story, they also needed something to do with Dean Ambrose who had his program with Mick Foley scrapped. Eck had an idea to basically make Lee and Ambrose the Sid and Nancy of the WWE.
“My idea was for Bryan’s plan to have AJ committed actually succeed. We’d take her off TV for a little while before bringing her back in dramatic fashion. She would return with her new boyfriend (Ambrose), whom she had met while both were patients in the institution.
Ambrose and AJ would wreak havoc, becoming WWE’s version of Bonnie and Clyde (or Mickey and Mallory, to use a less-dated analogy).
Vince McMahon had a different vision. The WWE chairman and CEO loved the AJ character and decided to make her the new “Raw” general manager after she called off the wedding to Bryan. AJ as GM didn’t get over, and her run as an authority figure lasted just three months.”
Faction Of Former Indy Stars Invades WWE (2012)
I love a good heel faction idea and Eck’s proposal to capitalize on the Indy influx of 2012 would have been amazing. Although, had it happened, we would have never gotten The Shield.
“My idea began with former ECW star Tommy Dreamer being named the head of WWE’s scouting department. As someone who paid his dues on the independent scene and didn’t have the traditional WWE look, Dreamer’s goal was to give guys with similar qualities an opportunity.
On “Raw 1,000,” Dreamer would formally announce Ambrose, Rollins and Ohno were now part of the WWE roster. They would go on to compete that night in a six-man tag match against three lower-card heels and go over in impressive fashion.
After the match, Ambrose, Rollins and Ohno would call Dreamer into the ring, seemingly to thank him for what he’s done for them. Instead, they turn on him and deliver a brutal, three-on-one beat-down to the lovable veteran.
On the following week’s show, they explain that they just used Dreamer to get their foot in the door in WWE. They say Dreamer wanted them to work their way up the card and do things the right way, but they’re not going to play by his rules. They reveal that their leader is someone with a background like theirs who knows success is achieved by any means necessary: Bryan (who was a heel at that time).
As it turned out, the big angle we went with on “Raw 1,000” was CM Punk turning heel on The Rock. Several months later it was decided Punk, who was WWE champion at the time, would get three guys from developmental to become his henchmen and help him retain the title. I suggested my trio of Ambrose, Rollins and Ohno to Triple H in a booking meeting.
Triple H said he already had Ambrose and Rollins in mind, but instead of Ohno, he wanted Roman Reigns, and thus The Shield was born.”
Big Show Assaults Alberto Del Rio’s Father (2013)
WWE needed a way to get Alberto Del Rio over as a face. Eck had a simple, yet very effective idea. Have Big Show beat up his dad. Vince thought otherwise.
“I suggested we bring in Del Rio’s father, Dos Caras, who had a legendary career in Mexico as a masked luchador, for an appearance on WWE TV that culminated with Big Show attacking the sexagenarian, removing his mask and proceeding to carry it around like a trophy in the ensuing weeks. As is the tradition for masked pro wrestlers in Mexico, Dos Caras never appeared in public unmasked, and forcibly removing a luchador’s mask was the ultimate sign of disrespect.
Vince McMahon shot down the pitch for two reasons: He said the American audience wouldn’t grasp how sacred the mask is to Mexican wrestlers, and he also believed a senior citizen in street clothes and a mask would look ridiculous.
Vince McMahon shot down the pitch for two reasons: He said the American audience wouldn’t grasp how sacred the mask is to Mexican wrestlers, and he also believed a senior citizen in street clothes and a mask would look ridiculous.
I thought McMahon was wrong on both counts. The significance of masks in Mexican pro wrestling had been played up in WWE before in angles involving Rey Mysterio, and it would be easy enough have commentators explain why Big Show’s actions were so heinous. As for the notion that Dos Caras would look ridiculous, perhaps he would to non-wrestling fans, but I didn’t think the WWE audience would feel that way.
After all, no one seemed taken aback when Dos Caras’ brother, Mil Mascaras, delivered his WWE Hall of Fame induction speech in 2012 wearing his mask and a tuxedo.”
The Romance Of Cody Rhodes And Kaitlyn (2013)
Cody Rhodes had many gimmicks during his run with the WWE. Some were better than others. I’m not completely sure how far Cody and Kaitlyn could have gone, but Eck’s explanation is pretty convincing.
“At the time, Rhodes and Damien Sandow were paired together as best friends and tag-team partners. I thought it would be compelling if moustache-lover Kaitlyn, a babyface, suddenly found Rhodes irresistible despite the fact that he was a heel.
Rhodes and Kaitlyn would begin dating, causing Sandow to resent her for putting a strain on his bromance and for her trying to change Rhodes by encouraging him to abandon his villainous ways. Having to choose between a love interest and a close friend is something a lot of people could identify with.
I figured we could take the storyline in several different directions. The obvious route would be for a jealous Sandow to turn on Rhodes. Eventually, Sandow would get together with a rival of Kaitlyn’s, leading to a series of mixed tag matches.
Another way to go would be for Kaitlyn to turn heel and hook up with Sandow, saying Sandow’s impressive beard put Rhodes’ moustache to shame.
My initial pitch of Kaitlyn being attracted to Rhodes actually did make it onto TV, but I could tell McMahon wasn’t all that interested in it. When Brie and Nikki Bella returned to WWE, the storyline was abruptly dropped after a couple weeks because McMahon decided to align the Bella twins with Rhodes and Sandow.
“What about the budding romance between Rhodes and Kaitlyn?” I asked McMahon during a booking meeting.
McMahon, who had made it clear on several occasions he did not find Kaitlyn’s muscular physique all that attractive, replied (and I’m paraphrasing): “If one of the Bellas showed interest in Cody, why would he ever look at Kaitlyn again?”
Undeterred, I said, “Because plenty of men in our audience think Kaitlyn is hot whether you think so or not.”
Actually, I didn’t say that. I believe my response was, “Fair enough, sir.”
Cody And Brandi Rhodes As The New Goldust And Marlena (2014)
The Stardust angle clearly went on way too long, but it had a moment of greatness. Perhaps Eck’s idea of attaching Cody’s wife, Brandi Rhodes, to the gimmick could have given it a much longer shelf-life.
“Rhodes and Goldust were a babyface tag team at the time, and I suggested we play off the fact the veteran Goldust was getting a bigger reaction from the crowd than his younger brother. Feeling that Goldust is hogging the spotlight, Rhodes turns on him and becomes Stardust.
It’s revealed Brandi was the one who planted the seed in her husband’s mind that his brother was using him to stay relevant and keep him from becoming the star of the team. Brandi’s plan is for Stardust to become bigger than Goldust ever was, and she adopts a look and mannerisms that are reminiscent of Goldust’s former wife/valet, Marlena.
McMahon instead chose to have Rhodes and Goldust go on a losing streak, which led to Rhodes saying his brother deserved a better partner than him. Rhodes conducted a search for a new partner for Goldust before ultimately having an epiphany that the man for the job was him as Stardust.
Stardust eventually turned on Goldust, but Brandi wasn’t involved, and McMahon pulled the plug on the feud after just one pay-per-view match.”
You can read Kevin Eck’s entire article here.
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