Famous Angles Pro Wrestling Fans Love To Rebook

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin's act was a little stale in 2001. Or at least he thought so; fans still went nuts every time the glass shattered. So Austin turned heel at WrestleMania X-7 in Houston, just over two hours from Austin's hometown of Victoria, by aligning with his archenemy, Vince McMahon. It was a bold creative decision that reinvigorated The Texas Rattlesnake and launched one of his greatest runs. It also killed the Attitude Era, the WWF's most profitable period ever. What happened? 

Austin turned heel at the same time The Rock left to film "The Scorpion King," leaving a vacuum "The American Badass" Undertaker couldn't fill. Some fans suggest that if Triple H turned face, Austin's turn would've worked. Maybe. Triple H leading a new DX against Austin as McMahon's corporate champion might've kept business from dropping. But there's still the main issue: Fans simply didn't want to boo Austin. In a 2014 appearance of Chris Jericho's "Talk Is Jericho" podcast, Austin indicated he regretted the WrestleMania heel turn, saying: "It was like everybody loved John Wayne for what he stood for and so he did not ever have to be a bad guy in his movies ... People didn't want to hate me." While fans try to rebook his heel turn, it was never going to stick.

The Streak was one of the hottest angles during pro wrestling's biggest boom, leading the undefeated Goldberg to capture the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. So naturally, WCW screwed it up. Why? Because WCW. What happened? Goldberg defended his title at Starrcade 1998 against Kevin Nash, leader of the NWO Wolfpac faction and arguably WCW's second-biggest babyface. Nash won the match, but only after Scott Hall electrocuted Goldberg with a cattle prod. Then, Nash lost the title on "Monday Nitro" one week later to a returning Hulk Hogan in the infamous Fingerpoke of Doom match. From there, Hogan lost the title to Ric Flair in a double-turn match in the main event of Uncensored 1999, a pay-per-view Goldberg wasn't even on. 

What went wrong? Everything. Fans usually rebook Goldberg to beat Nash, which makes sense, as Big Bill was still WCW's biggest draw and The Streak was over huge. Yes, Nash's victory popped the crowd, but there's a difference between getting pops (Nash) and drawing money (Goldberg). Fans also suggest Goldberg's streak ending might've worked if the follow-up was Goldberg mowing through the NWO on his way to reclaiming the title. But really, any rebooking of this disastrous, months-long angle would've been better than what we got. WCW inadvertently ceded the Monday Night Wars by sacrificing their hottest act (Goldberg) for their stalest (NWO). Why? Because WCW.

Late 2002 to early 2004 is dubbed the Reign of Terror. Triple H lorded over "Monday Night Raw" as World Heavyweight Champion, spewing yawn-inducing, 20-minute promos, vanquishing challengers, and killing ratings. Even when he lost (in matches against Shawn Michaels and Goldberg), The Game soon won back the belt. Yes, the Reign of Terror was brutal at the time, and we'll never defend the racist Booker T feud leading to WrestleMania XIX. However, most fan-rebooking scenarios ignore that Triple H was the only guy WWE could trust to carry the belt. 

Michaels was uninterested, Goldberg was unreliable, and the former WCW guys weren't over at that level. When new stars emerged (Chris Benoit, Batista, and John Cena), Triple H put each of them over at three consecutive WrestleMania events. Would Batista beating Triple H have been the same if The Game had lost to RVD? Would Triple H tapping to Cena have been as momentous if he tapped to Steiner? Yes, if Triple H was as talented as his hero, Ric Flair, he could've gotten all of his opponents over. Sure, if Triple H was as gifted as his peer, The Rock, he wouldn't have been so boring. Alas, he was not. Absent better alternatives, Triple H's Reign of Terror was a necessary evil — a rebuilding period to prep the next generation.

Timing is everything and the Summer of Punk was a victim of bad timing (and, you know, bad booking). Art imitated life, with WWE booking CM Punk as the No. 1 contender at the same time his contract was up in real life. The lines between fiction and reality blurred during Punk's infamous Pipe-Bomb promo where he laid out his issues with WWE, which a lot of the fanbase shared. It was the hottest angle in years, made even better because Punk's opponent was WWE's golden boy, John Cena. The problem was that golden boy was already booked to wrestle The Rock at WrestleMania XXVIII. 

While the Summer of Punk made Punk a top guy, he didn't become The Guy. Some fans think he could've been. While we're skeptical the Summer of Punk could've turned into the next Attitude Era (this was corporate PG WWE, after all), it's absurd the angle evolved into a Triple H versus Kevin Nash, Sledgehammer Ladder Match. We're still scratching our heads over that one. Fans typically rebook Punk to take more time off after winning the belt at Money In The Bank before returning at SummerSlam, and we agree. Also, shoe-horning Triple H (whose rematch with The Undertaker was also set in stone for WrestleMania) into the angle led nowhere. Borrowing from the Austin playbook, we side with fans who argue CM Punk should've chased the title against a corporate champ (like Chris Jericho or Alberto Del Rio), winning the Royal Rumble, and recapturing the title at WrestleMania XXVIII.

For 83 weeks between 1996-1998, WCW obliterated the WWF in the ratings thanks to the red-hot NWO, with Hulk Hogan abandoning his red-and-yellow Real American act for a black-and-white Hollywood heel persona. However, even in a heel territory like WCW, the villain eventually has to lose. Hogan's defeat was destined for Starrcade 1997 against Sting, who had gone from a bleach-blond surfer into a black-haired, rafter-dwelling Crow character. The outcome was obvious: Sting defeats Hogan. Hogan had other ideas. When Sting showed up out of shape, uninspired, and, worst of all, "without a tan, brother," Hogan had the perfect excuse (in his mind) to not put him over like a million bucks. 

More than 700,000 fans bought Starrcade 1997 to watch Sting stomp Hogan. Instead, they saw Hogan apparently pin Sting, only for it to be declared a fast count (it wasn't). Sting won, but it was a screwy finish to what should've been a straightforward victory. He vacated the title due to the controversy and beat Hogan in the rematch, but the damage was done. Starrcade 1997 drew WCW's biggest buyrate ever, but it spelled the beginning of the end of the company's dominance, as the WWF overtook them in the ratings a few months later. If fans could rebook this match, Sting (unmotivated or not) would've beat Hogan soundly. How did the No. 1 pro wrestling company screw up something so idiot-proof? Because WCW.

Pro wrestling fans give Vince McMahon's storytelling prowess a lot of flak and some of it is deserved. But the poster child for the idea that the fans aren't always right is John Cena. If it were up to fans, Cena would've turned heel at least 10,000 times (give or take) between 2006 and 2013. Each one would've been a bad idea. There are several key events in the history of the Cena-should-turn-heel era. There was the WrestleMania XXII main event, when the Chicago crowd brutalized Cena in a historic match with Triple H. Seven years later, fans were convinced Cena would finally turn heel to defeat The Rock at WrestleMania XXIX, only for him to continue his Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect ways. In between were numerous opportunities to turn Cena heel. 

While Wrestling Promotion 101 says "listen to the fans," we fans are fickle. We booed Cena because it was fun and rebellious, even while we bought tickets to see him. Meanwhile, Cena was a hero to children, raking in millions selling merch in the process. Why would WWE (or Cena) give that money up? Besides, Cena is a Make-A-Wish record holder; you can't possibly turn that guy heel. Sure, Cena turning heel would've been awesome creatively, but it would have been disastrous commercially. McMahon learned his lesson with Austin's 2001 heel turn. Even though fans may not have liked it, keeping Cena a babyface was the right move.

The WWF versus WCW invasion angle was the biggest booking blunder in pro wrestling history. Or so fans argue. If given the opportunity to rebook the invasion, most fans say the WWF should've paid WCW's biggest stars to come in for the epic WWF versus WCW feud we'd dreamed about for years. But is that realistic? WCW's biggest stars were still under contract to Time Warner. Given they were paid millions to not work, McMahon would've had to pay them millions more to work. Plus, if you're going to pay several WCW guys millions in guaranteed money, Steve Austin, The Rock, The Undertaker, and Triple H, among others, would've expected (and deserved) raises too. So now you're exponentially increasing your biggest expense — your talent payroll — for the sake of a single angle. 

Sure, the North American pro wrestling audience was huge, but we doubt it would've expanded enough to justify that expense, especially since the WWF didn't need to spend that money, as Invasion drew one of the best buyrates ever without WCW's biggest stars. So fans' rebooking doesn't make sense from a commercial perspective. What about creatively? Maybe. The challenge would be heel-face alignment. Would WCW faces like Goldberg and Sting be bad guys? Would WWF heels like Triple H and Kurt Angle be faces? Sure, we're disappointed we never got Austin versus Goldberg or Sting versus Undertaker (though even those pro wrestling dream matches might've underwhelmed), but rebooking the invasion isn't as cut and dry as fans may think.