Everyone in WWE hoped to reach new heights during the Ruthless Aggression Era since it represented opportunity. Vince McMahon even a promo using that term when calling out the challenge for the roster to step up with the landscape changing. There were multiple chapters of the Ruthless Aggression Era with varied results.
Unfortunately, there were some failed storylines that just couldn’t work despite WWE viewing the ideas as having potential. Any failed idea in wrestling can and will be discussed in depth about what could have fixed these angles. The worst storylines from the Ruthless Aggression Era will be viewed here to see what would have worked better to save them.
10 Triple H's Offensive Attacks On Booker T: Having Booker Win The Gold
The rivalry between Triple H and Booker T is remembered as a low point in WWE history. No valid argument exists for WWE having Triple H cutting offensive promos running down Booker with clearly racial insults if Triple H was always going to win.
WrestleMania 19 finally paid off the horrific feud with the heartbreaking moment of Booker losing after such personal and offensive comments. Booker winning would have saved the already bad storyline by at least giving him the ultimate revenge of becoming World Champion on the biggest stage.
9 Jesus Stabbing John Cena: New Jack In Role Instead
WWE had to find some ideas for John Cena in late 2004 since they were waiting until WrestleMania 21 for his crowning moment winning the WWE Championship. Carlito entered a feud with Cena over the United States Championship that had a weird moment of Cena getting stabbed at a night club.
This angle was done to have Cena film The Marine to explain his time off and set up a match for his return. WWE picked lackluster development talent Jesus for a pointless match that made the angle a failure. Rumors surfaced that WWE talked to New Jack for this role, and that would have been worlds better even if just a one-off random dream match.
8 Shelton Benjamin's Mom Managing Him: Forcing Him To Reunite With Charlie Haas
Shelton Benjamin struggled to find the right role during his push in the mid-card scene. WWE wanted Benjamin to become a main event act, but his character skills were lacking. A crazy idea to hire an actress to play Shelton’s mother saw Mama Benjamin managing and guiding him.
Most fans viewed Shelton as less important during this run since he was playing a mama’s boy character with a lower ceiling. One way to save this angle would have been to have Mama Benjamin demand Shelton reunite with Charlie Haas since their tag run ended quickly, and WWE booked a reunion the following year anyway.
7 Katie Vick: Having A Character Still Alive In Kane's Backstory Played By Wrestler
WWE wanted to create a deeper backstory for Kane when Triple H revealed the Katie Vick character as Kane’s teenage girlfriend that passed away when he was driving during an accident. It turned into an all-time bad idea when Triple H impersonated Kane and humped a mannequin in a funeral home meant to be Katie.
There could have been so many easier and better ways to set up a backstory. Kane’s ex-girlfriend being alive and having an actual wrestler play her would have worked way better. Triple H holding this information over Kane’s head would have set up a big debut rather than horrific segments.
6 Paul Heyman Betraying Rob Van Dam: An ECW Original Turning Heel Instead Of Big Show
The ECW brand could be argued as the biggest failure of the Ruthless Aggression Era since fans were excited to see ECW returning. Rob Van Dam getting suspended for violating the wellness policy ruined any chance of the ECW spirit continuing.
However, the follow up move to have Heyman betray Van Dam for Big Show to take the ECW Championship off him stopped many fans from watching. An ECW original could have got great heat and kept the show on track by conning RVD. Even Sabu would have been perfect since he was in the car when Van Dam got busted and could have even made a worked shoot angle out of it.
5 Vince McMahon's Limo Exploding: Batista As Culprit
WWE tried to set up a big storyline for the summer of 2007 when Vince McMahon’s limo exploded, and a death angle played out. The real-life tragedy of Chris Benoit’s murder suicide led to WWE having to drop the storyline during arguably the toughest time in company history.
Fans still wonder about who could have been a good candidate responsible for the limo explosion. Batista is not an obvious name, but he may have been the best option. WWE recently had Batista losing a title match to Edge that prevented him from challenging for the world title any time soon. Batista turning heel and having a rare storyline with the McMahon family could have worked perfectly.
4 Ric Flair As Heel Authority Figure: Starting WCW Faction
One of the first major storylines of the Ruthless Aggression Era featured the brand split starting with co-owners Ric Flair and Vince McMahon each running their own brand. Flair turned heel to feud with Steve Austin on Raw since WWE had a great track record of Stone Cold battling authority figures.
Unfortunately, this program felt cold and Flair felt out of place in the authority figure role. WWE could have benefited from Flair putting together a group of former WCW talents to stop Austin since he was already finding hired guns. The angle instead played out poorly until Flair was removed from that role.
3 Randy Orton Getting Kicked Out Of Evolution: Randy Betraying Them First
WWE found massive success with the Evolution faction helping the careers of four future Hall of Famers. Randy Orton winning the World Championship led to Triple H kicking him out as the first instance of a member being removed.
Fans wanted to cheer Orton, but WWE went about this the wrong way. Orton looked weak for wanting to stay with the evil group and only left when forced out. This was a terrible way to start a huge babyface turn. Orton being the one to betray Evolution could have set him up for a great world title face run.
2 Eric Bischoff Handing Triple H World Championship: Saving Title For First Elimination Chamber
Fans were livid when WWE introduced the big gold belt as a World Championship for the Raw brand and Eric Bischoff just handed it to Triple H to make him champ. WWE had a perfect set up to create interest in a huge match to decide the new champion after Brock Lesnar took the WWE Championship to Smackdown.
A great concept would have been to have six major qualifier matches between September and November to set up the first Elimination Chamber match. Even though the match still ended up being a classic in its introduction, the World Championship being saved to crown a first champ here would have been perfect.
1 Hornswoggle As Vince McMahon's Son: The Miz Getting This Role
WWE fell into a tough situation when Mr. Kennedy got suspended right when he was going to be revealed as Vince McMahon’s long lost son. McMahon found out he had a child out of wedlock decades prior that happened to be on the WWE roster.
Kennedy violating the wellness policy led to WWE pivoting towards Hornswoggle for a comedic payoff that disappointed most fans. The Miz was a mid-card name at the time, but his talking ability and character would have been perfect in the role. Vince endorsing Miz’s obnoxious heel persona with a bigger push would have kickstarted his career faster.
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