Perfecting the art of a WWE Championship or World Heavyweight Championship match is something that's tricky to do. There's usually so much anticipation and intrigue surrounding them, that booking them to the point where everyone is happy is more than likely impossible.
Still, some cases are easier than others, which makes the number of times that WWE got it wrong all the more surprising.
Look, we're not saying we can do it better or anything, but when you've been doing this for over four decades you'd imagine the art of booking wouldn't be lost on you. For example, since 2010 alone there have been multiple occasions where it looks like WWE have the perfect solution right in front of their eyes, only for them to squander it in favour of something alternative.
Alternative can be good sometimes, but not when it leaves your fan base scratching their heads in bewilderment. Obviously different people are entertainment by different things, but for the most part, the WWE Universe were not on board with these title defences or changes.
With that being said, let's go ahead and examine five times since 2010 that WWE got a World Title match wrong. See how many you can remember being frustrated by.
#1 Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett - Survivor Series 2010
Back in 2010, Wade Barrett was probably the hottest thing in professional wrestling. As the leader of The Nexus, Barrett was orchestrating one of the most fascinating and realistic storylines in years. The up and comers seemed all set to take full control of the WWE, with the crowning moment set to be at Survivor Series 2010.
Randy Orton was defending the WWE Championship against Barrett with John Cena as the special guest referee. If Barrett lost, Cena would be fired. Because of this, a large number of fans in the WWE Universe were expecting the rookie to defeat The Apex Predator and hold the title all the way through until WrestleMania 27.
But that wasn't the case. Orton defeated Barrett and Cena lost his job, that was until he came back just over a week later and continued to cause havoc among The Nexus. The group, and Barrett never really recovered from that and it seems like a huge missed opportunity considering his downward trajectory since that night.
Speaking of Randy, let's move on to his second entry on the list.
#2 Christian vs. Randy Orton - SummerSlam 2011
For months Christian and Randy Orton were locked in an extremely personal feud for the World Heavyweight Championship. They traded the belt back and forth, with a heel Christian managing to worm his way out of a number of situations, and the final showdown was set to take place at SummerSlam 2011.
Nobody really knew who would come away with the victory, but a lot of fans were hoping it would be Captain Charisma. Orton had plenty of world title reigns to his name by that point and it seemed like a great opportunity for Christian to carry the belt as a top heel Champion.
Alas, following a great match, it was Orton who walked away with the belt. Yes, Mark Henry would win the title a month later, but either way, it just feels like Christian should've proven to the world that he could get the job done without anyone's help or assistance. By the time the story ended, Christian looked weaker than ever.
#3 John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio - Night of Champions 2011
In what was supposed to be the Summer of Punk, the pay-per-view following SummerSlam saw Alberto Del Rio defending the WWE Championship against John Cena. As Punk was busy dealing with Triple H, it seemed likely that Del Rio would retain the belt against Cena and move on to an eventual feud with the Straight Edge Superstar.
But that didn't really work out all too well. Cena submitted Del Rio to win back the WWE Championship, in a move that didn't really make any sense whatsoever. Del Rio would end up winning the title once again inside Hell in a Cell, making the whole outcome at Night of Champions incredibly pointless.
It seemed like another way to give Cena a meaningless title run, and Alberto deserved more than that. By the time the Survivor Series match with Punk rolled around, Del Rio could have been holding onto the title for three months. It would've made things feel bigger, more important and Del Rio would come out of the event feeling like more of a star.
Let's follow up with Del Rio's second entry onto the list of shame.
#4 Alberto Del Rio vs. Big Show - SmackDown 2013
Given how rare a world title change on free television is, you'd assume that when it happens it would be a big moment. Whilst that's somewhat true, Alberto Del Rio's triumph over Big Show in early 2013 didn't feel right whatsoever. First and foremost, let's talk about that face run.
Del Rio has proven throughout his career that he can work as a babyface, but in the WWE it felt extremely forced. He was thrust into a position that didn't suit him and they put the strap on the former WWE Champion without much build at all. Plus, Big Show wasn't exactly doing a poor job with the Championship.
If anything, they could've and should've featured Show in a big match at WrestleMania 29 where he defended the title - probably against Ryback. It would be a career-making moment for The Big Guy, while Show would be able to retire knowing he walked into the biggest show of the year as World Heavyweight Champion. What a waste.
We finish up with a recent crime that got a lot of people talking.
#5 Roman Reigns vs. Triple H - WrestleMania 32
First off, WWE deserves some sympathy for the fact that they were struck with a host of unfortunate injuries leading to WrestleMania 32. That being said, there is simply no excuse for the way in which they booked the main event between Roman Reigns and Triple H.
The thing about this one is, it's not even necessarily the winner that needs changing. Sure HHH winning would've been a shock, but you could've accomplished the goal of getting Roman over by orchestrating a fun, well-booked title match. Obviously, a Roman heel turn is at the top of that list, but a big issue was that the bout was just so boring.
If you make it a No Disqualification match, things instantly turn up a notch. We know both guys can perform in that kind of environment, and it opens the door for some interesting run-ins that would make sense given how big the stakes were. Roman going over clean, simply put, was one of the biggest mistakes in WWE history.
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