As they say, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In the case of the WWE Network, there's been plenty of reasons to be excited, since it's introduction a few years ago but there have also been a few reasons to frown.
Overall, it's been a pretty solid success story thus far, but we all know that there's a long way to go before a proper examination can be made one way or another.
The amount of original content on the Network can be considered a good or a bad thing depending on who you ask but in the grand scheme of things the subscriber numbers have been consistently good for a long time now.
Yes, there have been threats to cancel from many members of the WWE Universe on social media at times, but that's mainly down to the pay-per-view events.
With that being said, it would seem wrong if we didn't pick up on the flaws that WWE have in its system when it comes to some of their shows. When they get it right it can be great, but when they get it wrong, it can really make viewers cringe to the point where they don't actually finish watching the show in its entirety.
So with that in mind, let's take a look at the five worst shows on the WWE Network.
#5 Holy Foley
This one may seem a tad harsh to some people, but when you've seen Mick Foley do some of the most incredible things in the history of the business, this show is a bit hard to swallow. Holy Foley, which follows Mick and his family throughout their day to day lives, feels just a little bit too forced for the liking of many WWE Universe members.
It's interesting to see what they get up to in a way, but it's also a little bit sad.
It didn't work out well when Hogan did it outside the WWE, and it seems almost worse now that it's being produced in a WWE environment. Perhaps the journey of Mick's fitness getting better and better will improve the later episodes, but the whole storyline of Noelle wanting to become a wrestler and the hatred between Mick and Frank the Clown just feels un-natural.
That's putting it nicely, too. Onto something that's supposed to be a little bit more "fun".
#4 Edge and Christian Show
As we all know Edge and Christian were quite the jokers back in their WWE days. From their skits with Foley and Angle to the five-second poses, the two troublemakers were always entertaining the WWE Universe on a week to week basis. In a way, we don't blame the company for giving this a shot, but we have to remember that these fellas are 40 now.
A lot of the dry comedy they utilise in the show just doesn't really work anymore and whilst there are moments of brilliance, it feels like the former World Champions should have left this material inside their own heads.
It's nice to see them being given a different kind of platform, but this isn't the way we want to remember Edge and Christian in years to come, much like Foley. Next up we have something of a rip-off stemming from a former Network show.
#3 The WWE List
If you've watched The WWE List, then the odds are that you've also watched Countdown in the past. Countdown, if you didn't know, was the first incarnation of the show type and featured Superstars and wrestling personalities counting down a list from 10 to one based on a certain category. It was an interesting premise, and it worked out really well.
Unfortunately, WWE took it upon itself to turn this into a new concept, which felt watered down and just kind of blasted through a number of topics in a shorter period of time. Whether they just didn't want to invest in the lengthy Countdown episodes remains to be seen, but either way, it's a bit of a sin that they've thrown this at us when we could be getting the original which was far superior.
For the runner up we look into a show that actually used to be a big favourite to a lot of people.
#2 Tough Enough
Back in the early 2000s, Tough Enough was seen as a full proof way to bring new talent into the company. For the first few seasons, it actually made for great viewing, and eventual Superstars such as The Miz and Ryback were welcomed into the WWE family through the system.
It looked like it would be around for years to come, until it was shelved, only being brought back in the last few years.
They really shouldn't have bothered. The episodes and seasons felt false, scripted and the judges didn't really feel like they were making too much of an impact. This felt like some kind of mixture of the game show version of NXT and Breaking Ground, which isn't a good thing when you consider how convoluted that sounds.
It hasn't worked and if they want to bring it back once again, it needs a serious makeover.
#1 Slam City
Seriously, what was this? Slam City is what we imagine the end product would be if Vince McMahon and Vince Russo were in a room together for an hour, after snorting endless lines of cocaine. It's an animated series of mad events strung together in 5-10 minute episodes, and they really don't make any sense.
Thankfully its shelf life was relatively short, but its impact is still felt throughout the world of professional wrestling.
Well, not really, but still. We don't even want to guess how much time and money was poured into this project, and instead, we want to let our minds drift back to the Stone Cold Podcasts and WWE 24s of the Network. There are some things that you just have to put down as a cringeworthy mess, and Slam City definitely belongs in that category.
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