6 mistakes WWE has made so far in 2021

WWE is the biggest wrestling promotion in the world. Despite its popularity, the product is far from perfect. It is often the case that fans and critics alike are left bemused by the company's decision-making.

The company's reputation leaves it open to greater scrutiny. In 2021, WWE posted financial growth despite the pandemic. Despite financial success, the company has lacked in other areas. Here are six mistakes WWE has made this year:

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#6. "The Demon" falling off the rope at Extreme Rules hurt his mystique in WWE.

When Roman Reigns defended his Universal Championship against Finn Balor, it wasn't technically against Balor. It was against the alter ego, "the Demon". Up until that point, "the Demon" was undefeated.

"The Demon" is brought out for special situations and, when he appears, he always wins. Due to the dominance of Roman Reigns since the summer of 2020, there was a strong chance "the Demon" would lose.

Balor's alter ego did suffer defeat against the Tribal Chief, but it wasn't without its faults. Because it was a "no disqualifications" match, the Usos would certainly interfere. Even if it was a normal match, they would interfere. They have done so in almost every one of Reigns' defenses.

Not only did it take interference from Jimmy and Jey, but it also took a wonky finish to hand The Demon his first loss. After "the Demon" was "revived" by red light and heartbeats, he seemed to have victory in hand.

He went to the top rope for the Coup De Grace. When he tried to jump off, the ropes simply fell off from the turnbuckle. Reigns took advantage of the distraction and hit a spear for the win.

After hinting that The Demon was "reborn" during the match, it seemed like that it would end in victory. Instead, Balor's alter ego looked foolish in defeat. It left "the Demon" character a little damaged while still protecting the current golden boy.

Some fan footage revealed one of the cameramen cutting the rope. It certainly led to an extremely strange moment. Balor could have lost in another fashion, but the bookers chose the finish they chose. It left a bad taste in fans' mouths, much like the Fiend's first loss at Hell in a Cell.

#5. WWE should utilize No. 1 Contender's matches rather than the constant "Championship Contenders" matches.

One way that WWE and other promotions would determine a top contender was to simply have a match to determine that person. It's an easy way to add however many deserving people into one contest for a title opportunity.

WWE can easily book a No. 1 Contenders match if there are more than a few people with a claim to a title shot. Liv Morgan even won such a match on the latest RAW. It's a welcome sign for a Superstar that has gone through a lot of ups and downs this year.

One thing WWE has done a lot in 2021 is use "Championship Contenders" matches. It's akin to a proving ground match in other promotions. Essentially, if the challenger beats the Champ in non-title action, they get a shot at the title.

It can be a decent way of telling a story, but it usually makes either the challenger or titleholder look bad. If the challenger is unable to beat the Champ, he or she goes to the back of the line.

If the challenger defeats the Champ, however, then they get a shot at that particular title. Outside interference often plays into these matches if someone is slated to get a shot at a given belt.

Believability also plays a big part in these matches. If Drew McIntyre or Seth Rollins wins a "Championship Contenders" match, it is believable that they could dethrone the Champion.

If someone like Mustafa Ali wins one, the likelihood of beating the titleholder again is very low. That's not to discredit Ali's talent, but the way he and others in his position are often booked.

The simple fact is that some look bad in defeat with these new types of matches. Shotzi and Nox even won a title opportunity by beating then Champions Nattie and Tamina but never received a Championship shot. That was used as part of the reason behind Shotzi's heel turn.

By booking No. 1 Contenders matches instead, it easily provides a title challenger. Whether through the use of outside interference or not, it doesn't force the bookers to have the Champion lose.

#4. Baron Corbin's WWE story of riches to rags to riches offered little character development.

When Baron Corbin debuted on the WWE main roster, it was as the Lone Wolf. He was an unforgiving heel that was easy to hate. He blindsided people and was a United States Champion.

Corbin was then the Constable of RAW and the 2019 King of the Ring. His reign worked because he was a malevolent dictator who took advantage of his status as king.

Without much to do after a prolonged feud with Roman Reigns, Corbin started to lose a lot. He even lost the crown to Shinsuke Nakamura before this year's KOTR tournament.

After physically losing the crown, Corbin faced a downward spiral. His family left him and he lost everything. It was a perfect opportunity for some character growth for the former Lone Wolf. He didn't have to turn face, but the direction his path took after losing it all has been rough.

Corbin could have reverted to the Lone Wolf persona, or at least operated with a sense of nothing to lose. He could have gone after anyone and everyone rather than begging and whining for help.

WWE decided to have Corbin win it big one day at a casino and they changed his name to Happy Corbin. To be fair, the performer is good at what he does. He gets heat easily and is a natural heel.

Happy Corbin, however, is just an annoying character every time he pops up. The jokes that Madcap Moss tells are bad, and that's probably the way it's meant to be. It's hard to take him seriously as a threat to anything due to the nature of Happy's backstory.

Any heat is good heat, but Happy Corbin is just hard to watch. Seth Rollins is a delusional heel but he makes it work. The same goes for Becky Lynch. Kevin Owens is so good at being a heel that it's often hard to boo him.

Corbin should have regained an edge. Instead, the guy who constantly laughs all the time is likely to be the next challenger for the Intercontinental Championship.

#3. The 2021 WWE Draft selections should have taken effect well before Crown Jewel.

One strange thing that WWE has done with drafts over the last few years is have them take place during a PPV cycle. It happened a few years ago in 2017 when title matches were already booked.

Randy Orton defended the WWE Championship against Bray Wyatt, who had been drafted to RAW. Kevin Owens, in turn, defended the US Championship against Chris Jericho, who was drafted to SmackDown.

This year's draft took place at the beginning of October. Crown Jewel, in turn, took place on October 21st. The selections made in the Draft, however, didn't take effect until the day after Crown Jewel. That meant that in the interim, some stars waited in limbo until October 22nd.

Vince McMahon wanted to make Crown Jewel a huge show, so some part-timers were used. Edge, Goldberg, and Brock Lesnar all wrestled on the show but aren't currently active on TV.

To keep storylines flowing and smooth, the selections should have taken effect immediately. That would have allowed new performers to mix in and not sit around.

If that wasn't an option, then the Draft could have been after Crown Jewel. While Crown Jewel was obviously booked months in advance, things for the Draft were finalized about a month before it took place.

Isaiah Scott had to drop the NXT North American title after Hit Row was drafted to SmackDown. That, in turn, allowed him to lose the title before officially joining the blue brand.

When the group debuted, Ashante Adonis was supposed to be in the match but was hurt. Had they waited for the draft, then he might have been cleared.

Drew McIntyre was drafted to SmackDown but faced RAW's Big E at the PPV for his title. It was a good enough match but they rushed what could have been a bigger fight down the road. Having the stars compete against Champions from the other brand was a bit confusing.

#2. WWE has called up many stars from NXT in the middle of storylines.

WWE has done this a lot over the last few years. Usually, a top Champion in NXT will drop his or her title before permanently moving to the main roster. Karrion Kross was in the middle of a feud with Samoa Joe. Joe had just been medically cleared and either man could have won.

Once Kross started randomly showing up on RAW without any hype or vignettes, it meant that he would fall to Joe. Kross lost to Joe, but he then also lost his first match on RAW to Jeff Hardy. He was still the Champion when he was defeated by Hardy, slightly devaluing the NXT title in the process.

Kross's call-up could have used more promotion. Ridge Holland was drafted to SmackDown while he was in the middle of a feud with Kyle O'Reilly and Von Wagner. Some in management see him as a future World Champion.

Hit Row was still feuding with Legado Del Fantasma when they were promoted. Austin Theory had returned to NXT for Indi Hartwell's wedding but was then drafted to RAW.

Xia Li was also drafted to SmackDown during a run with Tian Sha. Mei Ling was the leader of the group and Boa sporadically wrestled. Li was the focal point of the group. Since her call-up, however, Boa and Ling have both wrestled.

When Bianca Belair was called up in 2020, she was more than ready. She wasn't tied to NXT via a title or unfinished storyline. Rhea Ripley had lost the NXT Women's Championship and was ready for the main roster. The same goes for Shayna Baszler's promotion in 2020.

This should change with the NXT 2.0 reboot since Vince McMahon has more focus on WWE's third brand. Only time will tell if it will.

#1. Several popular WWE stars with potential were released.

WWE has released over 60 stars this year from both NXT and the main roster. While a few stars like Andrade and Bray Wyatt (July 31st) were released individually, there have been five huge days of cuts.

On April 15th, cuts included Chelsea Green, the IIconics, and Mickie James. On June 2nd, it was Ruby Riott, Buddy Murphy, Aleister Black, and Braun Strowman.

Several names from NXT were released at the end of June and even more departed on August 6th. Bronson Reed, Bobby Fish, Mercedes Martinez, and Tyler Rust were among the notable names let go in early August.

November 4th was the latest day of reckoning for both WWE and NXT stars. The likes of Keith Lee, Karrion Kross, Scarlett, Franky Monet, Ember Moon, and Nia Jax were let go. Some of those stars, like Kross and Lee, could have been future Champions.

Monet was ready-made for the main roster, but WWE wants to create its own stars. She still had a defined character and was solid in the ring. Some rumors surfaced around Kross following his release. He would have been a unique presence in the upper mid-card, but constant character shifts doomed his chances.

Rumors also came up after Lee's release. The Limitless One dealt with an extremely difficult 2021 and only returned over the summer. Lee had all the tools to be a main-event player in WWE but wasn't able to regain the momentum he created in NXT.

Wyatt, Strowman, and Black were all unique characters unlike any other in the company. The IIconics would have been perfect for the new character-driven focus of WWE.

If it was for age, reported attitude issues, or budgetary reasons, WWE released several stars that could have carried the company in the future. The sides didn't always see eye to eye but most things could have been resolved.

With a new business model and revamped NXT, however, WWE has drastically changed its strategy with Nick Khan.