10 WWE Plans in 2017 which couldn't go through

7: Baron Corbin's mega-push

Baron Corbin's physique has been the subject of much criticism/ridicule online

At the beginning of the 2017 calendar year, there were obvious signs that WWE had plans to push Baron Corbin as a top guy on SmackDown. The guy did check a lot of boxes that would’ve made him a top star in Vince McMahon’s eyes: he’s tall, he looks menacing, he’s tall, he has a killer finisher, he’s tall, etc.

The biggest indication of this push was him winning the Money in the Bank contract and getting a world title shot at a time of his (or should we say, the bookers’) choice.

Then everything came crashing down.

Within the span of a few weeks, Corbin’s main-event push came crashing down. He cashed in his MITB briefcase against Jinder Mahal, took a swing at Cena (who was at ringside), and got pinned by a roll-up in a few seconds. Then, at SummerSlam, John Cena demolished him in a highly one-sided affair that seemed to send him falling down the card with cinderblocks tied to his ankles.

It was reported that he rubbed people the wrong way with both his behaviour on Twitter, and with his alleged negative reaction to CTE discussion backstage. It seemed that enough people in WWE’s backstage environment reacted negatively to Corbin’s behaviour, which led to his push being cancelled before it could even get off the ground.