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With the 2010s nearing its conclusion, the WWE Universe will look back with some fondness. A lot of significant moments happened, along with some breathtaking matches as well as groundbreaking decisions.
2020 will look a lot different to 2010 in terms of the WWE landscape, as well as pro wrestling in general. However, fans cannot help but feel that it could have been better.
While the decade as a whole was a big positive for WWE, the company missed a lot of huge opportunities to enthral the fans with some bold moves or exciting storylines. This also brings us to the fact that there is only a handful of current full-time WWE Superstars who are genuine stars. A lot more could have been created over the years, particularly in the first half of the 2010s.
This was a time where WWE needed to build new megastars as an entire era of talent finished up on their full-time careers, aside from a couple like John Cena and Randy Orton. Some of them eventually worked out, but the company did disappoint fans in handling the trajectories of various Superstars. Every year has seen WWE forgo a few huge booking opportunities.
Here is their biggest one from each year, from 2010 to 2014.
2010: The Nexus
After the likes of Triple H, Batista and The Undertaker left WWE full-time in mid-2010, eight NXT "rookies" sparked some much-needed intensity to the product. Led by Wade Barrett, the Nexus looked to dominate the place that treated them like jokes. They took out everybody in sight, especially John Cena and even Vince McMahon. The new group of supervillains faced Cena's squad of WWE defenders at SummerSlam in a 7-on-7 Elimination Match. A win for the Nexus would put them on the map and on course to cement their legitimacy, right?
John Cena won, defeating Justin Gabriel and Wade Barrett with relative ease. This derailed the Nexus' momentum and even a victory for Barrett over Cena did not help in any way. The Cenation Leader buried the Nexus at every opportunity, even after being forced to join them. Barrett could have been a major star in WWE had he emerged victorious at SummerSlam, or even managed to keep John Cena at bay in the Nexus. However, his reign of dominance was killed once and for all in a Chairs Match against Cena a little over six months after debuting.
This was disappointing, as WWE had an opportunity to move away from the status quo and build some new stars from nothing. Instead, they went with the same old names. Wade Barrett was super hot as the leader of the Nexus and he would, unfortunately, never reach the level he did during this angle. He should have held the WWE Title for at least some time in the fall of 2010. Booking the rising stars to lose at SummerSlam was a bone-headed decision. Chris Jericho and Edge, both members of Team WWE, thought the same thing.
2011: The Summer Of Punk
CM Punk's pipebomb promo took the wrestling world by storm and forced everybody to pay attention to him. The storyline of Punk winning the WWE Championship on the same night he was leaving the company was extremely gripping and at Money in the Bank, he did so by defeating John Cena in a five-star classic. CM Punk's hometown crowd of Chicago went mental for the entire segment and off he went, into the night as WWE Champion. At the time, it seemed like he would be gone for a really long time.
Punk did claim that he would defend the title in different promotions, but he ended up returning to WWE in just eight days, as the company just couldn't help themselves. Following that, Punk defeated Cena again only for a returning Kevin Nash(?!) to attack him, before Alberto Del Rio cashed in his Money in the Bank to win the title. Following that defeat, CM Punk got pinned at three straight pay-per-views before finally regaining the WWE Championship at Survivor Series, well into the fall.
While the Voice of the Voiceless came good and went on a 434-day long WWE Title reign, the Summer of Punk does seem like a missed opportunity. He was never as hot as he was from the end of June till mid-August in 2011. It all seemed a bit wasted and CM Punk could have been a much bigger star than he already is. Well, at least we all have Money in the Bank 2011. The peak of the Summer of Punk and possibly, the greatest moment of Punk's illustrious career.
2012: Turning John Cena Heel
This would have only worked for a short while, as John Cena was integral to WWE's business in the first half of the decade. But despite the support from kids, a temporary heel turn from Cena would have been huge in 2012. While he played the pseudo-heel during his WrestleMania program with The Rock, the subsequent defeat should have sent him on a serious downward spiral. John Cena even promised some time off following a hellacious Extreme Rules match against the returning Brock Lesnar, at the end of April.
Had Cena followed through with his promise, CM Punk and Daniel Bryan would have had some well-deserved pay-per-view main events to their name. A proper reaction to his crushing loss to the Brahma Bull at 'Mania would have been a welcome change, instead of a tired feud with John Laurinaitis and the Big Show. Heel Cena vs Face Punk would have brought a different dimension to their multi-year rivalry before the alignments would eventually be fixed and John Cena sees the light again.
If there was ever a year for the much-talked-about heel turn to happen, 2012 was the one. From the 'Embrace the Hate' storyline with Kane and the burial of Zack Ryder to defeats and beatings at the hands of The Rock and Brock Lesnar, WWE seriously missed a major opportunity for some excellent television. It would have also indirectly boosted CM Punk's WWE Championship reign, by making him the top babyface in the company for a few months.
2013: Giving Mark Henry One Final Push
The momentum that Mark Henry garnered following his fantastic fake retirement speech was incredible. He had every single person watching fooled, before staking his claim for a WWE Championship match. WWE should have gone with the flow and given the World's Strongest Man an extended push. Winning the WWE Title from John Cena at Money in the Bank might have been a stretch, considering that Cena was set to defend the belt against Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam. Maybe a week-long reign in July might have worked, who knows?
But after the match, Henry did not do much of note. WWE had failed to capitalise on one of the greatest promos of the modern era. He could have gone on to win the World Heavyweight Championship one more time, before dropping it a month later. It's not like Alberto Del Rio was wowing the WWE Universe with the big gold belt, anyway. They might as well have booked Henry to go on one final run to prove that he still had a lot in the tank.
It's a shame that nothing more came from this segment, other than a one-off championship match with John Cena. That salmon jacket will forever live in infamy.
2014: Cesaro after WrestleMania
WrestleMania XXX was a significant show for many, with Daniel Bryan conquering the world and Brock Lesnar ending The Undertaker's undefeated streak at 21-1. Another Superstar who had a tremendous outing at the Superdome was Cesaro.
He broke away from Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter on the Kickoff Show, following a loss for the Tag Team Titles. Cesaro proceeded to win the first-ever Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, after slamming the Big Show over the ropes. It looked like a new babyface star was born.
However, the next night, Cesaro declared that he was a Paul Heyman Guy. This ensured that he would remain a heel. It turned out that the partnership with Heyman was primarily used to keep the Advocate on TV so he could remind the fans that Lesnar had ended the Deadman's WrestleMania streak. Following the Beast's return in the summer, the Swiss Cyborg was quickly disposed of. This should have led to the ultimate face turn for Cesaro, challenging Lesnar to a fight so he could try and avenge Heyman for wasting his time.
When 2014 began, Cesaro looked to have a breakout year but it ended with Vince McMahon publically stating that he had failed to grab the "brass ring". The former United States Champion remains in the same mid-card heel position he was in five years ago, having tasted Tag Team success with Sheamus in between.
What other major opportunities do you think WWE missed in the first half of the decade? Stay tuned for Part 2, covering 2015 to 2019, coming in the next couple of days!
