5 biggest missed opportunities for WWE in 2020
It's the final week of December, and soon we all will be witnessing the arrival of a new year. One look at the past 12 months and it's obvious that 2020 was one of the toughest years for the wrestling community.
After starting the year with a fantastic Royal Rumble PPV, WWE produced some exceptional storylines in the next three months. However, WWE's plans for the year were halted due to the worldwide pandemic. Crowds were restricted from the shows, which eventually left a bad effect on WWE's product.
However, even such a pandemic couldn't stop Vince McMahon from continuing on his mantra of "The show must go on". Even in such unusual circumstances, WWE was successful in delivering many amazing moments to the WWE Universe.
The absence of the crowds allowed WWE to try out some new changes in their programming. WWE capitalized on many such opportunities, which proved to be beneficial for them. Roman Reigns' heel turn is one such well-executed masterstroke played by WWE as it finally solidified Reigns' position as the top guy of the company.
However, WWE didn't hit the home run every time, as there were some big misses throughout the year. There were many opportunities that WWE failed to capitalize on. If WWE had pulled the trigger on these decisions, it might have benefitted them in the long run. In this article, let's take a look at five such missed opportunities for WWE this year.
#5 Turning Rhea Ripley into the next big WWE star
Rhea Ripley had an unforgettable 2019. After being moved to the main NXT brand, Ripley gradually started to gain momentum. She led the NXT women into WWE Survivor Series and pinned Sasha Banks to pick up the victory for her team. She didn't stop there and went on to dethrone the 'Queen of Spades' Shayna Baszler to capture her first NXT Women's title.
She kicked off her 2020 by challenging Charlotte Flair, who had just won the Royal Rumble match. The match was set for WrestleMania, with Ripley being a strong contender to win. Charlotte already had numerous titles to her name, so it seemed like she would put Rhea Ripley over this time.
The match was a blockbuster and probably the best of WrestleMania 36. However, in a shocking turn of events, Ripley tapped out to Charlotte. The victory didn't do Charlotte any favors, but it did hurt the credibility of Rhea Ripley.
'The Nightmare' lost a lot of her steam after getting beaten by The Queen. While she is still a major name on NXT, Ripley is nowhere near the level of what she could have been if she had retained the title at WrestleMania.