5 Times WWE had to change storylines due to fans
One of the biggest stories in WWE right now surrounds the SmackDown Women’s Championship, which Charlotte Flair won from Carmella after pinning Becky Lynch in a Triple Threat match at SummerSlam.
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Following the match, Becky congratulated her best friend in the middle of the ring before attacking her, seemingly turning heel for the first time on the main roster, while she betrayed her loyal fans during a villainous promo on SmackDown Live two days later.
When this has happened in the past (Sami Zayn last year, for example), the WWE Universe usually follows along with the storyline and begins to boo the bad guy, but that just isn’t working with Becky.
Instead, fans have started to boo new champion Charlotte, who they feel was unfairly added to the Carmella vs. Becky match at SummerSlam, and the positive crowd reactions for Becky have never been louder.
The most recent episode of SmackDown Live ended with Becky calling Charlotte a “b****” – something usually said by a babyface to get a response from the audience – and it looks like WWE has decided against turning the Irish “Lass Kicker” into a full-on heel for the time being.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at five previous examples where WWE had to change the direction of their storylines due to fans.
#5 Daniel Bryan’s WWE Championship chase
The most famous example of fans changing a storyline came in 2013-14 when the crowd reactions for Daniel Bryan became so loud that WWE had no choice but to start using him in main-event storylines.
In August 2013, Bryan defeated John Cena for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam. However, he quickly lost the title to Randy Orton, who cashed in his Money In The Bank contract, and he moved away from the WWE title picture two months later to begin a feud with Bray Wyatt.
The fans refused to accept that "The Leader of the Yes Movement" did not become the permanent holder of the title during his feud with Orton, and they famously hijacked a ‘Championship Ascension Ceremony’ between Orton and Cena in December 2013 by chanting Bryan’s name for almost the entire segment.
As the crowd reactions got louder, WWE’s decision-makers scrapped plans for Bryan vs. Sheamus at WrestleMania 30 and built the show around D-Bry, who pinned Triple H in the opening match (HHH's original opponent, CM Punk, walked out three months before the event) before defeating Batista and Orton in the main event to finally win the World Heavyweight Championship.