8 WWE Superstars who were legitimately unhappy with storyline ideas
It is the job of WWE's creative team to come up with ideas that will fit into the show and entertain the crowd. More often than not, some of these ideas will cross the line, and the superstar in question will then be forced to approve or reject the idea.
Over the years, several controversial storylines have been pitched, including the personal lives of superstars, their families, or even personal things about them.
The following list looks at just eight current and former WWE Superstars who were legitimately unhappy with the storyline ideas that they were pitched.
#8. AJ Lee becoming a "crazy" character
BREAKING: AJ Lee (April Mendez) has decided to retire from in-ring competition with WWE. We wish AJ the very best.
AJ Lee is still seen as one of the most popular female wrestlers of the last generation, despite retiring from the ring around seven years ago. Lee has struggled with Bipolar disorder her whole life, something that she also saw her mother struggle with before her.
When Lee came to WWE and began working on a character on the main roster, the former Divas Champion revealed that there was a pitch for her to play a "mentally unstable" person. This was obviously offensive to Lee, who later told The New York Post that she rejected it because it was disrespectful.
"It felt like it disrespected both me and my mother. It was a joke, but, to me, it wasn’t something to laugh at. It’s hard to not think you’re alone in the world so it’s good to connect with other people who’ve faced similar issues". via TheInquisitor.
#7. Dean Ambrose found much of his 2018 storyline embarrassing
Dean Ambrose is now known as Jon Moxley in AEW, and the former world champion once opened up about the reasons behind his WWE departure.
Ambrose was feuding with Seth Rollins for a few months before coming to the decision that he didn't want to wrestle for WWE anymore. As part of an appearance on the Talk Is Jericho podcast, Ambrose revealed that he hated the storyline so much that he made the decision following the segment where he received his inoculations that he was going to leave.
“So I was able to get out that night. I couldn’t have gotten out of that building faster. Earlier in the day I was like, ‘I gotta walk out.’ I remember having a feeling of dizziness like a weird pit of my stomach dizziness and I remember talking to some of my friends like ‘I can’t work here, what is this? What are they doing? It’s so embarrassing.’ Like, actual dizziness. It’s like I can’t believe this is happening." via TalkSPORT.com
#6. Randy Orton refuses to include his family in a storyline
Randy Orton has been part of WWE for more than two decades, and in that time, he has been part of his fair share of controversial storylines. That being said, it appears that Orton himself wasn't happy with one of his storylines.
In his early years in WWE, it was recently revealed by former WWE writer Eric Pankowski that there was a pitch for Orton's opponent to mention his ex-wife Samantha Speno and his daughter as part of a promo. Orton's reaction made it clear that this wasn't something that was going to happen.
"Whoever his opponent was was gonna mention Randy's wife and Randy's daughter. I believe that this was the scenario, and Randy blew his stack… Randy's just like, 'Why don't we keep my f*cking work at my f*cking work? Leave my f*cking family in my f*cking family's house', or something like that. It was just like, 'Wow, I don't think Randy likes this idea'. That was wild". via Cultaholic.
#5/4. Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out of WWE after being told storyline idea
Sasha Banks and Naomi have been suspended indefinitely. There will be a future tournament to crown the new WWE Women's Tag Team Champions. https://t.co/8xhJe0l5bV
The headline news in the wrestling world over the past few weeks has surrounded Sasha Banks and Naomi, who walked out of last week's episode of Monday Night RAW.
The two women were scheduled to be part of the main event match to crown a new number one contender for Bianca Belair's RAW Women's Championship. It was later revealed that Naomi was set to win the match and challenge Bianca, while WWE then had plans for Sasha Banks to challenge Ronda Rousey at Hell in a Cell.
The Women's Tag Team Champions were upset that their titles wouldn't be defended on a premium live event once again and that they would be split into separate matches instead. This led to them walking out of the company and leaving the championships behind.
The titles have since been vacated, and the two women have been indefinitely suspended.
#3. Roman Reigns wasn't happy about using his daughter in his storyline with Bray Wyatt
Roman Reigns and his daughter JoJo at #HumanitarianAwards she's getting so big wow https://t.co/wmOH8zjDkJ
Roman Reigns is currently the face of WWE, but it's been a long climb to the top for the former Shield member, who himself comes from the famous Anoa'i wrestling family. While Reigns' current gimmick is about family, it appears that there is a line that he isn't willing to cross to include his family in his wrestling character.
Back in 2016, Reigns was part of a storyline with Bray Wyatt that was able to blur the line slightly when Wyatt mentioned his daughter. Joelle has never been part of storylines on-screen, but the WWE Universe is aware that she is the daughter of the current world champion.
Reigns later spoke to the NotSamWrestling Podcast about his unhappiness in using her in the storyline, but he believed that the company didn't cross the line since it was there as a way to spark up the feud.
“[The picture] wasn’t something that came from my home or private, like, me and [Joelle] selfie or something like that. It was a promotional thing that we did. It’s in the malls. You can probably see it on my Twitter, so that’s why I was okay with that.” Reigns continued, “we didn’t touch on it much after. It was something to spark, but too much is too much and I thought we were able to push a line and stay there and not go too far and we were able to go back towards the wrestling and the talent and us telling our individual competition story [as] opposed to getting too deep into that type of real life situation." via WrestlingInc.
#2. Mickie James hated the "Piggy James" storyline
Mickie James is a former six-time women's champion but sadly, one of the moments that she will be best remembered for is the "Piggy James" storyline on SmackDown back in 2010.
Layla and Michelle McCool were feuding with James at the time, and it was later decided to bring her weight into the angle when it turned deeply personal. Many fans found this hard to watch and offensive as the former champion was constantly humiliated and compared to a pig.
Mickie later opened up about how much she hated the storyline during an appearance on The Kurt Angle Show.
“I didn’t love the piggy James angle. I really didn’t. I hated it because I felt like it was like ribbing on the square,” said James. “It was meant to get real heat for Michelle and Layla. I kind of felt like it was cheap heat and it was a different way to go. At that moment, I was very torn. But I’m also of the mindset like, okay, they’re going to give me this thing that I saw, I felt in my heart at the moment they’re gonna give me this crappy storyline about calling me fat and all this stuff." via WrestlingNewsco.
#1. Stephanie McMahon's "incest" storyline
Stephanie McMahon has been part of some controversial storylines throughout her time in WWE, but it appears that her father wanted to take things a step further. Back in 2005, when Stephanie was pregnant with Triple H's first child, Vince McMahon wanted to turn this into a storyline.
The WWE Chairman pitched the idea to his daughter that he could be the father of her unborn child, something that Stephanie was disgusted by and instantly rejected.
As part of an old WWE documentary, Stephanie revealed that she thought the idea was revolting.
"My dad did approach me about wanting to be the father of my baby in a storyline for TV, which again only the second time I've ever actually said no to him for something he wanted to do. That one was just a little too gross actually. It's completely disgusting. I don't find the entertainment value in it at all. And he is actually my father, so how could I even play that out? I can't fake kiss my dad like we were in love or something. It's just revolting all the way around," she said via Sportskeeda.
Stephanie is currently on leave from her backstage duties in the Stamford-based promotion.
Suggested: Watch more of these uncomfortable stories that never made it to WWE TV