The WWE product is carefully put together by a world-class creative team headed up by the legendary Triple H. However, as Robert Burns once wrote, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry, even the Stamford-based promotion’s best schemes can be upended by unpredictable circumstances.
These circumstances often derail superstars’ momentum and the Stamford-based company’s storylines, setting careers back months if not years, and affecting business. However, they sometimes lead to genius pivots that end up creating magic as good if not better than originally planned. 2024 has had its fair share of these “blessing-in-disguise” stories, some of which have been the best of the year.
Below are four of the best unplanned WWE storylines of 2024 that have turned out to be gold.
4. Charlotte Flair’s injury may have led to Bianca Belair teaming up with Jade Cargill
Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill are arguably in the conversation for WWE Tag Team of the Year. Despite the duo primarily being singles competitors, they have not only developed incredible tag team chemistry but also won gold in the division. Should they reclaim the Women’s Tag Team Championship and hold it for the rest of 2024, Belair and Cargill could lay claim to being the greatest team in the division’s short history.
The duo’s main event star power combined with the real work they have put in to develop incredible chemistry has been a sight to behold. However, if it was not for Charlotte Flair suffering an unfortunate ACL, MCL, and meniscus injury in December 2023, it may not have come to pass.
The Queen was rumored to be Belair’s initially planned WrestleMania XL opponent, but The EST teamed up with Cargill and Naomi at The Show of Shows instead. This led to Bianca and Jade becoming a tag team and dominating the division.
3. Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley’s magnificent WWE SummerSlam 2024 feud was born from an unfortunate injury
After retaining the Women’s World Championship at WrestleMania XL, Rhea Ripley’s first challenger was Liv Morgan. The heated feud started with Morgan launching a vicious attack on Ripley backstage. This altercation was the beginning of a rivalry presumably leading to matches at Backlash France and beyond, most likely ending with The Eradicator retaining her title.
However, Mami unfortunately suffered an injury during the scuffle, ruling her out of action for over three months and forcing her to relinquish the title. Rhea’s loss was Liv’s gain, as the latter stepped up, won the Women’s World Championship, and created tensions within The Judgment Day in Ripley’s absence. Now that Mami is back, they will finally face off at SummerSlam 2024 with a lot more heat than initially planned.
Ripley vs. Morgan may have been the original plan, but the former’s unfortunate injury has arguably elevated it to a level beyond the creative team’s initial dreams.
2. Drew McIntyre and CM Punk have had an excellent rivalry since the latter’s injury at WWE Royal Rumble 2024
At the beginning of 2024, it was pretty clear that CM Punk was headed towards a collision with then-World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins at WrestleMania XL. Various reports have claimed that the Second City Saint was slated to win the 2024 Men’s Elimination Chamber Match and challenge The Visionary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, Punk suffered a triceps injury, courtesy of Drew McIntyre, in the 2024 Men’s Royal Rumble Match, ruling him out for months.
The Scottish Warrior took credit for Punk’s misfortune, igniting arguably the most intense rivalry of 2024. What has followed has been an absolutely golden feud unveiling across multiple social media platforms, PLEs, and continents while also involving family and championships. Without The Straight Edge Superstar getting injured, does any of it happen? Not likely.
1. The Final Boss emerged from a masterful storytelling pivot by WWE’s creative team
Less than one week after winning the Men’s Royal Rumble Match two years in a row, Cody Rhodes shocked the WWE Universe by giving up his WrestleMania main event slot against Roman Reigns to The Rock. The American Nightmare was visibly dejected, but being the ultimate company man, he was ready to take one for the team. Fans did not like it at all, though, protesting the decision through the “WeWantCody!” movement.
This movement led to Triple H and his creative team pivoting back to the originally planned match, a decision that proved to be a masterstroke. Not only did it lead to the birth of The Rock’s classic “Final Boss” character, but it also led to Rhodes “finishing the story.”
Given that The Great One is expected to return to face both the Undisputed WWE Champion and The Head of the Table in action-packed matches, this is an “accidental” storyline that keeps on entertaining fans.
