4 storyline ideas that might be too controversial for WWE in 2025
WWE capitalized on controversy in the Attitude Era and the early years of the Ruthless Aggression Era, and the company still wrestles with controversy in the current year. Controversy and advertisers don't often go hand in hand, which makes certain subjects seemingly unapproachable because of the great risk of monetary loss. Social pressure, vocal fans, advertisers, backstage politics, and activist groups can all play a role in stopping certain storyline pitches from ever being entertained in 2025.
WCW legend Eric Bischoff would argue that controversy creates cash (he even wrote a book about it), but some subjects could be so controversial that the potential loss would be greater than any gain. In the current year, World Wrestling Entertainment will likely want to avoid the following four storyline ideas that might be too risqué for Triple H to greenlight.
#4. A stable of "cancelled" wrestlers invades WWE
Cancel Culture has seemingly led to numerous departures in the world of entertainment and professional wrestling. Allegations, offensive statements, and unacceptable behavior have all gotten various wrestling stars fired throughout the years, ranging from Hulk Hogan to Enzo Amore. The Forgotten Sons' tag team gimmick was cancelled from the blue brand in 2020 due to Jaxson Ryker's social media comments and political opinions, leading to unsuccessful gimmick changes and all three wrestlers in the group eventually being released.
World Wrestling Entertainment and many wrestlers involved in controversy would likely want to put the troubled past behind them, not to relive it in a wrestling storyline. While it might be interesting for some to see "cancelled wrestlers" join a faction and take revenge against the company that fired them, it's unclear that WWE would be willing to broach the subject of 'Cancel Culture' and bring back former stars tied to controversy like The Velveteen Dream, who recently said on Instagram that he wants his job back and threatened to "kill pro wrestling" and "expose the business."
Wrestlers like Amore, Austin Aries, Brian Kendrick, Gunner, and Patrick Clark could benefit with another run in WWE, but that doesn't mean the company is willing to bring them back in 2025 or later.
#3. Luchador deportation angle with El Grande Americano
Deportation and illegal immigration are sensitive subjects in the USA, and it could be seen as offensive and disrespectful by certain wrestling fans if WWE capitalized on this issue in an onscreen storyline. The TKO-owned company would likely get accusations of racism by online outrage mobs if they tried such an angle involving luchadores, meaning a creative pitch like this could be a death sentence to any young writer's career in World Wrestling Entertainment.
If WWE wanted to write El Grande Americano off television, either temporarily or permanently, they could do so by seemingly deporting him to a maximum security prison in El Salvador. That alone might generate controversy, but it likely wouldn't get the same level of pushback if WWE scripted someone like Penta to meet such a fate.
#2. Feeding into the online gossip behind CM Punk and his wrestling daughters, Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade
CM Punk has two "wrestling daughters," named Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade, and some wrestling fans have stirred up gossip based on their assumptions that something is going on between Punk and the women wrestlers that goes beyond friendship. Becky Lynch seemingly fueled this line of thought in a now-deleted X post showing Punk and Perez in matching gear at Elimination Chamber.
"Catching up on RAW….. I don’t think I’m the one who needs to come get MY man," Lynch wrote.
WWE released Cora Jade on May 2, 2025, along with numerous other superstars. Unless the company decides to rehire her and she agrees to re-sign, Cora won't be involved in future storylines for the TKO-operated promotion. World Wrestling Entertainment will likely not want to give any credibility to gossip that could potentially hurt a real-life marriage, so if Jade does return, there's a good chance she won't be featured with CM Punk in a storyline revolving around the assumptions of gossipers spreading rumors online.
Jade and Perez admire Punk and his wife, former three-time WWE Divas Champion and retired in-ring competitor, AJ Lee. While a love triangle or love rectangle storyline would be different than what mainstream pro wrestling fans receive in 2025, it might be an angle that WWE wants to avoid. They'd also likely steer clear of a storyline of Punk's admirer turning into a psychotic stalker.
#1. WWE giving a wrestler like Apollo Crews an authentic "shock jock" gimmick
The business model of shock jocks directly involves controversy. For that vocation, income is earned by shocking listeners with the words and statements used on air, generating a viewership who are entertained or outraged by the host's wild antics. Courting controversy is the name of the game for shock jocks. Considering that WWE has a positive image to uphold, they might not be looking for a wrestler who talks like Howard Stern from the 1990s or Myron Gaines of the current year.
Podcasting personalities in the wrestling world, like JDfromNY and TWFS' Kevin Scampoli, have attempted the shock jock approach and have both generated major controversy, particularly affecting Scampoli whose main channel was removed from YouTube. Becoming a shock jock has pushback and can significantly offend the sensibilities of both the modern consumers and workers of the wrestling business. Controversy does have consequences in the pro wrestling bubble.
A wrestler like Apollo Crews, who is currently sidelined, could benefit from trying out a new gimmick that'll catch the attention of the WWE Universe upon his return to the ring. If the TKO-owned company were to give Crews the gimmick of a shock jock, it'd likely be a sanitized approach that wouldn't push the boundaries quite like the famous shock jocks that ragefarm viral moments. Crews also might not have the big personality and acting ability required for the gimmick to be successful.
Apollo hasn't been given many opportunities to shine during the Triple H Era, and he certainly needs something new and different for his career to improve.
