10 MORE Wrestlers In Situations That Scared The Sh*t Out Of Them

Fear Factory.

Andre The Giant Ric Flair
WWE

As evidenced by his banteriffic WrestleMania battle with The Miz, Shane McMahon isn't a great pro wrestler. He isn't great with his fists, despite his hilarious efforts to coach George Mizanin at the 'Show Of Shows'. He isn't always even that great a character - McMahon's 'Money' persona always suits him better as a heel despite the company's efforts to often promote him as the smiling face of the family.

He is, however, utterly fearless.

The problem with McMahon flexing the grapefruits his Dad used to boast is in how the spoiled sh*thouse insists on showing, rather than just telling. Father Vince's old mantra was to never ask his talent to do something he wouldn't do himself (and prove it, when necessary). His progeny instead literally dives headfirst into the biggest stunts on the show in order to get over at their expense. 'The Money' is oddly, sort of, a proven draw as a result. His 2016 return resulted in a ticket sales boost for WrestleMania 32, whilst his additions to major cards and matches over the years have come with the virtual promise at least one f*cking mental thing happening on the show.

Too rich to care about risk, Shane's a human being short on standard human emotions. The wrestlers - his families workers - are closer to us mere mortals than the McMahons themselves. They're still capable of summoning real feelings. Love, hate, panic and even, on occasion, fear.

10. Hardcore Feedback

Andre The Giant Ric Flair
WWE.com

Long before Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder were winning Raw Tag Team Championships via fluke on the 'Grandest Stage', they were...winning the SmackDown straps via fluke on a smaller one, but their alliance with Edge in late-2007 was at very least an escape from purgatory at Brett and Bryan, The Major Brothers.

It was hard to be a fan-turned-wrestler in the ruthless mid-2000s SmackDown locker room, policed as it had been for years by the likes of The Undertaker, John Bradshaw Layfield and others, but revealing yourself as a "mark" was a cardinal sin amongst many other unwritten bylaws. Now hosts of a podcast about wrestling merchandise, the pair would have been chastised for their ways then, and sought to toe the line by asking feared steward Bob Holly what he'd thought of one of their early outings.

"WHOLE THING SUCKED", he curtly replied, not even breaking stride yet still leaving them quivering in their brand new boots. One assumes he'd assess their 2019 programme with The Revival in much the same way.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett