7 Cruelest Wrestling Ironies
Be a man, Hulkster, and induct me into the Hall of Fame...yeah right!
The author H.P Lovecraft once said, "From even the greatest of horrors, irony is seldom absent". In a stunning case of predicting one's own future, the writer would ironically gain greater fame posthumously rather than during his life. Irony is also something the world of pro wrestling knows a little something about, too.
Without running the risk of being too hyperbolic, professional wrestlers put literally hundreds of hours into their craft. It's not only the in-ring work that counts, and these men and women dedicate so much time to travel, sitting around arenas across the globe and earnestly honing their skills. When everything comes together, the rewards are plentiful, and can lead to serious wealth for those lucky enough to live out their dreams.
Unfortunately, there's also a flip side to proceedings, and it's decidedly harsh. One of the stories on this list involves such a tale of dedication, only to finally make it to the promised land and be forced to give it all up shortly thereafter. That's cruel, but it's far from an isolated example. Not every entry follows the same path, but all must be considered bitter examples that would have frustrated and saddened those who were involved...
7. The McMahon Family Handle WCW Worse Than Previous Owners
By the year 2001, World Championship Wrestling had become such a shameful shambles that it almost felt like a mercy killing when the group went out of business. The previous power man behind the organisation, Ted Turner, had long since lost sway in his own empire, which meant it was a non-wrestling fan TV executive who booted WCW off the air. When Jamie Kellner did so, he seemed to indirectly decrease the value of the promotion.
Vince McMahon was watching, and he was able to swallow up 24 talent contracts as well as trademarks and rights for the paltry fee of $2.5 million.
Without a television deal, it wasn't worth too much more. In effect, WCW was now McMahon's, and he could do with it what he wished. Sadly for those who had long followed the promotion, Vince chose to completely undermine it under the then-WWF umbrella. The 'Invasion' angle has become known as one of the worst uses of the WCW name in history, and that includes some of the awful tripe the company itself were presenting between 1999-2001.
Top stars like Diamond Dallas Page were immediately made to look like chumps, and more established WWF names like Steve Austin and Kurt Angle were hurriedly switched to the WCW side to shore it up. Rather ironically, the McMahon clan had somehow managed to repel the WCW fan base entirely, one which had sat through some terrible television yet still harboured hope that Vince would be able to put some shine on it.
He wasn't.