10 Ludicrous Things In Wrestling We’ll Tragically Never See
Dream sequences.
Jinder Mahal's improbable rise to WWE's summit has divided fan sentiment, but it's been a stark reminder of just how inherently silly wrestling can be. Winning a title shot a week after being squashed by a (then) fellow lower card star, Mahal was given huge victories, a sort-of over finisher and the Singh Brothers as run-in buddies to complete his act in time to miraculously score a victory over Randy Orton at WWE's Backlash pay-per-view.
In the 1990s, the company beat fans over the head with the concept that 'anything can happen in the World Wrestling Federation', and as time and Vince McMahon marched forward, it proved largely true.
The gradual amalgamation of most North American wrestling under WWE's umbrella in the early 2000s saw nearly all the top names from WCW, ECW and beyond appear for the group, with possibly the biggest 'Never Say Never' moment occurring when Eric Bischoff and Vince hugged on the Monday Night Raw stage to celebrate their amicable new union.
There are however, some odd curiosities, daft eccentricities and creative monstrosities fans will definitely not be subjected to again. Be it due to logic leaps too far, elements a little south of WWE's PG rating or the organisation's broadly improved care for the wellbeing of it's performers, there are now certain scenarios that will simply never make air. With some regret, Jinder Mahal winning the WWE Title may prove to be a silly as it ever gets.
10. Insane In The Kane
October 2017 will mark an amazing 20 years since Glenn Jacobs famously brought Kane to life at the climax of the first and greatest Hell in a Cell match between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels at Badd Blood: In Your House.
Having despatched a production line of corny caricatures throughout the 1990s, the long-thought-deceased brother appeared to be a return to the formula for The Undertaker, who had rebounded from the monster mash following stellar feuds with Mankind, Bret Hart and the 'Heartbreak Kid'.
The subsequent feud and Jacobs' portrayal of the persona proved otherwise. Despite a WrestleMania 14 'payoff', the brothers would battle and unite numerous times over the years, as Kane settled in as a permanent member of the roster getting up to pretty standard stuff like setting colleagues on fire, rape, attempted murder and testicular electrocution.
WWE's migration to 'PG' saw much of his craziness diluted, with leaning on comedy or a heel version in which he wore his school trousers and no shirt as The Authority's 'Director of Operations'. Furthermore, he's currently off the road, attempting to curry favour with his local community enough to become Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee.
The hazy days of manslaughter and mutilation look sadly confined to the past.