10 Awesome Wrestling Insults That Nobody Ever Talks About
9. Natalya's Devastating Chinlock
Pro wrestling ruthlessly betrays a golden rule of comedy - in that WWE's scripted zingers are not actually funny - but also because the talent ritually punches down. And if you're gonna punch down, it's best to do so with such cruelty that the only response drawn is an involuntary guffaw. The line has to hit with such precision savagery that it bypasses your moral compass and lands, directly, into your blackened belly.
WWE loved to book James Ellsworth because his face was a canvas on which to paint masterstrokes of trademark inhumanity. JBL had the time of his life laying into the poor prick, but it was Natalya, of all people, who generated both pop and aftershock pops back in 2017 by mercilessly tearing him to shreds. The line, lost to an infamous Tamina botch, was so great because it was so unconscionably absurd.
That line was as follows:
"Becky: stop sucking up to Daniel. You're as pathetic as that chinless insect James Ellsworth."
The escalation of the premise was beautiful. Think of how small an insect is. Then, think about how small an insect's chin must be. It is microscopic. James Ellsworth doesn't merely have the chin of an insect; he is an insect with no chin.
The layers of that line, f*ck. A bomb of a dark joke is usually met with a stern "There's no need for that."
And therein lies the genius. If you're gonna punch down...