10 Bizarre WWE Scenes You Totally Don’t Remember
5. The Cutting Wedge
A gimmick that didn't stick around after this banter-heavy television squash, the Phantasio gimmick was a trick too stupid for McMahon to play on his audience, even as his company collapsed under the weight of desperate creative malaise.
There were already bin men, musicians and dentists moonlighting as wrestlers when this dark carnival act made its way to the main roster, but the gimmick was almost immediately undone by his showcase debut descending into a Sports Entertainment farce. He pulled silver ribbons from his mouth as if from nowhere, pulled underwear from his opponent and the referee, and pulled at the industry's loose threads as he went.
It's harmless fun out of context, but painfully reflective of how far the company had careered towards a nadir. Sadder than the squash itself is the tiny arena it's performed in. A small crowd are covered by a ginormous white WWE banner that once hung in the top corners of venues three times the size. Audiences simply didn't want anymore smoke, mirrors and magic shows in place of their professional wrestling, with this awkward effort all-too-literally literally labouring the point.