10 Dick Moves Promoters Used To Improve Wrestlers' Performances

3. Ignoring And Neglecting Neville

Kevin Owens Vince McMahon
WWE.com

It wasn't just Neville's Twitter game that improved when the 'Man That Gravity Forgot' returned as a sh*tkicking heel in late-2016 after a long, long layoff.

Neville didn't just miss out on months of action during his spell on the shelf - he missed out on multiple moments he was desperate to own. WrestleMania, the company's critically acclaimed Cruiserweight Classic and the inaugural UK Championship tournament all could and would have benefited from his presence, and the anger stored within him was smartly channelled into a 'King Of The Cruiserweights' moniker he wore well for most of 2017.

Despite an incredible run of pay-per-view matches and a character that carried 205 Live though, WWE still didn't seem to care, booking him thoughtlessly against Akira Tozawa, Enzo Amore and others when their job should have been to preserve the division's one genuine star.

The Newcastle star protested his position by simply stepping away entirely, but WWE refusing to release him early left him in contractual limbo for nearly a full year. Fortunately, the work he'd done despite the relentless dissent had made yearning hearts fonder during his absence - his return to Dragon Gate, select independent appearances and confirmation of his signing with All Elite Wrestling were met with thunderous enthusiasm. Forget the Neville level - PAC is back.

In this post: 
PAC AEW
 
First Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 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 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, 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