10 Dumbest Wrestling Heel Turns Ever

6. Rikishi

Jeff Hardy Abyss Jeff Jarrett
WWE

Similar to the famous Simpsons scene in which the breaking of Ralph Wiggum's heart by Lisa Simpson can be narrowed down to the second, the WWE's second golden era was flattened like Steve Austin himself when Rikishi was revealed to be the man that mowed down Stone Cold at the 1999 Survivor Series.

'The Rattlesnake's September return had been built around finding the rotter that ploughed over him nearly a year prior, and as more and more superstars were chalked off the suspects list, intrigue grew larger than his assailant's a**e-cheeks. On the night Mick Foley fingered him, Rikishi claimed to have done it for 'The Rock', before firefighting measures were employed to try and extinguish the flaming pile of sh*t the angle had already become (more on that later).

Austin seemed to treat the Samoan with the contempt the audience had for the storyline. He smashed Rikishi all over in their contests, taking revenge and then some for the shelving. WWE killed a comical-but-beloved act, and now forced fans to watch a man they had idolised pummel the f**k out of its corpse. The fun was over, alright. Was.

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