10 Genuinely Disturbing WWE Heel Beatdowns

7. Tatanka Sells Out

Stone Cold Steve Austin Lita
WWE.com

"I think we should give him a little more. You wanna give him a little more? Let's give him a little more!"

Ted Dibiase's gleeful assessment of the attack he'd just orchestrated sadly represented the high point of Tatanka's shocking 1994 heel turn on former friend Lex Luger, with the Native American never committing to the bit beyond wearing a snarl with his usual babyface apparel.

As a twist payoff to a long-running story around who had "sold out" to the Million Dollar Man, the sh*tkicking dished out following their SummerSlam 1994 encounter was as heartbreaking as Luger's real life slide from prominence. In just 12 months, he'd gone from topping the bill against Yokozuna as a passable American Hero to losing his supporters, this contest and even the post-match skirmish as Tatanka laid it in thick.

Luger's redemption never particularly arrived either. Though the two fought endlessly on television in the months that followed, Lex barely gained satisfaction and lost an elimination match against Dibiase's Tatanka-led crew at the Survivor Series three months later. No wonder WCW Monday Nitro looked so appealing less than a year later.

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