10 Iconic Wrestling Moments That Weren't Meant To Happen

"Fire the f*ckin' writers!"

Daniel Bryan Mania XXX
WWE.com

There is very little, if any, scope for anything instinctual to play out within the current WWE landscape.

RAW and SmackDown scripts are written to the letter - or childish scrawl, if Jason Jordan's recent prankster exploits are any indication. The New Day clearly enjoy a degree of creative control. Even an act lower on the chain, like the Club, get the odd bit of their own verbiage in. But mostly, it's a drab, formulaic, massively over-written show penned, appropriately enough, by NNEERRRRDDDDS who either write lame bits because it's all they're capable of as failed mainstream hacks - or, most likely, because they have learned how to appease Vince McMahon and his penchant for a particular persuasion of wordplay. Sometimes, the schoolyard-level insults are so childish that your writer has become convinced that the writing staff is just trying to pop one another at this point.

This heavily scripted philosophy has yielded so few genuine stars that it's a wonder it remains in place. Then again, as evidenced with the excellent Q3 financials, WWE is so secure that Jinder Mahal could reign well into 2019, and it would bear no noticeable immediate consequences. The micromanagement extends to match structures, pushes - everything. WWE, sadly, no longer needs true stars to succeed.

That's a d*mn shame; the ones truly worth investing in are usually those who invest in themselves...

10. Tables, Medals & Chairs

Daniel Bryan Mania XXX
WWE.com

The sight of Kurt Angle in full Shield garb, just a fortnight ago, was only realistic in the context of the most fanciful WWE 2K18 session imaginable. An injury to top star Roman Reigns, a presumed "no chance in hell" from Universal Champion and man of leisure Brock Lesnar, and a fit of goodwill (and or desperation) all converged to make the surreal a reality.

Angle's performance was shaky, at first. He conspicuously over-sold the opening exchanges in order to avoid a tiring frenzy, and made an eventual beeline for Kane, the slowest and safest worker in the match. In something of an indictment of WWE's premier and most expensive attraction, all Angle mustered prior to his awesome, heroic return spot was a parade of Germans. Angle threw suplexes because he was out of ring shape and is physically shot, generally. Lesnar throws suplexes because he's found a glorious storyline method of coasting.

That return spot was sensational stuff. The close-up on Angle's face immediately after he smashed Cesaro through a ringside table was cinematic in its framing and glorious in its catharsis. The Skull Crushing Finale near-fall spot was a genuine jaw-dropper perfectly sold by an apoplectic Miz.

Is it too soon to define the match as "iconic'? Possibly. But given the man's incredible story, the unthinkable sight of Angle roaring like Roman is as worthy of the BluRay cover as anything in the red, white and blue colour scheme.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!