10 Insane Things WWE Stopped Wrestlers From Doing

4. WWE Stopped Mickie James From Selling

Asuka Mickie James
WWE.com

A somewhat strange entry on this list, and a somewhat strange situation, period.

Back in September of last year, WWE management called for the bell in a bout between Mickie James and Asuka because James was selling too well.

With James in the Asuka Lock, the intention was for the five-time WWE Women's Champion to fight and struggle before somehow reversing her way out of the hold. The match would continue for a few more minutes, with Asuka then locking in her trademark submission once more and finally tapping out her opponent.

Instead, what actually happened was WWE brass sent word to ringside to call for the bell during that initial Asuka Lock. In one regards, management deserves some credit here, for they acted swiftly after thinking that James had suffered a concussion. In reality, it was just that Mickie James did such a damn fine job of selling the agony and pain of being in the Asuka Lock, she fooled WWE officials into thinking she was genuinely hurt.

After the bell rung, a clearly confused Mickie and Asuka attempted to carry on working for a short while, before the penny dropped that WWE had stopped the match because James had done her job so well.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.