10 Modern Wrestling Moments That Gave You Chills

7. Respect: Earned

DoN Cody Dustin
WWE.com

Nostalgia brings with it a certain, dull pain. The past cannot be recovered.

Bayley and Sasha Banks were, for a wonderful, brief moment in 2015, the two best and most investible performers in all of wrestling. Their war at the inaugural TakeOver: Brooklyn was a hand-stomping, flexing, face-slapping masterpiece: a stirring, brutal match of contrast, emotion, character, and, ultimately, catharsis. Everything WWE tells you about the Women's Evolution, Banks and Bayley showed.

At TakeOver: Respect, Banks and Bayley tacitly put over the theme of the match before Banks betrayed it, in a bravura heel performance, the best of the decade for its audacious, uncaring disregard for the emotional health of an innocent child. Bayley in response put over her contrasting babyface character to the sky, too, by avenging Brooklyn's most vicious spot in grand retribution.

The teary, post-match union and celebration divided the fanbase - but, much like respect, it was earned. Too much is made of WWE's PR drive, because it is bullsh*t and several decades behind the rest of the world. And yet, the magnitude of all this was so palpable and genuine, and so far removed from WWE's days of dog-barking, that you couldn't help but feel the purity.

Unless you just thought they were hysterical birds and haven't seen an MMA fight.

Contributor
Contributor

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!