10 Most Awkward "Didn't Get All Of It" Wrestling Moments

7. This Man Was WWE Champion

Lars Sullivan Aleister Black BOTCH
WWE Network

To be a World Champion in a top pro wrestling promotion, surely, the most basic requirement is "competent"

Ideally - to be World Champion in a top pro wrestling promotion - the wrestler should be a mega star. Failing that, they should be incredible at their craft, or at least so charismatic, with such an immense ability to talk fans into the building, that they can fool the audience into thinking they're incredible at their craft. At that point, what's the difference?

A star is star is a star.

Jinder Mahal was not a star; he was an alienating, ill-advised shortcut to a market that wasn't even ready to be adequately monetised. He was broadly competent, in that he could work the most patterned version of a heavily patterned WWE style, but that was...about it. He wasn't great at his craft, and never worked the high-profile indie circuit to improve beyond his level, leading to a phenomenally awkward moment at Greatest Royal Rumble. When Jeff attempted to strike him with Whisper in the Wind, Mahal, out of position, took the name of the move literally.

Have you ever been blown away by a gust of wind?

Since you are an adult human being, and not a leaf in midwinter, the answer is "no".

Mahal did, because a WWE independent contractor is programmed to follow a script first and foremost.

 
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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!