10 Outcomes If HUGE Wrestling Complaints Were Answered

7. Damien Sandow Shouldn't Have Lost His WWE Title Match With John Cena

Cena Heyman
WWE

The complaint:

Damien Sandow was buried by John Cena. Him again!

The outcome if it were answered:

Burying WWE immediately after departing the company has become both a cottage industry on the podcast circuit and a gimmick type, almost. There are more bitter ex-WWE characters than there are foreign menaces and supernatural forces in 2020. There's an obvious logic to it: their fans share in their bitterness and get behind them, it makes for a lurid enough headline, and it's a marketing tool. It sets the stall out and creates an expectation: WWE f*cked me, I'm telling them to f*ck off right back, watch me fly without them.

The problem with Damien Sandow is that he didn't show WWE what they missed out on. A talented midcard performer, that was his ceiling, but - and this is such a huge indictment of WWE's process - it's literally impossible to tell whether who can and can't succeed when they're in it, and so star power is projected onto almost everybody as a result.

Sandow hit upon an inspired persona that made best use of his delivery and disposition. It wasn't main event-level; WWE just created an expectation that it was through the disaster that is that infernal f*cking briefcase.

He didn't show 'em; he made a smug face and fell flat on it.

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 surefire Undisputed WWE Universal 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!