10 REAL Reactions From WWE Wrestlers Being Punished On Air

6. Baron Corbin (SmackDown, 2017)

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Devastation.

The reaction was devastation because that was probably exactly how Baron Corbin felt watching the golden opportunity he thought he'd secured slip through his fingers.

Attempting to sell shock after being rolled up by Jinder Mahal in seconds all to build to an absolute thumping from John Cena at SummerSlam days later, Corbin couldn't mask his utter devastation, dejection and disappointment as a dream week in his career became a total nightmare.

A summer that hard started with 'The Lone Wolf' holding the briefcase and looking forward to a stature-enhancing victory over 'The Champ' became an early winter of discontent for the NXT call-up. But how?

"Plans change, pal" was almost certainly what he was told, but rumours were rampant that he'd been undone by Cena himself following their first interaction and an IRL "this ain't it, chief" between Vince McMahon and his favourite headliner. Added to that was an odd tale that popped up about Corbin vocally disagreeing with a concussion expert that had been brought in by the company to speak to the talent.

He'd get chance after chance in the years that followed, but he was owed at least one - the message from management to talent was cynically apparent.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett