10 Shocking Aftermaths Of Wrestling Matches You Don't Remember

3. Finn Balor Fades Out Of Sight Following SummerSlam 2016

It was very, very un-WWE to award a wrestler like Finn Bálor a top Championship on his first night on the main roster, having existed as he had done up to that point on the European independent scene, in Japan and eventually in NXT.

He wasn't tall, and though his body would pass any airport test, he'd not exactly be the type to walk through the departure lounge with his shirt off.

Unfortunately, this rare change of philosophy from Vince McMahon wasn't karmically rewarded. Bálor won a workrate match with workrate moves, but injured himself in the process. The belt had to be vacated on Raw the following night, and Bálor was such a forgotten entity in the aftermath that WWE didn't even script the character to fight that hard for his rematch when he eventually returned.

This was all potentially game-changing for a game desperately in need of the change, but 'The Demon's injury killed it dead.

Michael Hamflett

Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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

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