10 Stupidest Things WWE EVER Promoted

2. Jeff Hardy & Randy Orton Shake Hands

Raw Handshake
WWE

Forced into ceasing fire ahead of their Royal Rumble 2008 WWE Championship match, Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton were ordered by Vince McMahon to show respect for one another via handshake.

All fine, mostly. WWE's certainly done dafter stuff in backstage segments or used valuable television time on zanier, wackier builds. But this wasn't held in McMahon's television office, nor was it some vignette at the Hardy Compound saw 'The Legend Killer" chased away by a drone or Hardy's brother Matt riding a lawnmower.

No, the two men came to the ring, Hardy shook the hands of everybody he respected, (literally everybody in the building apart from Orton himself), then struck him with a sneaky Twist Of Fate to show that he did have dishonourable traits after all. Despite the fact he got over as a babyface by just being a good guy people actually liked and connected to for a hot second.

"Not in WWE, pal. 'Charismatic Enigma' or not, you're going out there to be snarky and not deliver what we've advertised."

(No smiles were put on faces in the production of this segment)

Contributor
Contributor

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