10 Subjects Dark Side Of The Ring Should Cover Next

4. The Toxic Culture Of The 2000s WWE Veterans

JBL WWE
WWE.com

The WWE locker room of the so-called Ruthless Aggression Era felt like such an unpleasant place to find oneself, looking at it from the outside.

JBL grew in influence and power as WWE Heavyweight Champion, and was further emboldened to indulge his proclivity to "haze" various talent and staff. Haze is very much his own euphemism, based on the accounts of so many who spoke out against - or were bullied out of the company - by him. Bob Holly was no saint, either, chopping many an enhancement talent's chest into mince. Kurt Angle did well not to concuss a fresh-faced Roderick Strong in a crime scene of an Angle Invitational. Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero were all too keen to weave Daniel Puder's punishment into the onscreen narrative. The Undertaker took liberties with the skulls of Maven, Kanyon and Mr. Kennedy in just disgustingly stiff scenes that seemed to take complete advantage of the new, warped dynamic at play.

That dynamic was thus: the complexion of the locker room changed when the top megastars departed, leaving behind acting headliners and a generation of greenhorns, to whom quite awful things happened.

This could prove to be a fascinating look at the ugly mechanisms of power that just happened to be filtered through the lens of professional wrestling.

In this post: 
JBL
 
Posted On: 
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 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!