10 Terrible Wrestling Moments (That Were Almost Even Worse)

1. What Was Really Meant To Be In Erick Rowan's Cage

Erick Rowan Rat
WWE

Back in 2019, an even weirder year in WWE than 2020, somehow, Erick Rowan took to carrying a cage cloaked by a burlap sack to the ring.

Inspired, for some reason, by Bad News Brown's sewer rats, that was indeed the original plan. Then, as they so often do, plans changed: the rat became a goofy animatronic spider with, if you look closely, a very happy expression. Mojo Rawley sold for this f*cking thing in terror. The lil' guy looked like he was vibing in that cage. You'd have high-fived the dude if anything. Look at that face!:

Rowan Spider
WWE

It looked more like a 16-bit platform game mascot than anything else. It was bad. So-bad-it's-good, but still very bad. It looked so bad in fact that when Drew McIntyre killed the poor f*cker, it scanned as a comedy spot.

The original death scene wasn't set to be played for laughs; in a not-so so-bad-it's-good angle, as revealed to Wrestle Buddy, Rollins was going to accidentally kill what was meant to be an oversized rat, presumably by a mistimed curb stomp. That's the sort of pitch-black accidental comedy at which WWE excels.

Rowan's grief was meant to fuel his...heel vengeance, and the crowd was meant to get behind reckless killer babyface Seth Rollins.

 
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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!