10 Times Wrestling Recklessly Abused Kayfabe On-Air

8. No Sale

Goldberg Vince Russo
WWE.com

Mankind and The Rock's on-off relationship was emblematic of the chaotic Attitude Era main event scene, with reigns as beloved tag team champions coming just months after 'The Great One' came close to murdering Foley with a hideous series of unprotected chairshots to the head.

Shortly before their rivalry really heated up following Rock's November '98 heel turn though, the pair were two thirds of a steel cage triple threat match to determine the Number One contender to the WWE Title that Rock would eventually scoop a month later.

Alongside third man Ken Shamrock, the triumvirate had been physically and verbally abusive to one another for weeks in the run up to the huge semi-main event of September 1998's Breakdown: In Your House pay-per-view.

Given separate promo time as the old blue bar cage was being assembled, they all let loose with a final barrage, but it was surprisingly a scathing Mankind that left the biggest impression with his near-the-knuckle onslaught.

Chastising Kevin Kelly for his stupid question, he talked about other stupid things in the world (including Bill Clinton's liaison with Monica Lewinsky), but noted that 'nothing rivalled The People's Elbow for sheer stupidity'.

Turning up the heat for his last blast, he followed up by insisting that 'If you think Mankind in a pay-per-view match inside a steel cage is gonna lay down and sell that abortion, you're even stupider than I look.' It was a caustic reduction of one of the most over spots in wrestling history.

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