10 Times Wrestling Recklessly Abused Kayfabe On-Air

4. Tears Before Bedtime

Goldberg Vince Russo
WWE

Triple H went rogue yet on live television yet again, or more specifically didn't, with the 'Cerebral Assassin's icy temperament appearing to melt away as he enters his autumn years.

By January 2015, 'The Game' and wife Stephanie McMahon had reacquired control of Monday Night Raw less than a month after losing it 'forever' in November's Survivor Series main event, and were back to their usual tactics in attempting to cut down every major babyface for no hugely discernible reason.

That week, it was the turn of John Cena, who took an absolute kicking at the hands of The Big Show, Seth Rollins and Kane as The Authority took aim at the 'Leader of the Cenation'. Naturally this upset many of those very supporters, including one young boy sat front row right next to where the malevolent 'King of Kings' had placed himself to watch the action.

The child burst into tears at his hero taking such a thrashing, but rather than playing up to the drama, Triple H immediately broke character to console the lad and arrange for him and his father to go backstage and meet the wrestlers.

It was an astonishingly public reversion of old habits, especially considering that the kid's emotional manipulation effectively proved how good a job they were doing at re-visiting the tired old trope.

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