10 Times WWE Caved To Public Pressure

4. Later, Baiter

Fabulous Moolah
WWE Network

A quiet victory for supporters of Mauro Ranallo, mental health and detractors of divisive d*ckhead John 'Bradshaw' Layfield in general, persistent pressure for WWE to take a more proactive approach to so-called 'hazing' within the organisation saw the mouthy Texan take a step away from the SmackDown Live! broadcast booth in September 2017.

Earlier that year, Mauro was conspicuous by his absence on the blue brand before reports emerged that the bipolar sufferer had slipped into a depressive state. Much of this was allegedly down to relentless abuse he received from colleague JBL, with Sports Illustrated reporting that Vince McMahon had been under pressure to fire JBL when the rumours reached the public.

McMahon expected the heat to disappear, but fans began relentlessly heckling the former WWE Champion with signs and calls for his dismissal. Ranallo was reinstalled on NXT whilst Layfield took ownership of the situation and announced a departure on his own terms to spend more time working on his charitable endeavours.

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