10 Times WWE Failed At Forced Emotion

2. Jose Lothario's Heart Attack

Triple H Crying
WWE

At Survivor Series 1996, the lumbering Sycho Sid defeated Shawn Michaels in a match which was better than it had any right to be. To protect Shawn Michaels, the WWF orchestrated a finish which saw Sid smash a camera into the chest of Michaels' ringside cheerleader - and trainer - the elderly Jose Lothario. Michaels, distracted out of concern, succumbed to defeat.

To be fair, this moment may have resonated - had it not been taken in by the notoriously contrarian Madison Square Garden crowd. Infamous for noisily rejecting overbearing WWF creations, they, many of whom had inside knowledge, elected to jeer the positioning of real-life political demon Shawn Michaels as an angelic babyface.

Bar the odd high-pitched squeal, the plight of poor old Jose was met with widespread apathy. The New Yorkers even cheered Sid for knocking him unceremoniously from the apron, which apparently brought on cardiac arrest. Lothario was the artificiality of the Michaels character, manifested.

Given that nobody cared whether he lived or died, Lothario wouldn't last much longer on WWF television. The writing, too, was on the wall for Michaels' babyface character.

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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!