10 Times WWE Was Literally As Stupid As WCW

1. Gary 'The GOAT' Garbutt

Ultimate Gunther THUMB
WWE

There's no specific parallel to a WCW moment here, but the very existence of the Gary the GOAT Garbutt angle of 2019 might just definitively the answer posed in the introduction.

If the worst of WCW can be summarised most succinctly as "the most baffling sh*t that ever masqueraded as professional wrestling television", then Gary the GOAT Garbutt has it beat. This was truly inexplicable. There is no possible attempt at logic to parse.

On the July 8, 2019 RAW, Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre, in a bid to weaken Roman Reigns ahead of their clash with the Graveyard Dogs at Extreme Rules, ordered him to work a match alongside an opponent of their choosing. They convinced a janitor to do it. WWE is so 50/50 that they could have simply selected any midcard act that had won the prior week with the knowledge that, statistically, they were all but certain to take the fall.

Instead, Cedric Alexander posed as "Gary Garbutt" in an enterprising bid to get over. The issue is that he lost.

And yet he removed the mask afterwards to reveal the masterplan, and was scripted to wear a "Got 'em!" expression. Reigns reacted with a "You sly bugger" face.

He didn't get 'em.

He lost the match.

He celebrated a loss and thought he was clever.

Vince Russo never wrote anything as dumb as that.

In this post: 
Gunther
 
Posted On: 
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!