10 Times WWE Was Literally As Stupid As WCW

6. "Killing" Wrestlers Off

Ultimate Gunther THUMB
WWE.com

Appearing to kill fictional characters off and simply having them return is a monumentally stupid thing to do, so of course WCW did it.

They did it, infamously, at Halloween Havoc 1995, at which The Giant plummeted off the side of the Cobo Hall building. After a five minute match between Randy Savage and Lex Luger, Giant simply returned unscathed to work what was technically his second match with Hulk Hogan on the night. This is how harebrained WCW was at the time: they booked a straight singles match after a bizarre gimmick attraction, destroying the rule of dramatic escalation, and nobody ever dwells on that because it was the least dumb thing about the whole farce.

Years later - during which interim period WWE frequently mocked "dubya see dubya" for this sort of inexplicable sh*t - Rey Mysterio was, at Money In The Bank 2020, thrown from the roof of Titan Towers. Even before it was quickly explained that Mysterio had clung to a window ledge or whatever b*llocks they came up with, this spot wasn't really sold as the ostensible death of a babyface legend. If Michael Cole didn't quite say "Rey Mysterio would fall off a very tall building," he might as well have. The winners of the match celebrated, to put the sham of a scene in an even dumber light.

"Shame about Rey, but do you see this? I can cash in at any time!"

Neither winner actually cashed the briefcase in, as it happens, because this company might even be more stupid than WCW.

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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!