10 Totally Gross And Gruesome WWE Visuals

8. Brock Reaches For The Stars

Jeff Hardy Randy Orton
WWE.com

John Laurinaitis' most egregious error in judgment during his hugely controversial time as Executive Vice President Of Talent Relations was signing the wrong one-legged wrestler when given the job of bringing Zack 'Tenacious Z' Gowen to WWE in 2003. Allegedly advising Brock Lesnar to beat Kurt Angle with his rarely-seen Shooting Star Press was most definitely his second.

The logic of the request was broadly sound, even if the execution of the move flew in the face of Brock Lesnar's entire aesthetic. He'd performed the spectacular finisher regularly during his Ohio Valley Wrestling days, but the risky move was smartly parked upon his main roster promotion. The original Brock Lesnar was always considered super-human, but a move of such flare literally flew in the face of what he'd since brought to the company as 'The Next Big Thing'.

Dropping all of his broad frame on his equally thick neck, Lesnar amazingly fought through glazed eyes to drop Angle with a match-winning F5 as a replacement finish after his bouncing botch was unsalvageable. His inability to stand and celebrate at the end was worrying, only rendered a touch less shocking when he returned to work just weeks later.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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