10 Wrestlers That Seriously Took The Piss

Or how to put smiles on (some) faces...

Chris Jericho Bubbly
AEW

For those reading that don't have it in their vernacular or listen to Chris Jericho's podcast to hear the phrase used on the other side of the Atlantic, the informal British slang phrase "taking the piss" is, nutshelled, the act of mocking someone or something. Like most forms of humour it can be done with admiration, affection, unconscionable cruelty and everything in between. And, like everything else in wrestling, theres's something on just about every point of the spectrum for a collection like this.

Every different kind of human gravitates towards wrestling if they get the bug, as they do to wrestling rosters. Jocks and nerds share stories and showers, prodigious athletes mingle with special attraction body guys and systems of wealth and class are temporarily parked with the locker room acting as a great leveller. Those with great patter eventually unleash it, as do those with mean streaks or money-minded motivation to undercut all the rest.

There were those that took the piss out of the process because it was high banter, those that took the piss out of everything cynically just because they could, and those that took the piss out of their opponents in an art form wholly dependent on working collaboratively.

All variants are valid for a list like this, even if some of the behaviour itself absolutely wasn't...

10. Hulk Hogan

Chris Jericho Bubbly
WWE.com

Hulk Hogan's vanity, well-earned profile and rampant nepotism did some not-inconsiderable damage to WWE as Vince McMahon got heart-eyed for 'The Hulkster' once again in 1993, but the wealth and power rapidly amassed by the industry's biggest stat one year later managed to take the p*ss (and rip the a*se) out of WCW's biggest pay-per-view.

On his Conrad Thompson podcast 83 Weeks, Eric Bischoff has revealed that he never held Starrcade as close to his heart as the World Championship Wrestling loyalists, and there’s no evidence for that more naked than 1994’s ‘Grandaddy Of ‘Em All’.

Bringing hitherto unseen attention to WCW (as well as a couple of mammoth buyrates) that year thanks to a dream programme with Ric Flair, Hogan was looking worth the value until he used his stroke to getting Brutus b*stard Beefcake in the main event with him. It was a piss take more potent than any of his “Power Of Hulkamania” sales patter.

Preparing to win the Royal Rumble as a workhorse right around the time Hogan was politicking his best mate into a main event, Shawn Michaels probably assumed he’d never have to deal with any of that specific brand of bullsh*t.

But when he did...

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, 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