10 Wrestlers Who Couldn’t Come Up With A Comeback

5. The Bella Twins

AJ Lee
WWE

That it would come to be known, colloquially, as AJ Lee's 'Pipebomb' puts this mass burial over as an all-timer in shorthand. It's not quite on that level - it didn't build towards a classic match, nor say much about AJ Lee's achievement, since she couldn't have framed the division she had dominated as any more pathetic - but it's still a very memorable and well-delivered promo palpable in its passion.

It was - again, not immediately productive - a scathing assessment of her peers, but while it exposed too much, it needed exposing. AJ was the voice behind the #GiveDivasAChance movement, ultimately, even if the benevolent and modest Stephanie McMahon obviously hacked her account to do it, since it was her idea.

Does the hashtag trend without AJ's searing belief and audience goodwill generated in no small part by this moment?

AJ raged against what she perceived to be "a bunch of cheap, interchangeable, expendable, useless women". In a great touch, she used the word "women" frequently throughout, as if to challenge the Divas and the plastic case they were put in, and the delivery was subtle but not at all lost. The pause between "sucked" and "up" was a neat way of circumventing PG restrictions.

The Bellas could not respond, and overcompensated by not responding very, very loudly.

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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!