10 Wrestlers Who Destroyed Their Careers On Live TV

9. Titus O'Neil - Monday Night Raw, February 8th 2016

Ken Kennedy Vince McMahon
WWE

Vince McMahon can hire, fire, upend and suspend until his weathered heart is content - it's regrettably his autocratic right as eternal kingpin of WWE, but he didn't half come away from this bizarre tale looking as big a heel as he had during his Attitude Era pomp.

The gif above was the on-camera extent of the situation, but in case it's not exactly clear in the above, know that this random act of seemingly friendly frivolity cost Titus O'Neil sixty days work and a WrestleMania payday in 2016.

Bad timing, bad judgment or a bad man in a bad mood? All of the above, sadly.

The roster including McMahon had just clapped off a retiring Daniel Bryan to tearfully end a particularly sombre edition of Monday Night Raw, but the Chairman was clearly in no mood for some light relief after such a heavy duty sendoff for a wrestler he always hated pushing anyway. The gaffer looks f*cking furious as he shoves Titus away - right as the 'Prime Time Player' appeared to grab his arm in a bit of over-familiar horseplay.

Until Hidden Gems returns to the WWE Network, that's all anybody will ever see of it. The clip fades away from that point, much like any proper push for O'Neil himself.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 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. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, 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