10 Wrestlers Who Improved At Something They Were Terrible At

7. Jay White - Being A Heel

Roman Reigns
NJPW

Jay White hardly projected himself as a heel at Wrestle Kingdom 12, which was almost impressively unimpressive, given that the best pure babyface in wrestling history, Hiroshi Tanahashi, sold selflessly for him. It was elementary stuff. He simply grabbed Tanahashi by the throat and loudly questioned his status as the Ace, while everybody else questioned his instant mega-push. It was a one-dimensional and methodical performance incongruous to the lightning bolt bastardry boasted by the likes of Tetsuya Naito and Kenny Omega.

Jay graduated and became White hot in the summer months.

Crashing Juice Robinson against the guardrail more times than he slammed him to the canvas at G1 Special In San Francisco, before suffocating his opponents underneath the ring apron throughout the G1 proper, White became attuned to the main event environment by unlocking the physical environment around him to legitimately loathsome effect. He performs now with such unabashed dishonour that he has completely disassociated himself from the Young Lion of old.

He is a despicable piece of sh*t. He luxuriates in his villainy. Like the best storytellers, he no longer tells Tanahashi, nor us: he shows it.

Contributor
Contributor

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!

Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.