10 Wrestlers Who Saved Other Wrestlers From Getting Fired
8. Diesel Saves Mabel
ECW was a necessary promotion and thank f*ck for it existing because the mainstream needed a Shibata-stiff kick in the arse in the mid-'90s, and that is because SummerSlam 1995 was headlined by Diesel Vs. King Mabel.
Diesel by that point hadn't so much been neutered as chemically castrated, wearing a mandatory smile as fake as Glenn Jacobs' portrayal of the character. In another era, Mabel may have been serviceable as an upper midcard heel or a Monster of the Week B-level challenger, but it was proper sign-of-the-times stuff that he was considered worthy of a Big 4 main event. This was Vince at his "He's big and that's all that matters" worst.
Mabel was a deceptively agile behemoth, but despite not being Giant Haystacks still lacked the credibility and aura required of a main event-level talent. He was also green at the time, having only been wrestling for four years in an era in which iron didn't exactly sharpen iron. This explains why, despite explicitly being told not to, Mabel sat on Diesel's back, inflicting a not insignificant injury.
In an under-mentioned story that defies the "Kliq were cutthroat sociopaths" narrative, when Vince McMahon threatened to fire Mabel on the spot, Kevin Nash said he'd walk out the door alongside him.