10 Wrestlers Who Were Notoriously Difficult To Work With

6. Bruiser Brody

shawn michaels sid
WWE.com

At once a dream and a nightmare for promoters, Bruiser Brody was an original.

He knew then what subsequent generations never did learn, or truly accepted: wrestling promoters operate a heartless meat grinder of a racket that spits out its very lifeblood. Brody hated promoters, and they in turn hated him. They booked him begrudgingly, because he was a major draw, and he leveraged his immense drawing power in the east to hike his price in the west. He didn't merely make promoters pay through the nose; he made some of them pay an even steeper price, for, depending on his erratic whims, he would survey the promotion's hometown star, decide on the spot whether he fancied cooperating, and then sometimes just not. The short-term risk created long-term damage.

One such star was one Lex Luger, whom Brody, listening to a promoter for once, taught a lesson on Hiro Matsuda's orders. Luger bragged that he was on his way to Jim Crockett Promotions for a big time payday. The implication p*ssed Matsuda off, and so, minutes into the 1986 match, Brody stood still, filling Luger with dread as he pierced him with a vacant stare. Luger threw punch after punch. Brody stood there, doing nothing. Luger then tried to ram Brody into the cage fence. Nothing. Luger eventually just up and climbed the cage.

There was no reasoning with Brody, much less working with him.

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!