10 Wrestlers WWE Have Ruined Without Fans

9. Elias

rhea ripley shrug
WWE.com

Remember Elias' match with Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 36?

Of course you don't, it was boring as f*ck and a truly horrendous combination for an empty Performance Center atmosphere that was already testing the patience of an audience turning to wrestling for an escape and instead only receiving reminders of the glum world outside.

Few wrestlers needed noise more than the former NXT drifter, and it's perhaps why WWE turned him heel following a return from injury later that year. It's made no difference though - Elias is a competent-at-best wrestler an era where everybody operates at a level above and WWE have never been worse at hiding the negatives and extenuating the positives. His team with Jaxson Ryker was desperate to end in Ryker as a babyface because just look at him, and the culmination of that feud will almost certainly leave him with little to do at the worst possible time.

He should take a crumb of comfort from how institutionally obsessed with cheap heat WWE are - they could dim the lights for that first time and bring them up with him in the ring, just for the aggro. Beyond that though, the road back to relevance could be a long one.

 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, 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