10 Wrestling "Botches" That Were Totally Intentional

1. Shawn Michaels And Mankind Go Meta

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At SummerSlam 1996, Shawn Michaels b*llocked Vader for being out of position and kicked him in the head. It was typical of his megalomaniacal bullsh*t.

Bray Wyatt and Malakai Black have both attempted to play a certain character to mixed results in the 2020s: the horror-informed villain who is as interested in corrupting his opponent as defeating them. Mick Foley perfected this bit at the appropriately-named Mind Games pay-per-view in a phenomenal, ground-breaking match against Shawn Michaels.

The WWF base had rejected Shawn's miscast earnest good guy shtick, which lacked credibility so badly that even Shawn himself couldn't commit to the bit in the middle of his matches. Foley, one of the most intelligent in-ring workers ever, grasped that Shawn was struggling and built a match around his psyche. In a meta story beat, Foley, who in the fiction was attempting to draw something ugly from Michaels, led him into the corner but refused to follow. The resulting "botch" drew a furious reaction from Shawn, who savaged Mankind with several worked-shoot blows.

A spot as effective to those in the know as those who didn't peruse the dirts, it's little wonder that Foley by '99 was as much critical darling as folk hero.

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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!