10 Wrestling Icons That Were Humiliated On Camera

8. Daniel Bryan

Tyson Fury
WWE

Bryan Danielson's claret-soaked first year with All Elite Wrestling was both a reminder of what WWE only ever half-capitalised on, and of how not to treat such a near-perfect pro wrestler upon arrival.

AEW might have picked up a former WWE Champion and WrestleMania main eventer, but he could have been promoted as if he was that upon debut in World Wrestling Entertainment and audiences very quickly would have accepted it from performance alone. Instead, lead announcer Michael Cole was tasked with heeling on him, he rarely won, and The Miz working as his on-screen coach scanned more as a shoot than an inside joke.

His payoff to all of this was a fire-and-rehire situation due to choking Justin Roberts with his tie and midcard title oblivion on kickoff shows until making himself undeniably important on the show and working with Kane - it's always f*cking Kane in this company - in a tag team that clearly made Vince McMahon laugh.

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 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 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, 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