10 Wrestling Moments That Had No Right Being THIS Good

6. Ronda Rousey Works The Best Debut Match Ever

Roman Reigns Shocked
WWE

The conditions didn't feel like they were in place.

Stephanie McMahon filmed videos in the Performance Center, soundtracked by ominous braaams, depicting her as some brilliant combat athlete. It turned out this posturing was for the heat, but with Steph, you can never be too sure. She'd have scripted herself to slap David Schultz back. Moreover, Kurt Angle was thrashed. If he was to be relied upon to the functional bit and build towards Ronda Rousey's hot tag, it was a risk. He seemed pained in his movements, having deteriorated beyond even his respectable twilight indie run.

So you had an antagonist who never fancies selling, a partner who sold all too well, and Triple H, who was always fired up for slowing down the pace.

And yet, it was incredible; while Angle wasn't the intense killing machine of old, Stephanie McMahon entered the performance of her career. Her sh*t-scared terror at the mere prospect of facing off against Ronda was phenomenal, but she also couldn't help herself, taunting her killer. With incredible timing, she effectively begged to get the sh*t kicked out of her, and that she did. Ronda administered it to perfection, perfectly integrating her killer aura into the worked context and registering her killer blows as brilliantly as she had delivered them.

And, in a riot of twist, Triple H sold for Ronda like he'd been pelted by several thousand machine gun rounds all at the same time.

 
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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!