10 Wrestling Photos Taken Moments Before Disaster

3. Chris Jericho, Meet Cardboard

Shane McMahon WWE WrestleMania 39
AEW

"Me and Mick Foley were kinda the last two guys to take such a deadly fall..."

Well, not quite. 

The first AEW Blood & Guts match was trending in the right direction. The plunder wasn't too excessive. Sammy Guevara made exquisite use of the unique double ring set-up with his thrilling springboards. Santana going apesh*t with a fork was a very cool nod to Homicide's legendary appearance in the 2006 Cage of Death match, but he didn't just borrow the spot; before the awful finish, he imported the gruesome tone of what remains the best modern WarGames adaptation. 

And then the finish happened. 

The first Blood & Guts match was one of the most anticipated in modern wrestling history; it felt like the symbolic return of the real thing, after the first match was scrapped as a result of the pandemic. MJF escaped to the roof. Instantly, that feeling changed. Jericho followed. It took him what felt like 20 minutes. The in-ring action was immaterial, barely filmed. 

The Inner Circle surrendered; MJF didn't care, and carried out the threat of launching Jericho to the floor. In a dismal, insulting production gaffe - Jericho can't be blamed for landing on a crash pad - the cushioned fall was filmed in extreme close-up. It looked pathetic. They printed a metal effect on cardboard to make it seem like he'd fallen on the shoot stage!

Jericho's recent fall from grace must've been infinitely more painful. 

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!