10 Wrestling Photos Taken Moments Before Disaster

2. Picture 1 - 1000 Words

Shane McMahon WWE WrestleMania 39
WWE

The trend has since been reversed. WWE is no longer the awful, toxic workplace from which several talent wished to escape. 

Back in late 2017, however - with NJPW, ROH and Being The Elite really starting to take off - WWE was the place in which promising careers died. This image of Neville (now PAC) was a storyline development. The best high-flyer on the planet had suffered a deeply humiliating loss to resident clown Enzo Amore, who only qualified for the Cruiserweight division through being small. He certainly wasn't exciting in the ring, nor did he possess decent technique. 

The idea here was the Neville was so gutted that he couldn't sleep. He looked like death warmed up because the thought of the loss nagged at him like a griping stomach pain. 

The thing is, though, Neville outright quit WWE almost immediately, after which the image took an a completely different meaning. Neville's haunted face and frazzled hair was what it must have looked like to endure the baffling torment of what the WWE system once looked like. 

This image was reflected on the faces of the Revival, Luke Harper, Tye Dillinger, and everybody else who was broken by it. 

This image was WWE's late 2010s PR nightmare, captured. 

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!