10 Wrestling Promo Lines That Were WAY Too Personal

6. Randy Orton Says Eddie Guerrero Is In Hell

Sammy Guevara AEW
WWE

Again: this was a pre-written line in a fictional promo that both acting rivals agreed to say live on national television. It was not a brutal personal attack masquerading as trash talk.

Still, it was too personal. It was grotesque, in fact.

When Eddie Guerrero tragically passed away in 2005, WWE built a storyline around it. It was unremittingly awful stuff, the sort of thing that stays with people who then have the temerity to criticise the promotion. WWE turned itself heel with the subtlety of one its exposition-heavy promos. Randy Orton didn't generate any heat. The company itself was excoriated for its 'Eddiesploitation' gimmick, which was almost just as bad when they were "affectionately" paying tribute to him.

At the '06 Royal Rumble, when Rey Mysterio drew #2, he looked skyward with a wry grin, as if to suggest that the rapscallion Eddie had played a cheeky rib on him from beyond the grave. No, he wasn't looking on mournfully as his devastated family attempted to move on without him: he was playfully stacking the odds against Rey Mysterio, WWE Superstar TM!

Per Orton, Mysterio shouldn't have looked up, or couldn't have, since he was "in hell".

WWE is the lowest form of entertainment at its worst.

 
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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!