10 Wrestling Promos That Were Inadvertently Infamous

2. #GiveAJLeeAChance

AJ Lee's own take on CM Punk's takedown was arguably the true start of a 'revolution' for women's wrestling in WWE. And if it wasn't, her tweet several months later commanding fairer pay definitely was.

WWE's sycophantic coverage of their own breakthroughs in promoting womens wrestling have routinely left the work of Lee out in the cold, but the former longest-reigning Divas Champion was doing the heavy lifting herself when most female matches were still used to notify fans that it was safe to take a p*ss break.

The match that preceded her promo was a perfect example of it. Brie Bella was celebrating a short ill-gotten victory over Natalya in a battle designed to promote E! Network show Total Divas, shortly before the Divas Champion scorched it completely. Thirsty for the quality action they now receive, fans immediately chanted and cheered for AJ as she ripped into the "cheap, interchangeable, expendable women - women who have turned to reality television because they just weren't gifted enough to be actresses".

She was bang right too. Inside the ring still selling, Natalya's eyes secretly shared her sentiment - she knew she was a wrestler amongst models playing at wrestling. Devoid of craic as per usual, The Bellas hollered at AJ to say it all to their faces, as if she wasn't already. They - like WWE itself - had absolutely no comeback for Lee's inconvenient truths.

Contributor
Contributor

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