10 WWE Fates Worse Than Burial

1. Drake Maverick Sobs For His Soul

vince mcmahon jeff jarrett
WWE

April 15th 2020 was rough.

Barely a month into a pandemic that had well over another year still to go, WWE released or furloughed 100s of talent and staff despite humongous financial resources and a frightening lack of opportunities for them to work elsewhere.

The feeling of fragility that had enslaved the world suddenly radiated from an industry that laughably continued under the remit of escapism. Wrestlers shared their sadness and trepidation ahead of WWE sharing record profits, as the fans got the starkest look in some time at the obscured realities of an organisation that has done this before and will again.

One such reality turned out not to be that at all. The released Drake Maverick wept openly about the end of his dream, company logo inches away from his supposedly broken heart. His departure was a strange and sad one - the hardworking all-rounder was still in a tournament for the Cruiserweight Championship, which suddenly became the focus of his speech when he implied that he might keep his job if he won.

Wrestling's fake, Drake.

Sure enough, though he lost in the final, his story was an emotional shortcut for the booking. In a pathetic scene, Triple H arrived to hand him a "new" contract following his gutsy defeat. Like Liverpool's pandemic Premier League victory in 2020 or some upcoming expletives, Maverick will forever have an asterisk next to any praise thanks to a f*cking gross promotional stunt far too typical for this f*cking company.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 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. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, 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