10 WWE Fates Worse Than Burial
8. The "Comeback"
The July 6th 2020 match between former stablemates Drew McIntyre and Heath Slater made for an unnecessarily cruel watch during an era of Monday Night Raw that was hard enough anyway, and it's hard now to work out what possessed to WWE to think about something so reductive just for a one-night "pop".
"Pop" instead of pop because there was no crowd, nor even an indication of if this would have generated a reaction beyond the rather awkward one it received from all sides.
Heath Slater felt like a WWE lifer until he wasn't one, and the Black Wednesday releases were a caustic reminder of how easy one became another. His one-night return presented as him fighting not just for McIntyre's belt but for his professional life would have been odd enough without the way the match played out itself - Slater lost in 24 seconds in a flashback to a comedic role that died the day his WWE career did.
Slater taking the payday was understandable considering the year he was having, but it'll be one to wipe from memory the next time discussion of his legitimately impressive legacy comes up.