10 WWE Gimmicks That Started Elsewhere

2. The Hurt Business

The Hurt Business
WWE

Inarguably one of the few decent things to come from WWE creative in 2020, The Hurt Business have existed exclusively within the company's crowd-free era and yet feel like an act that would be over if the Amway Center was able to hold more than a few thousand Zoom calls.

Not least because it's worked before.

MVP worked with and against Bobby Lashley in Impact Wrestling as leader of The Beatdown Clan. The modus operandi was largely the same - bully heels stiffing the sh*t out of people in their path in order to make money and elevate Porter himself to the top of the promotion.

Both benefited from their relationship at various points, and the implication made when 'The All Mighty' traded Lana for his old friend earlier this year was that he remembered exactly what the former United States Champion could do for him.

Utilising relationships from other companies and a sliver of subtext. On occasion, WWE can still do this thing.

 
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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