25 Best Wrestling Moments Of 2024

5. Sami Zayn Against All Odds

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WWE

Discipline is the most effective creative tool, which sucks for professional wrestling. 

Are fans really “fickle”? Or is it actually OK for them to feel burned out and spoiled by a medium that never ends and asks so much of their time? 

In any event, the average pro wrestler too often feels the need to get their sh*t in, and just because that take is so often echoed in bad faith, it doesn’t make it any less true.

At WrestleMania 40, for the first time in his WWE career, Sami Zayn unleashed the Brainbustaaah! 

The occasion and the stakes could not have been more perfect. The Brainbustaaah! was one of the most horrifying and electrifying of the crazed 2000s indie finishers. The wrestlers knew that these deranged ideas were probably ill-advised, but the race for the pop was competitive, and they had to stand out. 

The timing and choice of the move was ideal. It acted as the Eureka Moment of a match premised on the belief that Sami - unfancied in the build - could actually put an end to GUNTHER’s record Intercontinental title. 

Unthinkable and surreal to see on the main stage, it was both an incredible moment and an infinitely better means of protecting a wrestler in defeat than any carny, screwy finish. 

Contributor
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!