25 Worst Wrestling Moments Of 2024

14. The Silence That Greeted Solo

Chris Jericho
WWE.com

"You want me next week? Guess what, you're on" were the lines Solo Sikoa uttered hurriedly as he accepted Cody Rhodes' challenge for a steel cage rematch for the WWE Championship that he was defending. The lack of dramatic pause in the delivery was by design - the surprise nature of the announcement was designed to generate a big pop. It did not.

This was bleak on two counts.

In 2024, everything generates a big pop. For Solo to fall short of that mark was a damning indictment considering the star power of the man he was speaking too. Also, this specific silence spoke louder than any heckles about the poor quality of the pair's SummerSlam main event before Roman Reigns made his return.

Sikoa has been playing a pretender to Reigns' throne since the SmackDown after WrestleMania; an in-character fraud that is trying by force to take what he hasn't earned. Here, the lines between fiction and reality were blurred to a troubling degree. 

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