5 Most Insane Things Happening In Wrestling Right Now (March 23)

4. The Ultimate Deletion

Daniel Bryan Edited
WWE

For months now, fans have waited patiently for Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt to do anything beyond laughing at one another. On this week's RAW, the much-hyped Ultimate Deletion began with Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt laughing in one another's faces. Michael Cole was less patient. Apologising to the fans in advance, clearly puppeteer-ed by Vince McMahon in self-loathing mode, Cole threatened something "obnoxious", which exists in the Vince lexicon alongside "whattamanoeuvre", "pal", and, after years of eating them without realising what they were, "burritos".

As if sensing the wider sentiment, Hardy told Wyatt before this ludicrous battle in their "Great War" that the time for laughter was "ovah!". What followed was a faithful if slightly less charming and out-there adaptation of the BROKEN Universe, as Wyatt and Hardy brayed one another with kendo sticks and performed a spot of panto in a graveyard in a bit that brilliantly lampooned Wyatt's ineffective supernatural powers. The climactic Lake of Reincarnation spot also acted as an acknowledgement of the Wyatt character's ungodly awfulness, post-burial, as Señor Benjamin tossed a geography classroom globe in Wyatt's hands. That's all he ever held. And, in one last acknowledgement, Wyatt's dip into the Lake of Reincarnation itself seems to foreshadow a change of character. Perhaps a creepy and charismatic backwoods cult leader who uses his twisted psychological prowess to win wrestling matches would be a fitting gimmick.

Ultimately, the Ultimate Deletion offered several great intentionally naff sight gags, but the best joke was on Vince: this thing that you can't believe was shown on WWE TV did get ovah, despite his weirdly-expressed misgivings.

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!