50 Worst Wrestling Moments Of The 2020s (So Far)

46. Tian Sha

Mei Ying
WWE.com

Paul Levesque eventually realised, in late 2020, that his “better matches than you’d ordinarily see in WWE” model was an antique in the wake of All Elite Wrestling. He therefore set about injecting his stale action-forward NXT product with old-fashioned WWE-style gimmickry - to hilariously awful results.

Tian Sha was a shadowy, mystical stable that guided the onscreen careers of Boa and Xia Li by punishing their failures and motivating them to do better. The leader was revealed to be the former Karen Q and future Wendy Choo: Mei Ying. In a vignette, NXT explored the lore of the supernatural character.

Ying was an ancient Chinese princess who, at the cost of her soul, seized back the throne she had fled under the teachings of a dragon that forged her in combat. That, or her soul was possessed by the princess. Either way, Ying was powered by magic. So she must have been a dominant force, right? A dragon is a better trainer than Terry Taylor. Ying had untold advantages over the competition.

In her debut, Ying defeated Virginia Ferry in 49 seconds. In her second and last match, Ying was defeated by Indi Hartwell in under three minutes. The vastly powerful ancient dragon wrestler went 50/50.

This was basically the exact same thing as debuting Cthulu, and having it trade wins with Lexis King.

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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!