6 Backstage Wrestling Politicians Who Never Drew A Dime

1. The Modern Ex-WWE Club

Miro AEW
AEW

Some dishonourable mentions to complete the list. 

WWE is incredible at brainwashing. It takes some fans a while to look past the production values of a new company, when they first grow angry at WWE’s booking and wish to seek out an alternative. How good can it be, really? The word-of-mouth is strong, and the critics rave about it, but it looks like sh*t!

Some WWE fans never make that breach. They either stick with WWE, even if passively, or they end their journey with wrestling there and then. WWE has for years marketed itself as the recognised global leader. At this point, WrestleMania is more important than money to the vast majority of pro wrestlers, who are almost more susceptible to this level of conditioning. 

Nixon Newell - allegedly - was unhappy with a 2025 AEW Collision booking, so much so that she and tag team partner Miranda Alize walked out of the taping after trying, and apparently failing, to finagle their way into getting more minutes (the title does not specify whether the wrestlers were any good at playing politics). 

Malakai Black - again, this is all alleged, you will have to take the professional wrestler’s word for it - was said to not have enjoyed getting pinned. It must be nothing more than a coincidence that Malakai took the pin on a once-per-year basis. 

Similarly, Miro was said to have the dreaded “I’ve been in WWE, I refuse to job in this rinky-dink mud show” attitude too, which might explain why he was only cleanly defeated by Sammy Guevara and Bryan Danielson in singles action. Probably just a coincidence again, though. Miro actually did well as TNT champion, quarter hours-wise, but he - allegedly! - acted like Andre the Giant under Vince McMahon, Sr.

If those alleged rumours are to be believed, both men had their phones on silent when asked to do a job. Again, though, those near-immaculate win/loss records, suspicious for two wrestlers never considered PPV headliners, are probably just coincidental.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick (Creative Writing BA Hons) is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over a decade of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential UK 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 AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and 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!