7 Most Insane Things Happening In Wrestling Right Now (May 24)

6. If You Smell...What The Lock (!)...Is Cooking...

Jinder Mahal WWE
WWE

Christian revealed on the most recent edition of his Pod of Awesomeness podcast that he very nearly played a character other than "Captain Charisma'.

In 2003, he appeared in a backstage segment with The Rock, in which The Rock massaged his ego as a means of positioning him as a patsy for Goldberg. One unnamed creative writer contacted Christian shortly afterwards with a new pitch. Apparently, Christian was going to start mimicking The Rock. He was going to cut his hair short and raise his eyebrows. Because The Rock wore all black, Christian was going to wear all white. No, his new name wasn't going to be Mordecai; he was set to be rechristened 'The Lock' - because it was a "lock" he was going to win his matches.

Fortunately, Vince McMahon vetoed the idea. He didn't pussyfoot around; he b*llocked the writer by bluntly stating "That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. We’re not doing that."

He had a point. Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery, but it's also the quickest route to the undercard in wrestling. AJ Styles struggled when TNA had him worship Ric Flair. Heidenreich flopped badly as the new member of the Legion of Doom; he was more reviled than Rocco the loveable dummy mascot.

Then again, Roman Reigns has fared pretty well with his John Cena tribute act.

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 surefire Undisputed WWE Universal 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!