The BEST Wrestling Moment Every Year (1989 - 2026)

12. 2015 | Sasha Banks Makes Young Fan Cry

NXT TakeOver Respect Sasha Banks Izzy
WWE.com

Provided you’re not a child, professional wrestling is fundamentally flawed in this modern era. It’s a work, everybody knows it, and everybody is constantly reminded of that fact through the contentification of the industry. 

Nobody really used to believe in it, but suspension of disbelief was far easier when there was 1% of doubt - and when the wrestler of the day did everything in their power to preserve it through a staunch adherence to kayfabe. The psyche of the public was a lot different back then, too. They weren’t performative. They weren’t apathetic. They really got into it. Those days were long gone by 2015. In the U.S., the medium is still geared towards drawing heat - but how can you generate that which does not exist? 

Sasha Banks travelled back to a more mythical time on October 7, 2015. 

Early into her rematch against Bayley at NXT TakeOver: Respect, Banks spotted a familiar face: Izzy, the earnest and very young Bayley super-fan. She represented the innocent version of yourself, the fan you once were. She was also, again, very young. 

Banks did not give a sh*t. She wanted to make the match special. She wanted to elicit an emotion not felt in years. And so she stormed over to Izzy, ripped the bow from her hair, wore it, mimicked her very real and overwhelming tears, and threw it back at her. 

Izzy was inconsolable. A young fan who thought it was real got traumatised, and it was magic. 

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!