10 Secret Messages Wrestlers Sent
Sly burials, coded signs and deafening silence - featuring Triple H, the Undertaker and more...
Transcript
00:00 Now, wrestlers tend not to be the most subtle of creatures, bless 'em.
00:03 By trade, they are theatrical performers who are meant to project their star power and
00:07 the stories they tell to the back row of a major arena.
00:10 And since wrestling is a performance art, it relies heavily upon audience interaction.
00:15 So therefore, they have to be the opposite of subtle in most cases to get something over.
00:19 But that doesn't mean that there haven't been secret messages that wrestlers have sent to
00:23 each other, their loved ones, or even their enemies from time to time.
00:27 So let's take a look at them at arm jewels.
00:29 This is WhatCoach.com, and these are 10 secret messages wrestlers sent.
00:33 Number 10.
00:34 Triple H has a moment of madness on Twitter
00:36 Now, the relationship between Triple H and Vince McMahon became fascinating post-NXT.
00:41 Prior to that, it felt like they shared the same mind.
00:44 Triple H did more to put over the hulking Batista than anybody else.
00:47 He was bang up for burying Daniel Bryan in 2013, and he and Vince shared the same puerile
00:52 sense of humor.
00:53 And then Triple H committed the cardinal sin.
00:56 In a bid to get over by osmosis, he started promoting shorter pro wrestlers and actually
01:00 pleasing the marks.
01:02 Vince appeared to be more disgusted with his air by the month as the 2010s faded.
01:06 Half-hearted debuts on the Raw after WrestleMania evolved into Vince carelessly plugging in
01:11 a total of 10 wrestlers from NXT across January and February 2019.
01:15 It was clear that Vince had lost complete faith in the process.
01:18 He didn't want stars.
01:19 He didn't think Triple H was capable of building stars.
01:22 He just wanted bodies under the pretense of refreshing a product so rotten that he had
01:26 to apologize for how sh*t it was in December of 2018.
01:29 Triple H must have been frustrated, we all thought.
01:32 And you know what?
01:33 He was.
01:34 In May 2019, he was caught on Twitter liking posts critical of McMahon in a telling, passive-aggressive
01:38 secret hint towards his frustration.
01:41 At this stage of his corporate career, he had been sent a grapefruit basket and he was
01:44 spitting out the bloody seeds.
01:47 Various wrestlers say the quiet part loud about the Velveteen Dream
01:50 Velveteen Dream was, and you'll understand that care must be taken when phrasing this
01:54 entry, accused of deeply unsavory sexual advances towards minors in 2020.
02:00 WWE conducted some sort of internal investigation or other, and it can be inferred from the
02:04 fact that he continued to appear on television that WWE, at least, found no wrongdoing.
02:09 "We looked into what was there," Triple H told Brent Brookhouse of CBS Sports, "and
02:14 we didn't find anything."
02:15 Certain hints cropped up that this view wasn't exactly shared by Patrick Clarke's peers.
02:19 At NXT TakeOver XXX, after Clarke was accused amidst the #SpeakingOut moment, for indeed
02:25 a second time, he worked the five-way ladder match for the North American title.
02:29 At this phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, various wrestlers cosplayed as fans to emulate something
02:34 approaching to a normal atmosphere.
02:36 As such, they were performative, popping for entrances and expressing shock and awe in
02:40 reaction to high spots.
02:42 Not so with Clarke.
02:44 Everything he did was met with blanket, seemingly defiant silence.
02:48 Meanwhile, Rhea Ripley liked a tweet imploring Dream to be fired, and when her partner Adam
02:52 Cole was announced as working Clarke on the December 23, 2020 NXT show, Britt Baker tweeted,
02:58 "Lol," with no context.
03:00 This might be nothing.
03:01 It should be noted.
03:02 Perhaps this is all just connecting dots that simply aren't there, but Clarke certainly
03:05 didn't appear to be popular in wrestling circles.
03:08 Many talents seem to let their feelings be known in subtle, secretive ways.
03:11 8.
03:12 Ryback is self-deprecating
03:14 Let's face it.
03:15 Ryback is a pretty weird guy.
03:16 He was a weird guy even before he realized that nobody was ever going to hire him and
03:20 fell off the deep end entirely.
03:21 But he was also absolute, pure banter.
03:24 Now, very little of this was on purpose.
03:27 He's not an intellectual, and one of the funniest pro wrestling stories ever, according to Cody
03:31 Rhodes and Bryan Danielson, Ryback thought that James Cameron named his movie Terminator
03:35 2 because there were two feuding Terminators in it.
03:37 He was also banter in a deliberate way as well.
03:40 Referring to himself as "the big guy" in the third person was funny in a way that is difficult
03:44 to articulate, and he was prone to a bit of self-deprecation.
03:47 In addition to admitting to CM Punk that he was dumb as f—, he also sent a sly message
03:51 to Creative with a message on his white belt in 2016, when he had officially checked out.
03:56 He printed, "The pre-show stopper willfully no-selling the mandated WWE speak of 'kickoff'
04:01 as a means of sending up his role as yet another demoted main event act that Vince had lost
04:06 interest in."
04:07 7.
04:08 MJF quickly deletes tweet
04:09 Now if it's difficult to ascertain what's exactly going on with MJF, then that is surely
04:14 the point.
04:15 In collaboration with Tony Khan, probably, pro wrestling's most compelling week-to-week
04:19 storyteller, he's now cultivating a blurry mystery.
04:22 He is legitimately pissed off with what he's earning, as he should be, which has informed
04:26 the realism of the story.
04:27 He's also so good and such a thoughtful storyteller that his nuance continues to pose questions.
04:32 He wore a "boo-hoo" face at Double or Nothing, and it was so glorious in its subtlety that
04:36 it still feels like he's on the way out, even if, ironically, him calling Tony Khan a f—ing
04:41 arc on the next Dynamite was indicative of a repaired relationship.
04:44 In another beautiful detail, MJF again, provided this is all 100% of work, used technology
04:49 to advance the arc by tweeting, "I'm running on fumes," a week or so removed from Double
04:54 or Nothing.
04:55 He deleted it almost immediately after, knowing that someone, somewhere, would screenshot
04:58 it for posterity as a candid, secretive post that he thought better of sharing.
05:03 In short, it's quite brilliant, really.
05:05 6.
05:06 Stardust uses subtext
05:07 When evolving his post-WWE character, Cody Rhodes was inspired by several industry luminaries.
05:13 His father was a key influence, of course.
05:15 He was a very measured and articulate man, drawing indirect inspiration from Nick Bockwinkle,
05:19 albeit as a face.
05:20 Cody played a besuited, elegant, timeless figure in contrast to the athletic hybrid
05:25 super-workers that had almost become indistinguishable from one another.
05:28 Deep into his AEW run, Cody, by sacrificing his body in an artful, forward-thinking way,
05:33 operated in a similar way to Mick Foley.
05:35 He was intent on putting his opponents over, and accomplished it with his structural brilliance.
05:40 He was also, incredibly enough, inspired by Stardust.
05:43 On February 23, 2015, under the paint with a barely-suppressed fury, Cody cut a .com
05:49 digital exclusive promo away from the scripted confines of TV, bemoaning the state of the
05:53 industry.
05:54 It was barely in character.
05:55 "I want a steak," he ranted.
05:57 "But before I get it, I have to cut the fat.
05:59 The slack is Goldust, but he's not alone.
06:01 The slack is Big Show, is Kane, is Mark Henry.
06:04 My only word is get the attitude out."
06:07 More famously, when accepting the challenge of Dustin Rhodes again in 2019, Cody claimed
06:11 that he was here to kill the Attitude Era.
06:13 In 2015, he was letting people in on a secret.
06:16 He was sick to the stomach of WWE recycling its past, and was planning, right here, to
06:21 change wrestling's future.
06:22 Number 5.
06:23 Kenny Omega's incredibly subtle burial of WWE
06:27 Now, AEW is less than subtle when aiming digs at WWE.
06:31 CM Punk enthusiastically and viciously ripped the piss out of WWE, begging fans to attend
06:36 WrestleMania with buy-one-get-one-free offers.
06:39 Several wrestlers have been glimpsed watching the action on Dynamite from physically impossible
06:42 angles.
06:43 The imaginary brass ring is often referred to when an ex-WWE performer reveals their
06:47 intent to become the next best version of themselves in a promotion that will allow
06:50 them to be it.
06:51 And throughout 2021, Kenny Omega had some fun at WWE's expense as well.
06:55 But it was so subtle that it scant as a secretive in-joke of sorts.
06:59 When cutting a promo building his program with Hangman Page, he reminded Tony of a conversation
07:03 that they'd had earlier today.
07:05 Shivani was nonplussed; they hadn't talked.
07:07 This was Omega covertly burying Michael Cole's very unconvincing signature exposition dump.
07:13 Omega's patter was so sly in 2021 that it escaped the usual toxic reception because
07:18 many tribal fans just didn't pick up on it.
07:20 Perhaps that was the real punchline.
07:22 His priceless non-sports-numbnuts insult didn't get a rise out of the usual dickheads.
07:26 Number 4.
07:27 The Big Show is a Big Softie
07:28 Now, The Big Show isn't exactly famed for his loyalty.
07:31 In fact, he's notorious for turning on a once-every-few-months basis.
07:35 Whenever John Cena needed a stopgap opponent for a B-level pay-per-view, Show was there.
07:40 Whenever Vince McMahon wanted an elephanteen man to do comedy because it's just simply
07:43 funnier that way, Show, cosplaying as Hulk Hogan, was there.
07:47 Whenever a bloodied and pretty much murdered Kurt Angle turned heel and needed his baby
07:50 face murderer to feud with, Show was there.
07:54 Whenever that uppity vegan Daniel Bryan needed a punch to the mush, Show was there.
07:58 Whenever Vince remembered that his fearsome monster could cry because he was a gifted
08:01 actor by the standards of a wrestling giant, Show was there to turn face.
08:05 It was a bit like making The Undertaker wrestle in neon yellow, but still, Show was definitely
08:09 there.
08:10 But Show is actually fiercely loyal to his wife, and if you've ever spotted him squeezing
08:13 his arm three times, that's Show sending a coded "I love you" message to her.
08:17 That's love as ironclad as the contract that he wouldn't shut the f--- up about in 2012.
08:22 Number 3.
08:23 Alexa Bliss checks out
08:24 According to a report from the reputable Fightful Select last year, Alexa Bliss had vocally
08:28 expressed her displeasure with the company following the bizarre aimless vignette shot
08:32 heralding her return to Raw.
08:34 She actually returned to the Elimination Chamber and missed out on a WrestleMania season.
08:38 It was reported that she voiced her frustrations directly to Vince McMahon.
08:41 If this was all hush-hush leaked stuff and not something meant for public consumption,
08:45 Alexa Bliss said a lot without saying much on the May 23rd edition of Raw Talk on the
08:49 WWE Network.
08:50 Now, what follows is pure speculation, but the interview conducted by Sarah Schreiber
08:55 following Alexa's actual return to Raw was deeply, deeply awkward.
08:59 Alexa was asked what it meant to pick up her third straight victory opposite former partner
09:03 Nikki Ash.
09:04 "Yeah," she said, appearing apprehensive.
09:05 "Nikki is on her own path," she offered up, which was clearly a euphemistic code for "she's
09:10 trapped in a s--- DOA gimmick."
09:12 And when asked about her own path, in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, Alexa looks to the ground.
09:17 When asked about her momentum, Alexa's eyes darted, as she says, insincerely that she
09:21 was "really excited" about where it takes her.
09:24 This all might be a reach, but Alexa really does seem to be communicating that she hasn't
09:27 got a f---ing clue what this new character is or what she'll actually be doing next.
09:31 2.
09:32 The Undertaker and pals are bonded by ink
09:35 Now, the Bone Street crew has to be the funniest gang name ever.
09:38 It's even funnier if you try to picture the discussion in which the name was arrived at.
09:42 "We're tight, like brothers.
09:43 We're in a gang.
09:44 We need to come up with a name," the Undertaker must have said at one point.
09:47 And his brothers nodded along, "Hell yeah we do.
09:49 It needs to sound tough, like Henry O'Godwin said.
09:51 We ain't no namby-bamby click types."
09:54 "I reckon you're right," Taker said.
09:56 "Hey, what about this?
09:57 We kick ass, right?
09:58 We break bones.
09:59 Bones.
10:00 What if we break so many bones that we could make a street full of them?"
10:03 And then Phineas Godwin said, "What about the Bone Street Boys?"
10:05 And Taker just spat out his tobacco, disgusted, saying that it sounded like a boy band.
10:08 But it's all less funny when you recall that "bone" was actually an informal word for "dominoes,"
10:13 which Taker and pals play backstage.
10:15 But the misspelling of "crew" is still priceless.
10:18 1.
10:19 There was a secret subliminal lyric in the brood's theme
10:22 Let's face it.
10:23 The brood were, on reflection, pretty cringeworthy.
10:26 However, at the time, and as a lover of floofy shirts, I absolutely loved them.
10:32 Gangrel, Edge, Christian, just look at them rising out of there.
10:36 I mean, yeah, sure, the spitting of the blood and all the other gimmicks with the vampire
10:39 stuff, absolute bollocks, but I loved it.
10:42 Yeah.
10:43 But you have to admire Gangrel as well, who went the absolute distance and put shoot fangs
10:47 in his mouth.
10:48 And the level of commitment wasn't actually merely physical.
10:50 In a bid to develop a cult following, which was the aim after all, Gangrel, in league
10:54 with then-in-house composer the great Jim Johnston, apparently inserted subliminal backward
10:59 lyrics into the stable's entrance theme.
11:01 He said, "If you have the right skills and technology to play it backwards, it says,
11:05 'I buried Paul, walk with me.'"
11:07 Gangrel said that Johnston's love of the Beatles informed the 1980s star moral panic tribute,
11:12 and there also appears to be a Twin Peaks reference there in addition to the Paul is
11:16 dead myth.
11:17 And there we go, my friends.
11:18 Those were 10 secret messages wrestlers sent.
11:20 I hope that you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about it down in
11:23 the comments section below.
11:24 As always, I've been Jules.
11:25 You can go follow me over on Instagram, where it's @retroj but the O is a zero.
11:29 I hope to see you over there, and you can check out all my Warhammer paintings that
11:32 I've been doing.
11:33 Yes, I'm a nerd.
11:34 As always, I've been Jules.
11:35 You have been awesome.
11:36 Never forget that, and I'll speak to you soon.