Batman Gambit/Professional Wrestling

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • During Bret Hart's feud with Vince McMahon, a woman accidentally backs her car into Hart's limo as he was getting in, severely injuring his left leg in the process. McMahon would then spend the following weeks verbally abusing Hart, until he finally managed to goad him into a No Holds Barred match for Wrestlemania XXVI. During the contract signing, Hart then reveals that the limo accident and the subsequent leg injury were nothing more than an elaborate con to manipulate McMahon's ego and trap himself into a match with a supposed cripple.
  • Part of Carlito's gimmick is to bite into an apple and then spit it into a person's face. One time, he attempted this on The Big Show, only for Show to steal the apple and Neck Lift him. Show decides to beat him at his own game and bites into the apple, only to collapse. Carlito explains that he saw this coming, and poisoned the apple. He then beats up the weakened Big Show. If Show didn't decide to use the apple, who knows how this situation would have turned out.
  • Raven is a master of this; he manipulates people's hopes, dreams, fears, and desires to the point of becoming a Dark Messiah to his followers.
  • Jerry Lawler pulls off a masterful one on Michael Cole on the May 16th, 2011 edition of Raw. Jerry, after accepting a match with Cole at Over The Limit, tells Cole that he doesn't respect him...but does respect Cole's Dragon Jack Swagger for being a former world champion and great wrestler. He then says Cole's made Swagger nothing but his sidekick. Michael Cole responds by gloating about how being his sidekick has made Jack a much greater star and no one remembers that he used to be world champion...with Jack Swagger right in the ring. The result is a seriously ticked off Swagger telling Jerry Do with Him as You Will and abandoning Cole. Jerry's reaction pretty much confirms this was a ploy to use Michael's own ego to isolate him from his own ally.
  • The aforementioned Hitman used one to win the WWF Championship at Summer Slam 1997 from The Undertaker. Shawn Michaels, the guest referee, confronted him about a chair he'd wedged into the corner earlier, which led to Hart spitting in his face. HBK swung the chair and accidentally hit Taker when Hart ducked, which in turn allowed Hart to make the cover for which Michaels had to count. This isn't necessarily the Batman Gambit worth mentioning here though. That would be the TNA rendition 14½ years later. At Against All Odds 2012, TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode had to defend his title in a four-way match against Jeff Hardy, James Storm, and Bully Ray, with authority figure Sting, who Roode hasn't been very fond of for good reason, as the special enforcer. After the match spiraled into chaos and the referee was knocked down, Roode brought in the world title to try to hit Hardy with it, only for Sting to cut him off and take the belt from him. Let's just say, masterful evil goading and gloating ensued.