The LSU Tigers defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes to win the 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament championship. During the game LSU’s Angel Reese taunted Iowa’s Caitlin Clark with John Cena’s U Can’t See Me hand gesture and also pointed at her ring finger. It was disrespectful. It was wrong. It required an NPR explainer.

It was disrespectful of Reese to stoop to Cena’s level. While Cena may be one of the most popular and best professional wrestlers of all time, maybe even deserving of a place on wrestling’s Mount Rushmore, Reese chose to mimic the incorrect gesture.

Winning a championship is difficult. Winning an NCAA championship is about as difficult as headlining multiple WrestleManias. Though I do not agree with his politics or American Badass theme song, the only professional wrestler mimicry worthy of Angel Reese is The Undertaker’s You’re Dead gesture.

Reese is not dumb. She did not mock Clark when the game was in question. She waited until a point in the game where the contest was decided. Cena’s U Can’t See Me is not always employed as finishing gesture. In fact, over the last five to ten years, Cena’s opponent typically comes back and win the match soon after the U Can’t See Me. Taker’s You’re Dead typically comes out at about the same point in the match as Reese’s gesture.

In addition to being disrespectful, the gesture was just wrong. Reese’s star is on the rise. Cena’s is not. While it’s incredibly fun to do the U Can’t See Me, it’s a gesture for children. While these athletes are students, they are definitely not children.

Some may think Reese went too far. Some may think DX’s Suck It is the obvious wrestler gesture for winners. But what most people aren’t thinking of when they’re on the court is the victory parade. It’s not a good idea to consistently stand up in a convertible while in a parade to do the Suck It motion.

Reese was smart enough to know this, just look at the feature image for this piece. But you know what you can do without standing up? You’re Dead.

Angel Reese is champion. Angel Reese deserves the reverence reserved for The Undertaker. Putting her on the same level as a philanthropic professional wrestler/action movie and television star is fine, but unlike Cena, her time is actually now.

Recommend If You Like is not owned or funded by a billionaire or even a millionaire. We do have a Patreon. If you can’t afford to become a patron, please sign up to our mailing list. It’s free and we’re asking here instead of a pop-up. Pop-ups are annoying.