Jared Verse took a body slam straight out of WrestleMania, but this time the ring was a football field, and nobody came out of the locker room to avenge the wronged star. The Cleveland Browns defender watched his teammates freeze as he hit the turf, and their indifference stung him just as badly.

Verse said that he confronted the Browns locker room over its response to Pittsburgh guard Mason McCormick's violent spike during Sunday's 27-6 defeat.

The NFL defensive end was lifted and flipped toward the turf on an extra-point attempt in a pro-wrestling-style slam similar to the famous one Hogan delivered to Andre the Giant at WrestleMania III, yet all of his teammates were busy with their individual assignments.

The incident followed Rico Dowdle's nine-yard opening touchdown. Verse leaped to disrupt Chris Boswell's kick, but McCormick caught him and dumped him upside down, dislodging the guard's own helmet.

Officials assessed a 15-yard unnecessary-roughness penalty. Replay showed much of Cleveland's special teams unit trying to handle their own matchups instead of seeing the confrontation.

Verse believed his teammates should have responded more forcefully when they realized what had happened. "That was the play that made me kind of get really angry," Verse said.

"The lack of reaction by those around me had upset me a lot," he continued. Verse described the play as "dirty" and said that the attempt to sweep his legs could have ended his season or changed his life.

McCormick said he didn't recognize Verse during his postgame interview and that his assignment was to stop leaping defenders from reaching the kick.

Verse's complaint focused on awareness and solidarity, not on expecting everyone to abandon their responsibilities during a kick. He compared the moment to a similar incident involving fellow Brown Derek Barnett on an earlier field-goal attempt.

The Browns star said he lost it when he saw his teammate was targeted and explained that "these are my brothers” and that he expects the group to stand up for one another in solidarity.

He confirmed that he raised the issue directly afterward with teammates, while also accepting responsibility for not communicating in the moment.

Verse acknowledged his role and said, "I didn't do enough on my part. I mean, we all got to pick it up."

Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger said he didn't see the slam, even after the game, but would have defended Verse if he had.

Camera footage showed Schwesinger wasn't even in the field of view when the play occurred, even though nine other Browns players were engaged.