10 Impulse Reactions Following WWE Great Balls Of Fire

2. 'Bonus Match'

Braun Strowman
WWE.com

For all the drama and confusion around the aftermath of the Ambulance Match, credit to WWE for finding a neat way to present the norm as if to emphasis the chaos.

A far cry from the abandonment of the live crowd during the taped portion of Payback's 'House of Horrors' earlier this year, the decision to send Curt Hawkins and Heath Slater out there for nothing match provided a paradoxically interesting and yet completely ignorable distraction whilst the usual gang of idiots tried in vain to potentially save Braun Strowman's life.

It is perhaps telling that WWE now knows of the damage done to lower card stars in the modern era that they can present a wrestling match almost designed to get people to look another way, but it was at least a crude utilisation of what they have.

Completing the experimental display, Heath was victorious off camera whilst all the real action took place in the parking lot. In another time, a divisive character such as Vince Russo may have been pilloried for such a stunt, but the arrangement was handled with unusual aplomb, and kept the show moving amongst the chaos.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett