10 Positive Developments In This Awful Post-WWE WrestleMania Season

3. They Haven't Knackered Andrade Almas Yet

Seth Rollins
WWE.com

10 points seemed like a stretch in the pitching process, and here we are: clinging to the bare minimum required of any wrestling promotion equipped with the knowledge that, if Almas maintains this momentum by this time next year, he will have bucked a monumentally deflating trend.

Still, WWE has normalised acts over a similar timeframe, and Almas remains a special proposition. What a worker he is. How he avoids removing the head from the shoulders of his opponents with his spinning back elbow is as astonishing as his overall grasp of character and the crucial swagger needed to put it over as main event material. The man is explosive in there, but is a genius enough talent to structure a simmering match of seemingly endless climaxes that somehow never feel like popcorn spot-fests. He is a marvellous pro wrestler with a marvellous valet. You'd hope the photogenic presence of Zelina Vega alone is sufficient for a company, obsessed with the superficial, to not waste this superb act.

WWE will probably tarnish him as suddenly as that elbow is struck, which tempers the excitement factor. But for now, Almas is nearly decapitating jobbers left and right, and it feels like a neat reversion to the days in which WWE was equally as good at the slow-build as Almas is.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!