10 Things That Made Us Embarrassed To Be Wrestling Fans In 2017

7. Going Live

Dolph Ziggler
WWE

A feud so bloody dull that it's almost too difficult to commit any more words to it here, the Bobby Roode/Dolph Ziggler storyline fell into the same traps as 'The Show-Off's failed rivalry with Shinsuke Nakamura following his own NXT call-up. They fought for a reason never adequately explored, nobody particularly got a leg up from any of it, and the promos were a complete embarrassment.

His verbals with 'The King Of Strong Style' were mostly down to the abysmal scripting shoved under the nose of the newcomer, but Ziggler had to oversell more than ever before when Bobby Roode completely froze up attempting to book a rematch between the two for next week's episode. Looking a little less than 'Glorious', Roode's visible panic made the silence completely excruciating, especially when it was abundantly clear where creatively the pair had to get to.

To his credit, Dolph saved the day, having experienced just about every kind of live curve ball a career with WWE can launch at your pristine hair. Destined never to get near the main event ever again but theoretically still too handy between the ropes to shift out of the company side-door though, he didn't win back any credibility from rescuing the flub.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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