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

3. Wrestling Machine

Shane McMahon WrestleMania 33
WWE.com

Most people assumed that Shane McMahon wanted a match with AJ Styles in order to show the 'Phenomenal One' what an incredible flier he was en route to another stunt-filled defeat. That, in hindsight, would have been more palatable.

'The Boy Wonder' didn't soar from the ginormous ring-above-the-ring stationed in the Orlando sky, nor scale the roller coaster stage to loop and drop like the prop itself. No, Shane McMahon...wrestled.

The fix was in early doors, as commentators waxed lyrical about Shane's technical prowess as if he were Dennis Rodman pulling off a sweet leapfrog. In a year bursting with incongruent vanity from 'The Money', Shane chose the richest occasion to try and go measure for measure with the finest performer in the company and one of the best wrestlers in the world.

It was an absurdly booked match most enjoyed in spite of themselves thanks to Styles' incredible ability to draw an engaging battle over any old pillock. McMahon was that old pillock, hitting his Van Terminator ripoff as well as thankfully not injuring himself with the ugliest shooting star press this side of the one Billy Kidman concussed Chavo Guerrero with in 2004.

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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