10 Things You Didn't Know About WWE In 2012

6. Both Versions Of D-Generation X Were Together For The First Time

CM Punk AJ Lee
damien-sandow.com

Raw 1000 had such a positive energy about it that nobody really seemed to mind that much when the haggard-looking D-Generation X lot battered up-and-comer Damien Sandow in the opening segment.

Perhaps this was due to the unique makeup of the neon green gang?

For the first time outside of a cameo segment in 1999, the Shawn Michaels/Triple H and Triple H/X-Pac/New Age Outlaws versions of the team were together under the DX banner. Back then, it was all to fool Michaels into thinking he was in safe company before taking a sh*t-kicking from The Corporation. In 2012, it was to celebrate the company's decision to reopen the door to Pac and The Outlaws. Chyna, regrettably, was still absent.

'HBK' and 'The Game' had been fiercely protective over the branding since they brought it back to be milked to a condescending degree in the mid-2000s, but this collective version added to the celebratory air of the night and of DX itself. It was very, very different in its varied incarnations, but the erasure of the 1998 edition had been a source of frustration.

Even with the notable omission of the 'Ninth Wonder Of The World', there was something quite gratifying about all this on the night.

Contributor
Contributor

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