10 Ups & 0 Downs From AEW Dynamite (25 Jan - Review)
8. ADAM COLE? PAY PAY!
AEW
Adam Cole's wicked return promo a fortnight ago thrillingly foreshadowed the babyface turn he was inexplicably deprived during an otherwise-remarkable 2017-2021 NXT run. In it, Cole gave everybody the whats, hows and whys of his difficult time away from the ring, but like all great wrestling speeches, left everybody wanting even more.
Specifically, the when.
That was answered here.
Going through various drills in an empty arena, Cole stopped midway through running the ropes to take a long look at the Revolution banner hanging in the corner. Asked and answered from AEW, and in a way that puts the returning former NXT and ROH Champion on a pedestal a star of his magnitude deserves. Cole is both prize fighter and prize - the man worth paying to see as a fan, and the man worth fighting on a big stage to try and put him right back out of action.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for 10 years. Alongside the production of daily written, audio and video content covering WWE and AEW, he 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 on the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 10,000 episodes and 70,000,000 total downloads. He also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House!, Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast, and has guested on long-running Sunderland AFC podcast Wise Men Say.
With WhatCulture, he has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. He has also been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling.
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 music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.
