Rowdy Roddy Piper's WrestleMania return should have been cause for immense celebration considering the emotional response to his exit two years earlier - it was instead sacrificed for an exhibition of Vince McMahon's broadest comedic instincts.
The attempt to troll the audience with Brother Love fell as flat as one of Bruce Prichard's pristine back bumps even when the 'Rowdy' one bantered him off, but the over-long and meandering spot between Piper and Morton Downey Jr burnt out quicker than one of the talk show host's tabs.
Ironic that Piper kept a fire extinguisher on hand at all times in the Pit, even if it was this time deployed long after the show had already been reduced to ash.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 almost 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 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL 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
