10 WWE Clash Of Champions 2017 Impulse Reactions

3. Unfashionably Late

Daniel Bryan Shane McMahon
WWE.com

'Fashion Files' was an unexpected highlight of 2017, existing almost outside the realms of the WWE product Vince McMahon actually pays attention to. Not dissimilar from cult favourite NXT Redemption (coincidentally Fandango's last secret success), the weekly shorts were a rare breed for the company. The writing was self-effacing, the visual gags were genuinely funny, and the vignettes seemed designed to actually get talent over rather than cruelly bully them.

Ironically, the in-segment bullying of supporting characters The Ascension was the point at which the segments descended to unproductive farce. Earlier in the year, The Fashion Police had earned a shot at The Usos' Tag Titles on pay-per-view, and were also routinely used in WWE's carrot-and-stick game with live crowds keen to beat the traffic during 205 Live.

A secret attacker storyline had all the subtlety of a hammer to the face, fittingly so when The Bludgeon Brothers turned up armed with the oversized Thor prop. It was at least, a payoff to the silly '2B' clue, as was this TV squash masquerading as a pay-per-view conclusion.

It allegedly marked the end of the 'Fashion Files' altogether, which could in turn end Breeze and 'Dango's chances of making any further mark on the blue brand. On evidence of their abilities just to take a convincing sh*tkicking from Harper and Rowan, it would be criminal (nyuk nyuk) to let them go to waste.

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