San Diego was in the mood for pro g*ddamn wrestling, and this three-way offered absolutely loads of it even if the awesome Big Bill's shine portion was gobbled up by a picture-in-picture commercial break.
After several middling months trapped in the lamest chapters of his longstanding story with Keith Lee, Swerve Strickland built on an awesome showing in Sunday's Blackjack Battle Royal with a gripping victory here, using his particularly unique style to get around Big Bill's power game and Trent Berretta's veteran experience and skill.
Underpinned by the Double Or Nothing booking - the three all came close to taking Orange Cassidy's title before the Champion retained and made minor headlines in their own rights as a result - this had echoes of a time before rankings were needlessly binned, informed the rising heat by the finish, and set Swerve up for a singles match fans pined for after the weekend's electric exchange. Emblematic of the night at large, the match was a provisional Up before it hit the ring and delivered on its immense promise. The power might actually be back.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 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. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, 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
