Lio Rush's magnetic charisma (that, for one week, was the hottest babyface act on the show) rapidly became what it literally was all along - Vince McMahon's latest way of antagonising his own audience. It's just been a contributing factor to the comprehensive failure to make the best of Bobby Lashley.
Rush's physical gifts and outstanding obnoxiousness was designed to save drowning babyface Bobby, but the former ECW Champion had already been submerged by then. Thanks to wilful neglect, it appears as though he'll fail for the second time on the main roster. His stints may have been decades apart, but 2018's audience indifference matches up rather well with the 2007 vintage.
McMahon has always prided himself on being able to get the most out of guys that look and work like Lashley, but the chemistry will perhaps never be quite right with one of the very best to fall into his lap.
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
