14 WWE WrestleMania 34 Impulse Reactions

13. Heart & Soul

Roman Reigns
WWE

The Cruiserweight Title's passable rebirth clash between Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali didn't really have a benchmark match for comparison. Neville's defence against Austin Aries on last year's 'Show Of Shows' was a far superior clash, but existed in a time of discerning captaincy of a sinking ship from the 'Man That Gravity Forgot'.

Back then, the contests meant little to anybody beyond those in them. Hope sprung earlier this year though in the dark shadow cast by Enzo Amore's ugly departure from the brand and entire company, After initial fears that his title vacation was the final death knell for a brand long confined to life support by company and audiences alike, the scandal resulted in Triple H seizing creative control and all performers being given renewed purpose by reinvigorating title tournament.

Ali and Alexander's final was the culmination, but the battling babyface business was a little too twee at times. The Saturday Morning kids show shouts of 'HEART!' and 'SOUL!' were about as on-the-nose as Ali's flashy entrance mask, but the story between the shoddy subtly was good enough to initiate a modicum of interest as Cedric scored his redemptive scalp.

Contributor
Contributor

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