Lost to countless other substantially worse programmes for the pair, Nikki Bella and Natalya's late-2016/early-2017 programme provided the latter with a remarkable reinvention as a sh*thouse heel and confirmed that the former's in-ring improvement the prior year had been no fluke.
With neither as tied to the Women's Revolution as the Four Horsewomen or the raft of new talents emerging on SmackDown Live after the brand split, the matches weren't expected to shine as brightly as they did - particularly considering the eyes both must have had for something big at WrestleMania mere months later.
Kicking the f*ck out of each other in several worthy fights, the two kept themselves relevant in a fiercely competitive period, with Natalya later going on to reign as Women's Champion in recognition of these contributions.
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
