The culmination of a stunning four-year tale, Triple H and The Undertaker's WrestleMania XXVIII Hell In A Cell battle was subtitled the 'End of an Era', as 'The Game' alongside guest referee Shawn Michaels put to bed their attempts to conquer The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak.
It, rather fatalistically, didn't go searching for the beginning of the next one.
Shawn's iconic encounters with 'The Deadman' at WrestleMania 25 and XXVI were never going to be topped by Triple H (or anybody else), but Hunter's gallant losing effort against The Undertaker in 2011 drew praise for finding surprising new ways to convince audiences that he could actually lose.
The Cell was more background than playground, and a Superkick/Pedigree combo almost put 'Taker down. His kick out drew an apoplectic reaction that reduced the crowd to a child-like state. His recovery and eventual win allowed them all to continue to believe in something approaching the fantastical.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for 10 years. Alongside the production of daily written, audio and video content covering WWE and AEW, he 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 on the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 10,000 episodes and 70,000,000 total downloads. He also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House!, Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast, and has guested on long-running Sunderland AFC podcast Wise Men Say.
With WhatCulture, he has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. He has also been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling.
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 music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.
