There's been lots of discussion lately about the need within AEW to restore and/or revive "the feeling".
MJF himself tweeted about it, knowing exactly where much of the conversation was at because he's had much of the criticism pointed directly at him in his position as Champion and somebody with fairly tight control on his own creative. He knows better than most what people mean by it too - in programmes against Cody Rhodes, CM Punk and Wardlow, he was responsible for the feeling more than just about anybody to walk through the doors of All Elite Wrestling beyond the stable that bear its name.
He wasn't advertised for this week's show, but the spectre of his current storyline situation loomed large in the background. What was Samoa Joe - his World's End opponent and current protectorate - going to say? What might The Devil fancy doing with the World Champion shelved either legitimately or as part of an elaborate ruse? And away from all that, could the penultimate week for the Continental Classic continue the restorative sensation it's cultivated over the course of the last experimental month?
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.
