It's now commonplace to find legions of main roster stalwarts without singles WrestleMania matches on their CV - injuries, bad booking and/or timing can often remove the opportunity forever at worst, or relegate them to a battle royal at best.
The Sultan, after grafting beforehand as a Headshrinker before and Rikishi after, got his turn during the lowest ebb in his WWE tenure. The same too could be said for the goosesh*t green Rocky Maivia he was asked to lay down for.
An Intercontinental Title scrap that was the opposite of what it eventually would be when the two went to war years later, Rocky's white meat push was knee deep in vocal audience rejection here - something The Sultan wasn't permitted to articulate in storylines thanks to the absence of a tongue. If only the 'Blue Chipper' had been armed with a microphone....
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, 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
