...or can't. And the show was surprisingly better for it.
For a programme that required promos to keep it hot, the wordless brawl between long-standing rivals Christian Cage and Jack Perry was one of the more memorable exchanges between the two.Perry drilling Cage before he got a chance to spout his bile was as logical as it was hard-hitting, and the wily veteran ending the segment on top preserved his character while further enhancing the morals and ethics of his former partner.
Bloodying up the babyface might have been more effective if the floodgates (bloodgates?) hadn’t been flung wide open of late, but Christian doing this instead of verbally going low when MJF also had to was quietly inspired booking. The match - surely a stipped-up brawl planned for Revolution - no longer feels like a non-kayfabe case of a company getting around to finishing what they started. The hatred feels renewed, and very real.
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
