Tony Khan got some pelters this week (it's 2022, after all) for taking to Twitter to reiterate an email that had been sent to all talent and staff about missing this week's Dynamite and Rampage tapings if they were, in any way, impacted by the impending and current threat of Hurricane Ian.
By virtue of him putting it out there in public, the story didn't go unreported, but the significance of it did.
For as long as wrestlers have ran the ropes, the mantra has been for them to make towns at all costs. The show - as proven during a devastating global pandemic - must go on, as per the minds of the men and women in an industry that has simply never accepted defeat to elements outside of itself. The tenets of the "business" have gaslit performers for generations, and just about every booker, promoter and powerbroker in industry history has taken advantage of that.
Khan revealed a human being under that chaotic exterior this week, attempted to undo about 100 years of mistreatment, and got less credit for it than he did keeping count-outs and disqualifications in the single figures for a few years.
If all that scans as generosity or making excuses in advance of a bad show, then it's...possibly because it is. Dynamite had some pretty big problems, so here lies a partial pass before we get into the guts of a weird evening in Philadelphia.
Let's light the fuse...
(Andy H. Murray had to deal with an eel, but will be back as normal next week)
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.
