An intriguing television pairing had the two been positioned as such in the run up to the show, a first time meeting between Matt Menard and Bryan Danielson never escaped its p*ss-weak origin story.
Hardcore wrestling fans haven't complained for decades about the stupidity of impromptu wrestling matches for decades just to strain their voices and Edge-like veins in their foreheads. The device rips at the fraying fabric of a wrestling show's legitimacy longterm, and tanks investment in matches in such a way that wrestlers have to get a crowd back rather than having them from the start.
Such was the case here. A milquetoast opener had flashes of of fun due to Menard's insane charisma, inherent in-ring genius of Bryan and Angelo Parker's commitment to getting clocked and carried out by Claudio Castagnoli. But the shlocky set-up foreshadowed no real reason to care, and the live crowd weren't prepared to buy it as action, comedy or drama.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 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 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 in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, 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
