The Great Khali winning a pre-show Battle Royal was the sort of inoffensive patter that used to warm up WrestleMania crowds before the kickoff almost became a pay-per-view in itself, but the indirect ramifications from 2011's went on to change the history of the 'Show Of Shows'.
The entire match formed from the embers of an abandoned Daniel Bryan/Sheamus United States Title clash, itself already booted from the main card.
P*ssed off at being p*ssed on, the pair's position was only slightly improved the following year - and audiences were beginning to lose their patience too.
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
