CM Punk had dug deep into just one of the disdainful ways he'd been treated by the creative team during his WWE tenure for a surprisingly enjoyable WrestleMania programme with Randy Orton, but as we'd all later learn, by simply not main eventing, he'd already lost.
New Nexus leader Punk had set his charges on 'The Viper' thanks to Orton's 2008 attack that cost 'The Straight Edge Superstar' the World Heavyweight Championship, but Randy's punt had knocked all of them out of the picture before the 'Show Of Shows' scrap.
With responsibility falling to Punk and Punk alone, the heel was made to swallow his medicine and disappear back off to the midcard before dropping a "Pipe Bomb" on the organisation several months later. It never got him where he wanted and needed to be on the 'Grandest Stage', but he was at least still building a legitimately impressive in-ring CV under the brightest lights.
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
