Elevation by desperation was a card WWE played poorly before WrestleMania 29 as Jack Swagger returned from obscurity alongside industry legend Dutch Mantell rebadged as hard right Tea Party fans keen to do away with immigrants such as World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio.
The story was problematic, but not for the reasons that might be most obvious.
Alberto wasn't clicking so well as a face that fans flocked to his side against the borderline bigotry. Swagger, despite 'Zeb Colter's powerful promos, wasn't drawing anywhere near the heat expected for the gimmick. A DUI slap-bang in the middle of the push cooled the IRL crowd on him regardless of his kayfabe actions, too. The match, subsequently, never stood a chance.
WWE didn't double down on the racism when it didn't get over, but had no motivation to go the whole way with the 'All American American' anyway. In the only post-match reassessment that made sense, Del Rio was a heel again by the spring.
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
