4 Ups And 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE Talking Smack (Jan 10)

5. Down - Undertaken

Alexa Bliss
WWE.com

Following their Wrestlemania 34 discussion, Renee thankfully brought things back to present day by rightfully highlighting the huge news from Monday Night Raw that The Undertaker had officially announced his entry into the Royal Rumble.

Whilst omitting any mention of Undertaker's decision to reveal the news on Raw instead of 'his yard' Smackdown Live, the two were bursting with enthusiasm for the addition of 'The Deadman' without kicking up the slightest bit of fuss that Monday's show had effectively stolen their thunder.

As the regular pot-stirrer when it comes to Raw, it felt like a moment where Daniel Bryan could have contributed more, or at least provided a legitimate excuse why the 'Demon of Death Valley' suddenly abandoned his spiritual home after cutting an impassioned promo for the brand's success shortly before Survivor Series.

The impact of the Brand Extension and ramifications on title matches are factors WWE have neglected to explain in the build-up to this year's 30-man war, so The Undertaker's positioning on the roster in general remains a mystery in itself.

Less equipped to deal with discrepancy, Shane McMahon trumpeted the huge star power in the match instead, and simply refused to enter himself when needled about the possibility by Renee.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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