5 Most Insane Things Happening In Wrestling Right Now (March 22)

3. The Most Quintessentially WWE 23 Seconds Ever

wrestlemania 35 attendance
WWE.com

We timed this.

From the moment Kurt Angle, on Monday Night RAW, uttered the words "Baron Corbin", to the moment Chad Gable's entrance music hit, it took 23 seconds for WWE to both deliver the most underwhelming WrestleMania singles match in years and taunt us with the fantasy booking alternative. This was impressive in its sheer gall.

This was such a quintessentially "WWE" thing to do. It could not have been more WWE unless it injected you with steroids in the back of a limousine and bantered you off with a smirk on RAW 24 hours later. And it barely matters that WWE might yet retcon it; they thought this was a good idea!

To drill into the subsequent furore: it's almost sweet that many were expecting a swerve, and not a retcon, as if WWE couldn't possibly promote a match nobody wants to see. It's not like WWE to promote the most unpopular character in the company like this, even though, for several months, Corbin appeared for a cumulative third of the draining three-hour RAW programme. As hot as the finish was, Monday proved that there is no classic match left within the legend. Last year's Drew McIntyre annihilation proved also that Angle's aura has dissipated, too. It didn't do a great deal for the Scottish Psychopath.

Nobody can extract a great match nor get over by beating Angle, so why not pay off a months-long storyline in the form of a lightning squash? Is just one minute of Baron Corbin too much?

Yes.

Yes it is.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!