When Jordan Devlin made his first WWE-branded appearance in 2017, he was pilloried for sharing more than a passing resemblance to his trainer Finn Bálor - then a performer robbed of Universal Title supremacy by injury.
Two years is a lifetime in wrestling.
Bálor's return has been, at times, catastrophic, whilst Devlin's spell since has been spent tightening up looser aspects of his game in time for this high profile redebut. On commentary, Nigel McGuinness noted his 12-month unbeaten streak as Irish Champion for Over The Top Wrestling, and Devlin's confidence gained from the run was fiercely apparent.
Jordan was polished and professional in his victory over the colourless Tucker, doing much for his foe before strolling to the inevitable win. His convoluted finisher (the diminutive Devlin holds his opponent in a fireman's carry before dropping them with an inverted DDT) needs a name pronto, but he gave the brand's bosses plenty of reasons to make those further investments in him going forward.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for 10 years. Alongside the production of daily written, audio and video content covering WWE and AEW, he 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 on the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 10,000 episodes and 70,000,000 total downloads. He also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House!, Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast, and has guested on long-running Sunderland AFC podcast Wise Men Say.
With WhatCulture, he has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. He has also been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling.
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 music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.
