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 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
