There was moment within seconds of Big Cass' rather forced 2017 heel turn in which there existed a sliver of hope that the unwanted severance with best friend Enzo Amore might yield something worthwhile.
Amore shed a tear.
The most problematic Big Apple resident since Joey Tribbiani might have been plucking leg hairs out with tweezers, but it brilliantly sold the impact of his big buddy's betrayal. Like his body in weeks prior, his heart was now also broken. As the perpetrator and office choice for elevation from the pair, this should have been the launching pad from upon which Cass' rocket push began. Instead, the programme almost instantly ran out of fuel.
A feeble feud between the pair roped in The Big Show as the company scoured the roster for somebody to put the newly-minted heel over beyond his goofball former friend, leading to a SummerSlam match that was comfortably one of the pay-per-view lowlights of 2017. A greased up Enzo Amore literally trying to escape the match was a fitting allegory for their entire split. Astonishingly, the worst was yet to come...
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.
