5 Ups & 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE Backstage (Jan 14)
3. Promo School
WWE
WWE Backstage, regardless of the company's monied deal with Fox and whatever marketing budget they afford it, is not must-see TV.
There's yet to be an angle or a scoop or a moment beyond CM Punk's surprising return that made it appointment viewing, and though it benefits from the light and shade across the hour, this is too wooly for its own good.
Freddie Prinze Jr was the best of the bunch to so far try this by an absolute mile, and The New Day were enjoyable pre-recorded extras to aid Xavier Woods in his battle. But
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
