5 Ups & 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE Backstage (Jan 14)
1. Headbangers
WWE
No performative position should ever expose a pro wrestler, not least the warm and welcoming environment of something like a WWE Backstage time-filler, but Ember Moon's freezing up during a game night show-closer was oddly uncomfortable.
Following some twin magic from The Usos as they romped to victory with a selection of quickfire impressions and logical guesses, Moon and Xavier Woods were stumped by the former NXT Champion's struggles to think of ways to impersonate Farooq, Dude Love and, shamefully, Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Moon's been excellent in an analytical role on this show, but struggles when put on the spot in quickfire situations such as these. On a show that normally only makes good on main roster creative mistakes and minutes don't feel like hours, this was some time-standing-still awkwardness she shouldn't be subjected to again.
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
