5 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE Super Show-Down

Triple H closes the show on top, but The Undertaker & Kane open the door for a Shawn Michaels return

Ronda Rousey
WWE.com

Strewth be told, this show was already a bit of a sleeper hit before it even started.

The card, on late-in-the-day reflection ahead of bell-time, hung together well for the glorified house show obviously planned when the event was first announced. In a pre-Network era, this type of occasion would be the preserve of only the most hardcore of pay-per-view purchasers, if it even happened at all. For a country long in love with WWE, Australia has long been under-served by the company in terms of a semi-regular live event loop, but the madness of 2018 saw the organisation go from zero-to-60,000 in a matter of moments.

In this brave and monied new world, it's the sort of thing that may happen with increasingly regularity - global live crowds get the opportunity to experience a WrestleMania-like atmosphere, Saudi Arabian princes get whatever the f*ck they decide to fantasy book that week, whilst WWE Network subscribers get a little more bang for their buck without being patronised by a pre-show masquerading as additional content content.

Indeed, there wasn't even a kickoff panel to endure - this show really did have plenty going for it. Less went over Down Under than could have, but the boundaries were occasionally reached either side of a few golden ducks...

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Contributor
Contributor

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