For all the company seemed buzzed to announce the "70,000" attendance figure almost immediately after the show started, the lighting of the upper tiers from the opening match onward suggested they were once again factoring in fans, staff and toilet attendants alike in just as they did to tiptoe over the 100,000+ record at 2016's WrestleMania 32.
More's the pity, too. The cavernous venue faded to black as night fell on Melbourne, but it lost much of its lustre as a result. Luxurious pre-show photos showed the venue in all its glory - WWE were content to half its overall impact by the time action got underway.
The "glorified house show" tag is an ugly stick to beat any event with, not least because it reduces the status of the touring shows below the dirt AJ Styles hoped to tip all over Samoa Joe in Australia. This was anything but that. WWE did everything they could from a presentation point of view to tell the viewers so, but it was a shame that soft ticket sales in the top seats meant they couldn't quite show it.
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
