Vince McMahon's typically throaty "Welcome To WrestleMania" and introduction of Ray Charles was as good as the pageantry got all night. The ugly feedback that spewed from Charles' microphone foreshadowed how critics and audiences alike received the three-cornered supercard.
Different announce teams, different wrestlers, different rings, even, highlighted why this wasn't the right time to attempt something so grand. New York, Chicago and Los Angeles were fine locations, but all three towns were killed in one night as arenas full of fans were forced to squint and primitive screens to watch everything that wasn't happening live.
Production costs didn't allow venues to be flicked between either - New York's crowd were forced to sit through two cards after they'd watched their own, whilst the LA faithful were two hours deep into their seats before a worked punch was thrown.
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
