Much has been written about WWE's hideously problematic agreement with Saudi Arabia over the last two years - probably enough to not spend any longer on it here than is absolutely necessary. But what, then, is necessary at this point?
The deal was a dirty one, WWE's decision to stick with it in spite of the Jamal Khashoggi murder ahead of Crown Jewel 2018 was even filthier, and the shows that followed as a result have been amongst the silliest in company history. Reductively so, in fact. Greatest Royal Rumble, the first Crown Jewel and Super ShowDown were so absurd that the insanity created a thin enough smokescreen to get through them in the first place.
The deal has eight years left to run, but do WWE's suits even have enough sleeves, let alone tricks still to pull from them?
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
