Downs…
3. Bandido Normalised For The Ethan Page Project
Bandido being given a banana skin victory on Rampage only to predictably lose days later anyway is all the more reason why the flashy new signing and former Ring Of Honor Champion probably shouldn't have been in the tournament in the first place.
That's two matches in a row where the flyer felt as though his wings had been clipped by the end, and because Ethan Page has been signposted as a tournament finalist since before the brackets even existed, somebody else probably should have stepped in to take this inevitable loss.
Page has cruised through to the Full Gear final, which is at very least the point of all this. He'll be fresh as a daisy for a Ricky Starks that now has to get past Lance Archer and Brian Cage ("you big dumb b*tch" Lore incoming) before he can even take a swing at The Firm's main man. This thread is the best story beat of a tournament that's otherwise felt a little undercooked and unimportant.
Michael Hamflett
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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
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