6 Ups & 4 Downs From Last Night's WWE Backstage (Jan 28)

Christian on Edge, Roman Reigns on The Super Bowl and Booker T on whatever Booker T's usually on...

by Michael Hamflett
Christian Backstage
WWE

WrestleMania 35's historic main event may now be confined to the rear view mirror, but last week's Backstage was evidence that there's still some magic in the air when 'The Man' comes around.

Understated in its succinct simplicity, last week's edition was the best episode of the show so far. Low on fluff but high on non-kayfabe self-reflection, several earnest discussions on the current state of women's wrestling foreshadowed much of the agenda to come. Becky Lynch's pointed remarks about the past, present and future of her division were reflected within days on a wider scale - after campaigning for "Women's" to be removed as a qualifier, NXT did exactly that with Rhea Ripley's coveted Championship.

Utilising CM Punk's connection with the audience but pulling back on the out-and-out exploitation of his presence, the show inserted 'The Voice Of The Voiceless' as a mouthpiece for progression, capturing the spirit of his Saudi Arabia tweet without the problematic causticity of its subject matter.

This, idle chatter, celebrity segments, "Social Media SmackDown" and all, has conspired to become a very good wrestling show. And while 'The Straight Edge Superstar' wasn't on hand this week to break down the aftermath of the Royal Rumble, but The New Day, Roman Reigns and raucous live crowd were. How did it go?

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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