6 Ups & 4 Downs From Last Night's WWE Backstage (Jan 28)
1. Football Stuff
WWE
"It is what it is" was Roman Reigns' final line as the panel wrapped up the Super Bowl special edition of Backstage - it echoed the glum acceptance from any of the audience not switched on to the goings-on of the gridiron.
What the f*ck was 'The Big Dog' on about here? Even without understanding the context, the cadence of it revealed an atypical uncertainty behind the microphone. Like Louis Theroux asking himself questions in the WCW Power Plant, Reigns leaning on "baby" to end every sentence was the sort of stuff that gives the viewer a tight end.
That's a football reference, right? Pardon your writer if there wasn't one going spare from this rather awkward show-closing exchange.
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
