Brock Lesnar's dominant destruction of Roman Reigns was an elegant solution to an obvious problem after the 'Big Dog' became the confirmed figure of fan loathing at January's Royal Rumble.
A rub from The Rock, a win over Daniel Bryan and months of television talk of him being a perfectly nice guy after all hadn't done anything to bring the audience around on the former Shield member, and Lesnar's destructive domination steered into the crowd's bloodlust. Smiling through the sh*tkicking, Reigns role was far from that of a pasted passenger - he was a gutsy and confident hero to himself, if not a fanbase that fundamentally refused to support him.
WWE had another ace up their sleeve too. A match this powerful needed an equally enjoyable finish, and the company weren't about to bodge the biggest bit...
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
