Cargill's original verbals with Cody and Brandi Rhodes seemed to divide the audience, but the controlled and shorter setting she was afforded backstage allowed for her to work through the substantial changes that have occurred since the original Shaq tease was dropped.
It is, in truth, a bit of a mess, and this was as much a stalling device as anything else. But it spoke to Cargill's strength as a talker that the angle still feels hot and The Rhodes' - pregnancy and all - still have their hands full.
A slight negative was trying to work out where exactly Vickie Guerrero, Nyla Rose and Red Velvet might factor into any of this, considering their placement on the fringes of the main story. Again, Cargill's obvious poise and megastar aura distracted from all of that, which will likely be a big benefit until the company gets their ducks in a row with whatever remains of the angle.
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
