By Mandy Coombes [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Men On A Mission were one of the New Generation era’s more cringeworthy acts. Flanked by their manager Oscar, Mabel and Mo were a couple of lighthearted, heavyset bruisers out to spread a positive, empowering message through wrestling (and rapping, unfortunately), and while they enjoyed moderate popularity, they were never cut out to be a headlining act.
WWE tried to push Mabel into the spotlight by having him win King Of The Ring in 1995, but as a team, Men On A Mission’s big moment came at a 1994 house show. The duo defeated WWE Tag Team Champions The Quebecers that night, but it wasn’t in the script, and only came through a botched kickout.
The finish occurred when Mabel, who weighed 487lbs at his heaviest, fell on top of Pierre Ouellet, stunning him. This rendered the Quebecer incapable of kicking out, and the referee was forced to make the three-count. WWE fixed the error by having the former champs regain the titles at another house show two days later, but the change was reported on WWE television, and remains in the title history today.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for 10 years. Alongside the production of daily written, audio and video content covering WWE and AEW, he 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 on the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 10,000 episodes and 70,000,000 total downloads. He also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House!, Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast, and has guested on long-running Sunderland AFC podcast Wise Men Say.
With WhatCulture, he has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. He has also been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling.
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 music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.
