7 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE Backstage (Nov 5)
2. HBOkay
WWE
Only in the opposite land of his retirement could Shawn Michaels take the brilliant and make it bland, but that's what he did regarding NXT's SmackDown invasion until he traced the remarkable late notice nature of the broadcast. He noted that the crew "landed at 7:55pm" and that he "was getting texts about what might happen on the show and trying to translate that to the talent on the bus".
How is WWE so much better when it's getting booked over iPhone with five minutes to air?
Booker T's insanity stole the show yet again. "I got a lot of respect for you Shawn, I always call you The Fish They Call Wanda - The One That Got Away" joins the an overpopulated Hall Of Fame of bullsh*t he's come out with over the years, but it was so stupid that it kept things convivial as they shared anecdotes about coaching young talent.
This wasn't a showstopper, but it wasn't so bad that it stopped the show.
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
