On the pilot and soft-launch edition of Backstage, sports stars were brought into the studio for promo battles against Booker T and Christian respectively. The spots were greeted with mixed feedback, and that may have been what triggered a change-up on the first show proper.
Like the man himself, an enjoyable featurette on Rob Gronkowski's contributions to WWE over the past few years didn't outstay its welcome, and fed into a brief discussion on some of the best crossovers in wrestling history.
Conspicuous by their absence in most of the discussion, Tyson Fury and Cain Velasquez didn't feature with any prominence. This was fluff, but not the sort that overstuffs either of the major brands. As much as anything that feels like the entire modus operandi of this broadly enjoyable 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
