7 Ups & 4 Downs From Last Night's WWE Backstage (Dec 10)
3. The 55-Minute Man
WWE
A gem of a tale from CM Punk followed the discussion of last minute changes as the 'Voice Of The Voiceless' dropped a story that many (your writer included) hadn't ever heard about the occasional perils of weather and travel.
Recalling a house show lampooned by bad weather and travel, Punk noted how the ready-to-go roster was made up of himself, Chavo Guerrero, The Undertaker and MVP. Thinking on the fly, agent Ricky Steamboat asked if the two ECW men could work 60 minutes on the fly to try and fill the gap until others arrived.
They did, but only at the 55-minute mark. Punk may have been masking a humblebrag, but this was the sort of anecdote that makes a show like this so invaluable in spite of potential drag.
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
