Celebrities are retrospectively reduced when rewatching old WrestleManias, but this turgid take often refuses to take a closer look at the times in question.
In 1994 as with any point beyond that in his remarkable life, Burt Reynolds was great value. But so too was USA Network's Rhonda Shear as his (and Shawn Michaels') foil. Sy Sperling briefly brought follicles back for 'The Fink' in a humorous Madison Square Moment for Howard, whilst Jennie Garth and Donnie Wahlberg brought an uncharacteristically youthful air to an uncharacteristically youthful product.
This wasn't yet 'The New Generation' from a branding perspective, but when Vince McMahon used Bret Hart's Championship celebrations to talk about "blasting off into the next decade", he couldn't have made his intentions any clearer.
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
