WWE's two-year agreement with Atlantic City's Trump Plaza loaned both events there a sort of glitzy aesthetic - 'The Donald's unashamed flaunting of his wealth seeped out of every gaudy golden tie-back - but the arrangement filled the venue with far too many disinterested parties.
Tickets for the Atlantic City 'Show Of Shows' were offered as part of hotel packages for travelling tourists. 50% of a crowd only 50% interest in the product had a toxic impact on the matches at times - if it wasn't Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage or (to a much lesser extent) somebody really bloody massive like Andre The Giant, the bored amongst the monied brood just didn't give a sh*t.
It was obviously financially shrewd enough to justify a return in 1989, but not so sound that the company made a semi-permanent home there for one of their other pay-per-views.
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
