7 Ups & 8 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (11 Oct)
3. Paradise?
WWE.com
...for all Kofi Kingston's frustrating lack of follow-up hurt his chances of getting anywhere near the belt now slung back over Brock Lesnar's shoulder, full credit to him for slotting straight back in alongside Xavier Woods and Big E for a mini-banger of a six-man tag team match with the Raw-bound OC trio.
All about the quick tags and hope spots for the bulk of the lean six minutes it was afforded, a series of impressive reversals fed into a Kingston pinfall victory over AJ Styles after slipping out of a calf-crusher as well as just about everything else the 'Phenomenal One' tried.
Though tepid at times, Kofi's title reign may have done much for his Trouble In Paradise finisher over the summer. Now an out-of-nowhere move, the lack of an intricate set-up offers the opportunity for shock wins such as these.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for 10 years. Alongside the production of daily written, audio and video content covering WWE and AEW, he 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 on the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 10,000 episodes and 70,000,000 total downloads. He also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House!, Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast, and has guested on long-running Sunderland AFC podcast Wise Men Say.
With WhatCulture, he has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. He has also been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling.
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 music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.
