Downs…
2. The New (And Improved?) Outcasts
2023 was the year All Elite Wrestling lost grip of its "let it play out" privileges, and when it comes to the booking of the women's division, did the company ever really have any?
There was much to praise in that regard elsewhere on the show, but a follow-up interview with Saraya, Ruby Soho and new Outcasts recruit Harley Cameron didn't feel much like a giant leap for the league. Having pulled a massive knife out at random on last week's show, Cameron's ker-ayzy was toned down a little this week, but not enough to stop Soho from rightfully pointing out that they may have just added one deluded psychopath to the group to replace the former one. Saraya, with little care for the logic, seemed convinced of the supposedly great plan to keep Cameron around, but offered almost zero explanation why.
Wafer-thin characterisations, a dated and fake-feeling persona for the malleable former QTV star and the apparent dropping of Saraya and Soho's beef in exchange for keeping a dead stable alive. The story has yet to walk let alone run, and it already feels on its last legs.
Michael Hamflett
Contributor
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.
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