Both Batista and Umaga were grossly underserved by the WrestleMania 24 build and stuck out like the sore thumb the 'Samoan Bulldozer' often jammed into people's throats en route to victory. He wasn't successful here, but very little about the match was.
Fighting on behalf of SmackDown and Raw respectively like it f*cking remotely mattered, Big Dave and Umaga didn't particularly give it their best, nor look like they even wanted to.
It was impossible not to compare to what they'd been up to one year earlier. Umaga was a warm body for Bobby Lashley to plough through during the phenomenally successful 'Battle Of The Billionaires', whilst Batista unexpectedly stole the whole show with The Undertaker. Robbed of storyline motivation, grand entrances or even a semblance of spectacle, the entire ordeal felt unjust.
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
