8 Ups & 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (10 Sept)
Downs...
5. Deadman Talking
WWE.com
What a crushing multi-pronged disappointment this was to kick off what had all the potential of being one of the most historic episodes of the show in its clunky 20-year history.
After laying the legacy of WWE's relationship with Madison Square Garden before and during the event, the company trotted The Undertaker out to...do the same and then simply f*ck off. The mere spectacle of him walking slowly to the ring is undeniably enough to pop the crowd, but why wouldn't the company and the competitor himself want something a little bit more for the night?
Stone Cold Steve Austin's captivating involvement on Raw provided the template. Bray Wyatt provided a tease. Undertaker himself - via his unbelievably entertaining Graveyard Dogs pairing with Roman Reigns earlier this year - provided a reminder of what he was still capable of between the ropes.
This episode only provided another excuse for (more literally, in this case), burying Sami Zayn. And that knackered the next segment too...
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.
