8 Ups & 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (10 Sept)
7. Canny Shanesmanship
WWE
The unfortunate news of Elias' injury snuck through hours before the show, though the strumming irritant will hopefully be able to appear on TV in his talk-heavy role despite the ankle damage. Performing as SmackDown's Baron Corbin in the King Of The Ring thus far, his in-ring work as been atypically rewarding, making this unexpected exit more of a sucker punch than it once might have been.
In an act far more satisfying than that laboured pun in the title of this entry, Shane McMahon inserting himself into the King Of The Ring semi-final was a logical bit of booking from the company for a character that has some previous with this sort of sh*t before.
The controversial Crown Jewel World Cup kickstarted Shane's heel turn late last year when 'The Money' strolled into action as the latest possible replacement for finalist The Miz. As an arrogant, braggadocious bully authority figure (who'd later hatch a plan to try and cruise to the final), McMahon was - for a welcome change - the right replacement for the injured star.
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
