Since rebranded as the "White Rabbit Project" because everything needs a f*cking brand and corporate capitalism is designed to gobble up your sense of fun and charge you for the spew it regurgitates, the Bray Wyatt return was a multifarious success for WWE and a great example of Triple H following the mantra set by the man that smashed his throne and Doing The Work.
People clocked on that - by virtue of its weirdness - the QR codes and videos they led to were related a returning Bray Wyatt, with the White Rabbit motif working perfectly as the thing to keep following even if a genuine Wonderland couldn't possibly await. Internet sleuths had a blast decoding various clues that were less about who it was but more how it tied to prior Wyatt lore.
An initial tease of September 23rd generated a monster number for the SmackDown on that date (peaking, brilliantly, at 9:23pm) and reactions for Wyatt's Extreme Rules return were some of the loudest of the year. It might never live up to the hype (again), but the hype itself was a campaign for the ages.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 almost 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 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL 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
