There could only be one viable #1 entry in this list of ups, but nobody could have predicted what specific type of Number Two The Judgment Day would be classified as as 2022 drew to a close.
For the longest time set to be one of the most appalling entries in Edge's career, his makeshift goth group has instead morphed into one of Monday Night Raw's most entertaining heel stables in years. An absolute unashamed pack of bastards, the group needed to get 'The Rated-R Superstar' out to kickstart their conversion and recruit Dominik Mysterio to complete it. The summer (and ongoing) feud with the former leader got the whole thing over the line too - the closing moments of the Extreme Rules "I Quit" outing pitting the Hall Of Famer and his wife Beth Phoenix against Bálor and Ripley were some of the loudest in WWE all year.
Memes on the reg whenever just about anything goes their way, the four are as definable now as individuals as they've all ever been on the main roster, yet blend so impossibly well as a group that it's tricky to imagine how they ever functioned before. Ripley and Mysterio are surefire safe bets for the WrestleMania, Finn Bálor is as convincing running the rule over this rabble as he was in Bullet Club and Damian Priest looks like he's perfecting the role he was born to play.
Triple H knowing exactly how to advise people to be a*sholes in stables. Whodathunkit?
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.
