Triple H has got a significant problem with what he thinks is a relatable babyface attribute.
On a recent SmackDown, Madcap Moss and Ricochet were doing a wholly unconvincing job of bantering off Sami Zayn about his Bloodline role before Solo Sikoa burst into shot and smashed them half to death. Never mind the eventual match - they effectively lost a backstage segment that started with them lauding an advantage (!) over a lone villain. This isn't an isolated incident with Ricochet in particular either - the former NXT North American Champion has been featured more, but it's been in a losing capacity and following on from promo segments that do him more harm than good.
Elsewhere, Mustafa Ali has been traded to SmackDown after getting wrecked by Bobby Lashley just weeks into a now-aborted series with Seth Rollins. Then there's the aforementioned current state of Johnny Gargano (even when he's not dancing on the announce table in a cowboy hat) and the bulk of the blue brand's women's division there to cheesily grin until Shayna Baszler knees their nose into space.
There are some beloved characters within WWE at the moment, but Paul Levesque should assess what's gotten the likes of Sami Zayn and Seth Rollins over this time around rather than forcing risible humour, fake jock energy and happy-to-be-there-giddiness on the rest of the rank-and-file.
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.
