9 Live Observations From WWE WrestleMania 38 Night 2

4. Edge Vs. AJ Styles

Stone Cold Steve Austin
WWE.com

Both Edge and AJ Styles have experienced the dreaded feeling of a major WrestleMania match not really capturing the imagination of a massive audience. Both men, more than once, have known that they’re in something that could have been better in another building, or on another night, sludging through a solidly worked but unspectacular outing on WWE’s ‘Grandest Stage’.

And it happened again.

To perhaps view this through the prism of WWE fans only really invested in big visuals or the odd half decent false finish, this was "awesome". The pair generated a near fall or two, and Edge's entrance and exit along new ally Damian Priest gave people enough hope to think they'd seen some sort of quiet classic.

They'll know for sure they didn't when they watch it again. Or if - the thing was overly boring and indulgent despite good hold work and a minimising of the sh*thouse theatrics from Edge. One senses with Priest's defection that this all has further to go. Cheer up, goths, and move on to something new, eh?

Contributor
Contributor

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