9 Ups & 1 Down From Last Night's WWE Backstage (Jan 21)
Downs...
1. 20 Years Later
WWE
"We knew we killed it" is the sort of supreme confidence rarely heard from the always-affable Mick Foley, but his Royal Rumble 2000 Street Fight against Triple H remains continues to justify the self-commendation two decades on.
Triple H refreshingly referred to it as one his favourite ever matches during this snappy retrospective, despite rumours that have followed them both around over the years about his subtle reduction of Foley's crucial involvement in his progression. Good, too - this kicked off the greatest and most integral in-ring year of his career.
The featurette was high on match footage but a little low on insight, beyond the pair noting the shard of wood that trapped itself in Triple H's calf. Old footage (and the brief post-game chat with Renee Young and Christian) is always welcome on this show, but this one in particular felt like a wasted opportunity.
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 over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, 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
