9 Ups & 1 Down From Last Night's WWE Backstage (Jan 21)
Ups...
9. THREE, TWO, ONE...
WWE
Backstage opened with a cute tribute the Royal Rumble, allowing Paige and CM Punk to flex in-studio versions of the legendary entrances.
This was knowing stuff - both have been heavily teased for Sunday's supercard, even if Paige's neck may not be ready and a second Pipe Bomb still feels more like a pipe dream.
Getting to see them play up to both the rumours and their celebrated former selves allowed for quite the energetic opening, even if there was something suspiciously Vince McMahon about not giving Christian a turn.
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
