9 Ups & 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (29 Nov)
2. Who Wants To Walk With Elias? Anybody?
WWE
Hmmm.
A backstage vignette between recent Twitter lightning rod (and just how big is Batista's lightning rod?) Dana Brooke and Drake Maverick was broken up by the acoustic strum of a returning Elias. Considering how the 205 Live GM was making the moves on a disinterested Brooke, we were to infer that the returnee was making the save and subsequently turning babyface in the process.
To steal a Kofi Kingston line from later in the show, "ohhhh no!"
It didn't work last time the Elias lyrics were used for positive patter, and this cringeworthy vignette didn't suggest that would change at the second attempt. He bantered off Maverick with some crap lines as Brook danced like David Bowie himself had just come back to life and knocked out a Black Star bonus track right in front of her.
Referencing Drake's attempt to kiss Dana under the mistletoe, Elias hoped wife wouldn't "find out". He's no cause to worry - there's absolutely no way she even watched this show let alone made it into the second hour.
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
