AEW's Next Big Thing (... Is The Last Thing YOU Want)
AEW
As a debuting babyface on a one-man mission to win one last top prize, Goldberg has more losers to cut in half than he'd know what to do with.
For a company called All Elite Wrestling, it's been almost too good at lining up wrestlers cast as perennial dweebs. But it does at least create a tier for 'Da Man' to rapidly work through en route to the natural and awesome end destination. After targeting the likes of Tony Nese and The Firm, he can rapidly move on to despatching the likes of Jeff Jarrett and Chris Jericho before answering the arrogant call of an MJF riding yet another high after defeating all Four Pillars and theoretically considering himself indestructible.
Who better to ask "Who's Next?", and who better to answer?
Goldberg spearing the AEW Champion out of his scarf sets up the programme in an instant, especially considering the pace and rate of the former WCW Champion's ascent.
Invoking Triple H's "Reign Of Terror" yet again, Friedman could promise to beat Bill in a fair fight just like his hero 'The Game', then blast and bludgeon the 56-year-old with the Dynamite Diamond Ring as he's mid-Spear. It's a cute bit, a good callback, and a genuinely useful scalp for MJF as he builds the prestige of his reign.
And what of the Challenger afterwards?
Beaten by cheating and unable to get a rematch in a more logical environment, 'Da Man' could snap, leaving absolutely nobody safe...
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for nearly 10 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 65,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast.
He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and 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. 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.
