The phrase "it has to get worse before it gets better" isn't one that can often be applied to professional wrestling. Regrettably, at the point at which a programme or performer skids off the rails, there's typically no return. At WrestleMania 33, Wyatt and Orton's feud didn't just derail, it destroyed. Bray - the man entering the biggest pay-per-view of the year as the company's joint-top titleholder - was rendered less than a corpse by the career-killing creation WWE devised. It's astonishing he wasn't corpsing himself during a match that descended into am-dram theatre quicker than his tenure swirled down the drain.
Maggots and other insects were transposed onto the canvas, presumably by Bray and presumably to unnerve Orton. Process all that, in kayfabe, for even a fleeting moment. Wyatt's supernatural powers extended to controlling the lighting rig and some projection hardware hanging above the ring. Think of the actual damage he could do with those powers instead of going to the trouble of filming or paying for the rights to footage of scurrying insects. Think about anything - or don't, because if you do, Bray Wyatt is a completely f*cked entity. A useless, unwashed cretin capable of even less than he promises to his deluded followers. He was here - Orton no-sold the bullsh*t and dropped him with a single RKO in 10:30.
Wyatt was over. And not like that. If only this feud was.
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.
