There's another day to dig deep into Rhea Ripley's own main roster...ahem...nightmare, but Shayna Baszler's was obscured by an Elimination Chamber 2020 performance that was, in hindsight, too good to be true.
On the final pay-per-view before the pandemic hit, 'The Queen Of Spades' shovelled dirt on the Raw Women's division in some booking so committed that it actually alleviated the concerns of many that couldn't understand why she'd not been given the Royal Rumble win a month prior.
Her decimation of Natalya, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan and Asuka was so profoundly terrifying that it might have actually been more effective than being booked to point at the sign in January. What's so special about throwing people over the top rope to the floor when you can maul them in a cage instead?
It was altogether more on-the-nose than NXT had ever been with her, but the messaging was crystal clear - Becky Lynch was really really good, but she wasn't ready for the terrors that awaited on 'The Grandest Stage'.
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
