"Are you guys looking forward to All Elite Wrestling?!"
Popular podcaster Conrad Thompson wasn't given much to work with in his role as master of ceremonies for All Elite Wrestling's historic Jacksonville rally, but his ordinarily magnetic enthusiasm felt more than a little forced as he fought to fill time in between wrestlers popping on and off the stage to pop the ardent crowd in attendance for something we were repeatedly told was history-making.
It was the easiest question to ask of course. They were obviously hyped AF for AEW. Buzzing enough to be there ahead of their trip to the SmackDown Live taping down the road. Buzzing to potentially be part of their own version of ALL IN - one of wrestling's most profoundly important non-WWE events.
Everybody was. Everybody is. All Elite Wrestling, its foundations within Being The Elite, years of mainstream malaise and the genuine sense of tectonic plates finally shifting beneath the wrestling world has got a "universe" united around the possibility of change and the probability of a brand new pro wrestling indulgence to embark upon.
There was much to take from the event - you'll have read about it here and on every other wrestling site - but away from the literal fireworks and figurative fights, what did the AEW chiefs really tell us about our future? Because they were extremely careful talking about theirs...
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 over 70,000,000 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, 411Mania 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 music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.
