Andrew Pollard
Senior Writer
Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics.
As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic.
Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.
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As alluded to earlier in this feature, Jake Roberts made a name for himself at a time when wrestlers were big, bulky and possibly on a cocktail of enhancing substances. At 6'6", Roberts was a tall guy, but he was never the biggest physically. With a WWF roster made up of the likes of Hercules, The Warlord, Ultimate Warrior, The Barbarian, Hulk Hogan and Dino Bravo, Roberts' unathletic frame could have easily seen him get lost in the shuffle. To Jake's credit, he simply let his ring psychology and promos achieve more than even the biggest body could have gotten him. Roberts' promo style has already been covered here, but he was just as chillingly effective in the ring as behind a microphone. Whether it was as a fired-up babyface or as a slippery, dastardly heel, Roberts would always have the crowd in the palm of his hand, manipulating them to react exactly how he wanted them to. Never one for elaborate moves and behaviour, Jake's ability lay with the little things, the small mannerisms and slow, precise attacks. Wrestling fans these days, particularly online, love to throw the term 'ring psychology' around at any given opportunity. Jake Roberts was a true master of this side of the wrestling business, and he used it to achieve great success. Hell, at a time when Hulkamania was running wild, brother, Jake actually got fans to boo Hulk Hogan when they came face-to-face. Talk about sticking two fingers up to the 'roided-up masses.