WhatCulture Pro Wrestling held their first “supercard” via YouTube this past Monday night, with the “Built To Destroy” event. It also signaled the start of a series of changes behind the scenes in the promotion, not all of which were for the better.
#TLDR: WhatCulture’s first mega-event was loaded with fantastic wrestling, as the best of British grabbed their chance to shine. Featuring a classic ROH title match with Noam Dar and Jay Lethal, a fun weapons match and a pretty solid “mean guy match” with Big Damo and Rampage. This was the first WCPW show that you should at least try and watch. But preferably on mute, as I’ll explain throughout…
The Full Review: The title screen had barely faded away and we’ve got a new voice on commentary promising “two earth-shattering championship matches…” in the form of our double main events: ROH champion Jay Lethal vs. Noam Dar, and the WCPW title match between Rampage and Big Damo. Big lads’ wrestling!
After they’d finally settled into something resembling a stable, if not self-serving commentary pairing, WCPW’s replaced their commentary team once more. Gone are “King” Ross Twedell and Adam Blampied (and by proxy, Simon Miller)… in are NGW’s Dave Bradshaw and Alex Shane. Oh no. Oh no…
In case you’ve not read my review over the weekend of NGW’s latest TV show – I’m not exactly Alex Shane’s number one fan when it comes to commentary. I’ll not be holding my breath, but we’ll see if he changes his style for the blatant Internet/hardcore audience that WCPW attracts, as opposed to the admittedly novice fanbase that NGW angles for. Has Alex studied, or is he going to pretend that everything’s new unless he saw it in the FWA?
Kenny McIntosh comes out for the opening segment, and invites “f*** you Kenny” chants, and the obvious comparison that “we’re definitely not PG”. Captain Obvious, Alex Shane there.
McIntosh warns us that we’re not going to see a Slammiversary-style show with Brother Nero (ah, the perils of being pre-taped… you end up mocking an angle that actually turned out to be pretty good!)… and that this “is certainly not going to be SummerSlam with Roman Reigns”. Any pretence of this NOT being a product for the hardcore/internet fans just went out of the window there. Kenny tries to do the “EC F’N W” spot with this company, but stops himself by saying that they’re PG. Err… One paragraph earlier we were told that wasn’t the case? Alex Shane is confused, and he’s not the only one.
Kenny brings out Adam Pacitti, as Alex Shane hypes that “Adam vs. Adam is the most well known online professional wrestling feud of my generation”. Time check: 3 minutes, 13 seconds, and we already have dumb quote number one. Off the top of my head, wasn’t the Edge and Matt Hardy stuff done “online” before it went to TV?
Bradshaw and Shane talk some guff about the old cardboard title belt, and we finally have our talking segment. Pacitti runs down tonight’s card, and that’s about it. Eh, it set the table in six minutes, and we’re already up to our opening match!
Pride vs. Mask – if Martin Kirby loses, he wears a dress, if Ligero loses, he loses his mask – El Ligero vs. Martin Kirby
Ligero’s got a sparkly cape to heighten the big show feel to this… and I may have to silence the commentary as Alex Shane’s already gibbering on about how Ligero is the future of British wrestling. Nothing against Ligero, but if you made your debut in 2001, you can’t be the future in 2016, can you?
Ligero grabs a foam middle finger from the crowd and flips it towards Kirby, and before we get going, Alex Shane qualifies his suitability to commentate this match by saying his other job is to do English-language commentary for AAA, and therefore he knows the tradition of lucha libre. That has to be a rib, right?
We finally get going with a lock-up, with Kirby taking a headlock and then hitting a shoulder block to no effect on Ligero. They repeat an exchange of shoulder tackles like they were Newton’s cradle, slowing down to mock the Big Daddy/Giant Haystacks matches of the 80s, before Kirby misses with a leaping shoulder tackle. Ligero launches himself into the ropes a la Rocky Romero after Kirby reversed an Irish whip, before getting out of the way as Kirby dove to the floor.
Ligero missed a leaping kick off the apron, but ducked as Kirby went for a chop… and got nothing but the ringpost. Kirby offers a handshake, and Ligero is naturally suspicious, but he takes it anyway and catches Kirby’s attempt at a cheapshot, and spins him around into a forearm smash.
Ligero kicks away a back body drop attempt, then another kick from Kirby, which he hands across to the referee, which leads to Ligero sweeping the leg and nailing a standing moonsault for a near-fall. They introduce an in-match action replay for the standing moonsault, which looks extremely reminiscent of Attitude Era WWE, and we return to Kirby taking ten corner punches, before he yanks Ligero down to the mat.
Kirby pounds away at Ligero, landing a diving shoulder charge in the corner for a near-fall. A long stalling suplex follows, but instead of the landing, Kirby drops Ligero back on his feet and pokes him in the eyes instead. Ligero works out of another stalling suplex and hammers Kirby with a combination of kicks, before an enziguiri gets Kirby a near-fall… and he throws a temper tantrum after the kick-out.
A backbreaker gets Kirby another two-count, before setting up for a rope-walk elbow… walking across the middle ring like Zoidberg from Futurama… and misses. Ligero runs into the corner with some back elbows, before missing a springboard kick and landing a wheelbarrow facebuster (and not a powerbomb, as the former wrestler on commentary called it) for a near-fall.
Kirby blocked Ligero’s C4L tornado DDT, before tossing Ligero to the outside, and he calls for the Sable Bomb? Ligero hits a forearm smash to avoid it, then lands a seated senton off the apron after Kirby’d hoisted him up there. Ligero rolled out of a body splash, but was rolled up and taken down with a neckbreaker from Kirby for another near-fall. A Michinoku driver got the Yorkshireman Kirby another two-count, before they trade a bunch of near-falls after Ligero reversed a Sable bomb attempt.
Kirby missed an enziguiri, before pulling the referee into the path of a C4L attempt. Ligero put on the brakes though, and took a superkick, before a TKO facebuster and a Rocker Dropper/Famouser for another two-count. Kirby waits for Ligero to get up, and tries the Kane-style chokeslam, but Ligero backflips out of it, and then connects with the C4L and that is all – the mask is safe, and Kirby’s going all Saturn on us! A really good opener, save for the comedy in the ring and the commentary… ***¾
Post-match, Ligero went to the back and came back with a dress… and they found Kirby’s size! Kirby sells the dress like it’s radioactive, and Ligero has to take him out with a sleeperhold before putting it on. Hey, at least it’s not a weasel suit! Absolutely fantastic cornball selling for this, and it’s not always a bad thing when you rehash old gimmicks!
As I mentioned, in this match WCPW brought out the action replay gimmick… and they clearly are like a kid with a new toy since they used it A LOT. That might get old before the end of this show.
We cut to a backstage segment with the two Adams, and they finally have a better thing for their green screen. It’s an animated WCPW logo that looks like it’s dropping into a permanent void. Pacitti taunts Blampied, then slaps the glasses off of him. Decent enough spot, but it would have been so much better without one of them having to hold the microphone to pick up the sound. Either use an overhead mic or have an interviewer.
Like we see next, with Jennifer Louise who’s with Gabriel Kidd. It’s a very short promo to build up to his match with Prince Ameen, where the loser becomes the other’s servant. Pretty decent promo, but the awful production returns as they fade out during Jennifer’s outro. Can’t you guys wait to plug the Eric Bischoff show next month?!
Servitude Match: Prince Ameen vs. Gabriel Kidd
Ugh, the “One fall” gimmick is back… the loser acts as the winner’s servant, indefinitely, I guess, since there’s no time limit given here. Alex Shane turns into a heel commentator here to put over Ameen, who then grabs the microphone and cuts an ultra generic heel promo ahead of his match with someone who, sadly, is the ultra generic white meat babyface.
Ameen gets on the microphone again to give Kidd another chance to back out. Hey, Ameen found a way to neutralise the “what?” chants… just add the word “Culture” and it becomes an instant plug. Very clever heel work! Ameen asks for Kidd to lay down for him, a la the FIngerpoke of Doom, and instead he gets a kick to the chest.
Kidd takes Ameen to the outside, and gives him some chops across the crowd barrier. Ameen gets the upper hand and replies with a couple of chops, but Kidd worked free and went to the apron, where he ran towards Ameen with a kick, before sending him back into the ring. Ameen kicks out at two, then Kidd applies an armbar, rocking back and forth as he leads the crowd into a chant of the Bee Gee’s “Stayin’ Alive” to mock Ameen’s selling.
Kidd yanks down on the arm, but Ameen pokes at the eye to break the hold, but he can’t maintain the offence, as Kidd continues with headbutts to the midsection and uppercuts. A clothesline and a back suplex takes down Ameen, but he doesn’t go for a cover, but instead misses a leap off the top rope and turns into a spinebuster from Ameen.
Ameen works over Kidd in the corner with some punches, then lands a bodyslam and a knee drop to the back of Kidd for a near-fall. A double arm-stretch follows to a grounded Kidd, but he works free and lands an uppercut, but Ameen grabs him in a Fireman’s carry and lands a Samoan drop. Kidd kicks out at two, but gets taken into the corner for some more punches and kicks, before Ameen takes too long with a Pedigree setup, and Kidd just backdrops his way out of it.
Kidd fires back with a slam, then another uppercut into the corner, then a dropkick off the top rope, but he didn’t go for the cover. Instead, Kidd hit an Angle slam out of nowhere, but Ameen scrambled for the ropes, and dragged in a carry-on suitcase into the ring. For some reason, the referee had to lay on his front and crawl out of the ring to get rid of it, and that gave Ameen plenty of time to punt Kidd below the belt, and there’s the win. A decent match, but what a convoluted finish. **¾
Post-match, Ameen orders his new servant to bow down to him, and Kidd does so. Kidd’s given Ameen’s carry on bag, and he’s ordered to carry it to the bag. We have our new Million Dollar Man and Virgil!
I will give Alex Shane credit – in this match he did call out several wrestlers and promotions who hadn’t been mentioned previously on the show, so at least he’s not retained everything that annoyed the heck out of me with his NGW act.
No Holds Barred: The Primate vs. Joe Coffey
Primate’s out with Suzie Kennedy as we have our midcard WhatCulture representation here. Kennedy grabs the mic, and I’m surprised they didn’t put subtitles up for the international viewers. Her promo added nothing to the act.
Coffey does his air guitar schtick, and we finally get underway, with Primate clubbing away at Coffey, as they go back and forth with forearms and uppercuts. Primate ducks a discus lariat and hits a German suplex for a near-fall, before hitting a back elbow off the ropes and then going outside for some plunder! Primate pulls a chair from under the ring, but he misses his first shot before connecting with a few shots to the back of Coffey.
Coffey blocks a shot to the head, and wrestles the chair away, before dropkicking it into Primate a la Rob Van Dam. An avalanche in the corner follows from Coffey, who nails a bulldog, but Primate rolls to the floor once more. Coffey follows him there, and lays into him with some chops, before Primate cuts off an attempt to use the chair, and returns the favoru with the chops.
Primate slams Coffey’s head into the apron, before Coffey puts on the brakes from an Irish whip into the guard rails, and instead backdrops the Primate into the crowd. Coffey looked to go for a dive, and hit a crossbody over the barriers, sending Primate towards the back of the warehouse/arena. They fight in the crowd, but we struggle to see the start of it as the cameraman took his time to find them. Coffey tries for a piledriver, but Primate blocks it, and tries for one himself. At least the commentators remembered it was a banned move!
Coffey grabs Primate and pulls off a Giant Swing, before slingshotting him into a metal fence that was conveniently placed. A Boston crab keeps down Primate, and Coffey grabs a bin from the bar, but Primate blocks the bin and bounces it off of Coffey… then he heads to the bar and goes flying with a cross body block onto Coffey and two conveniently-handy security guards.
Coffey reverses an Irish whip, and sends Primate into a sea of chairs, before the Scotsman sets him into another chair for some chops as we see the bloodied shoulder of Primate, who turns the tables and kicks Coffey out of a chair. They finally return to the ringside area, but Primate grabs a table from under the ring, only for Coffey to hit a baseball slide dropkick to neutralise the threat.
Primate drops an elbow as Coffey slid back into the ring, and he resumes the fun with the table, propping it against the corner. Coffey slides away as he was whipped towards the table, then landed an uppercut, but he then misses an avalanche in the corner. Second time is lucky for Coffey, who hits a springboard crossbody off the top rope for a near-fall. It’s been a while since we had one of those!
A simple clothesline nearly wins it for Coffey, before a discus lariat is ducked and Primate nails a clumsy-looking spear for a near-fall. They then tease being sent into the table, before Coffey sidestepped the spear of the Primate, and he took all of the table, smashing it clean in two. That opened up Coffey for a Styles Clash-like piledriver, but he then switched it into a Lion tamer-style Boston crab for the win. A fun weapons match, and delivered exactly what they promised with the no-DQ stip. ***½
We go backstage to a segment with Kenny McIntosh alongside Jay Lethal and Noam Dar. Pretty good interview segment by British wrestling standards, even if Kenny’s facials seemed to indicate either tiredness or boredom. Just a thought – get a bigger green screen (and one that doesn’t corrupt easily!) – they had to zoom in so tight at the start, the back of Jay Lethal’s head was cut-off. Also… someone seemed to be stapling sheets of paper during this. I guess stopping and having another take wasn’t an option, as always…
ROH World Championship: Noam Dar vs. Jay Lethal (c)
This’ll be held under ROH rules, meaning we’ve got Japanese-style 20-second count outs rather than the more traditional 10-second count.
Before the match, I’ll get the latest commentary annoyance out of the way. Shut up, Alex Shane. Stop trying to make everything about yourself. Trying to tie ROH to “hey, I had a hand in their first shows in the UK” was grating to listen to. As was “WCPW is the biggest wrestling YouTube sensation, and I should know, because I was involved in WrestleTalk”. We get it. You’re involved in a lot, and you have a short attention span with these projects. When you’re commentating, commentate. At times, you’re really, really good at commentating stuff move-for-move, but constantly finding ways to tie everything back to something you’ve done in the past is annoying. Stop!
Where were we? Lethal started with a wristlock, with the two going back and forth with reversals, before Lethal downed Dar with an armbar. Dar flips over and tries to switch the hold around, but they end in a stand-off.
They work a Greco-Roman knuckle lock next, with Lethal forcing Dar to his knees, but the Scottish-Israeli frees himself and takes down Lethal with a series of arm-wringers before transitioning into another headlock. Lethal suplexes his way out of the headlock, getting a two-count from there, and then took Dar into the corner where he stomped away at him repeatedly. A bodyslam gets Lethal a two-count, and he then goes to a rear chinlock, but Dar forces himself free, before an attempted counter to a Lethal armdrag landed with the ROH champion just hitting a dropkick to Dar.
A drop toehold takes down Dar, as a low dropkick kept the Scotsman on the mat. Lethal hit a backbreaker for a two-count, then went back to the rear chinlock. Dar worked free and took down Lethal with a dropkick, then went to work on the champion with a snapmare and then a neck crank. Lethal was kept grounded throughout, but he fought up and elbowed himself free, before connecting with a straight right shot and a backbreaker, before Dar swept the leg to avoid the second half of the Lethal Combination (the backbreaker into a flatliner).
Dar took Lethal onto the apron and smashed the knee against the edge of the ring, then came back in to kick away some more as Lethal rolled to the apron for cover. That just gave Dar a chance to drag Lethal to the ringpost, where he ran up to hit a dropkick into the left knee of Lethal. Back inside, Dar dropped elbow on the injured knee, then worked an Indian Deathlock-like hold on the left leg, before switching it into an Indian Deathlock.
Dar kicked low at Lethal’s leg as the champion countered with right hands, but Lethal hit a bicycle kick and a superkick, before Dar countered with a lariat that flipped Lethal inside-out. That entire sequence gets the action replay treatment as the two men climbed back to their feet, then went face-to-face as the crowd chanted “are you watching Vince McMahon?”. Cute.
The pair traded forearm strikes, before Dar added some European uppercuts, only to be drilled with the Lethal Combination as Jay went to the top rope for his Macho Man elbow. That connected and got Lethal a two count, but from the kick-out he grabbed the leg and morphed into a Figure Four leglock. Dar tries to punch his way out of the hold, before finally reaching for the ropes to break the hold.
Dar countered an avalanche from Lethal with a big boot, before ducking another charge and ended up tossing Lethal with a release overhead belly-to-belly suplex, as the ROH champion crashed into the middle turnbuckles. That was an insane bump, but Lethal landed safely, before a dropkick forced him to kick out at two.
Lethal rolled onto the apron again, and Dar joined him there, as he set up for an apron suplex, but Lethal blocked it with a knee, then suplexed Dar into the ring… before the Scotsman caught him with a Dragon screw in the ropes. Dar followed to the outside with a baseball slide, but was dropped with an Ace crusher on the floor!
We got the count-ahead-plus-one gimmick from the crowd, who forgot that this was a 20-count out (and that severely tested their maths skills). Lethal climbed back into the ring and looked to accept the count-out, only for Dar to scramble back in at the count of 19… before countering the Lethal Injection with the Champagne Super-Knee-Bar in the middle of the ring! Lethal looked to tap, but fought his way and rolled back for a near-fall… but then landed the Lethal Injection straight after that for the win. What a war… what a match – at twenty minutes in length, this was the best thing from this group so far. ****¼
As Lethal celebrated in the ring, he was attacked from behind by Drake. Lethal of course fought back, but took a top rope lungblower from Drake. That absolutely cannot be their next storyline… with all due respect to Drake, but after matches with Jay Lethal against El Ligero and Jay Lethal, can you say “downgrade”?
We go backstage again for another green screen interview with Kenny, and he’s with Joe Hendry and Joseph Conners. They’re still playing up the bickering partners storyline as we hear some metal falling in the background. Conners and Hendry are facing Prospect’s Lucas Archer and Alex Gracie next in what has to be the “cooldown” match on this card. Hendry’s got a custom theme song for their team, and he’s doing a good job of being a condescending prick… I just hope that’s his gimmick!
Prospect (Lucas Archer & Alex Gracie) vs. Joseph Conners & Joe Hendry
The crowd popped for Joe Hendry, so I guess they’ve not been privy to his gimmick? Their team’s music is a cute rip-off of the old Raw theme song “Across The Nation”, featuring the line “play Joe Hendry’s music” along with token lines of “…and Joseph Conners” (although the screen for him just said “Joseph Conner”. Funny, without having it hammered into you. They’ve even uploaded it as a standalone video…
We start with Conners and Gracie, and the opening tie-up sees Conners grab a headlock, before Prospect’s early blind tag goes wrong, as Conners takes out Gracie, before tying up Archer with an arm wringer. Hendry comes in and hits a double-team hiptoss/backbreaker to Gracie.
Another tag-in sees Hendry suplex Archer as Conners… just stomps away. A backbreaker on Gracie gets a near-fall as the commentary team make the cardinal sin of ignoring the match just so we can hear their voices more. Hendry’s attempt at suplexing Gracie is blocked, before James R. Kennedy leaps onto the apron for a distraction for some reason. That gives the heels an opening, as Hendry gets repeatedly shoulder-charged into the corner.
Prospect hits a double-team leaping knee for a near-fall by Archer, before Gracie returns for a double team Eat De-feet and a side Russian legsweep for a near-fall. Gracie grabs Hendry in a headlock, then sweeps the legs for a near-fall as Hendry tried to make the tag out.
Archer made the tag in as the heels worked over Hendry in the corner, before he rolled away from an elbow drop from Archer. A neckbreaker from Hendry gave him a chance to make a tag, but Gracie cut things off, before Hendry finally made the tag out.
Conners clears house with belly to back suplexes, then a Michinoku driver to both members of Prospect. A series of avalanches into the corners flatten the Prospect members, before Conners hit a slingshot DDT onto Archer. Joe Hendry was looking for a tag, but Conners refused, and that left him to turn around into a small package from Archer and that was enough to seal the win. That seemed to come out of nowhere, but that was a decent match – even if the commentary team took a figurative crap over it. ***
WCPW Championship: Rampage vs. Big Damo
This is your WhatCulture special, everybody! Adam Blampied is out with Rampage, whilst Damo gets Adam Pacitti and Jack “The Jobber” King. Who still looks like a lost child out there.
They do the boxing-like introductions for the main event, which was a nice touch. Blampied opens a can of lager at ringside and takes a swig during the match, as Alex Shane verbally fellates him on commentary. At least Dave Bradshaw clues us up on the storyline for those of us who weren’t giving a damn about the cardboard title belt stuff.
The two big guys lock up, and Rampage takes Damo into the corner for a clean break. But Damo works a headlock on Rampage, before being shot into the ropes and taking him down with a shoulder tackle. Rampage impressively leapfrogs over Damo and nails a dropkick, but Damo replies with a crossbody that just sent Rampage crashing to the mat.
Rampage kicks away at Damo as he tried to get back to his feet, but he was taken into the corner and squashed with an avalanche charge from the Belfast native. Damo took a clothesline in the corner, and then an awkward looking bulldog from the middle rope as Damo crumbled to his knees. An Irish whip to Damo almost moved the ring several inches, and got Rampage a near-fall.
Another Irish whip to the corner sent Damo down to the mat, and Rampage continues with kicks and forearms to keep Damo grounded. Damo gets to his feet, and invited more shots from Rampage, which are received and returned in kind. Rampage is whipped into the turnbuckles, and on the rebound is dropped from a fireman’s carry and a back senton. A powerbomb and elbow drop gets Damo a near-fall, before he goes for the Ulster Plantation, but Rampage punches himself free, and boots Damo in the face.
Rampage misses a shoulder charge in the corner, and sails out of the ring, where Damo joins him. After being set against the crowd barriers, Damo launches himself into Rampage with a cannonball dive. Back in the ring, Rampage takes a back senton, then a Vader bomb in the corner for a near-fall, before Damo goes to the top rope… but Rampage catches him and crotches the Belfast bruiser on the top, and brings him down with a superplex.
Adam Blampied jumps onto the apron and demands that Rampage piledrives Damo, whilst Jack runs by on the other side of the ring to shove Blampied away (barely caught on camera). In the ring, the two behemoths launch into a series of chops on each other, before Rampage dumps Damo with a Samoan drop for a near-fall.
Blampied again demands a piledriver, but Rampage shakes his head and refuses, which somehow is the cue for Adam B to jump into the ring and remonstrate with his man. Adam slaps Rampage (and that’s a generous description), and he ends up being clotheslined out of his boots.
Rampage then turned around into a low blow from Big Damo, who then hits the piledriver – in full view of Adam Pacitti – and gets the win. ***½ A solid main event, but the story continued to be told afterwards, and literally as soon as the bell went, Damo hit another piledriver on the referee… and it looks like this was a double-cross, as Blampied pulls himself up and demands that Damo piledrives Rampage.
Jack jumps in next to complete this soap opera, and he gets punched out, as the show ends with Adam B shaking Damo’s hand. Adam Pacitti jumps into the ring and declares that the piledriver was a banned move… so why didn’t he stop the match since he was feet away from the ring and was watching it happen?! Pacitti demands the belt back as he refuses to acknowledge Damo as the champion, and Damo slams the belt into Pacitti’s face instead. Despite that, Damo’s announced as the champion at the end, so there’s your storyline hook, I guess.
As a show, the in-ring action was pretty good. Dar/Lethal stole the show, and we had good action up and down the bill. Unfortunately, the WhatCulture-driven storyline kinda ruined the main event, and the commentary. Oh, the commentary… Remember how on the first episode of WCPW’s Loaded, I ripped the show to shreds because of the inane commentary? Well, pressing the reset button and importing the NGW commentary team somehow became a downgrade on THAT.
Yes, Alex Shane and Dave Bradshaw had their good moments, but their breathless, never-ceasing commentary work quickly became grating, and never stopped being annoying. I can forgive rookie commentators making mistakes like talking over in-ring promos, or never leaving dead air… but when you have seasoned guys like Alex Shane flip-flopping between being a face and heel commentator, and talking about stuff other than the action so he can get himself over, you seriously have to question the wisdom behind this product.
I can guess why the call was made to replace the in-house commentary team with this pairing, with their TV work for NGW being the most likely culprit. However, it does raise further concerns about this group going forward. The visual issues still plague this product, with the lighting either being “a massive spotlight in your face” or “I can barely see stuff” at times, whilst we still had early cut-aways and segments that really should have been reshot. It’s not that hard, guys. Shoot something, watch it back on-site, and re-do it if there’s something noticable in terms of audio or visual issues.
The in-ring product has always been decent, and we’ve sort-of had the storyline between “Adam vs. Adam” pay-off, albeit through the proxies of wrestlers. So where do they go from here? Does Damo keep holding the title hostage, and Adam Pacitti/Jack find new proxies to get the title back? Kayfabe-wise, surely the GM doesn’t need to do that – they just take the damned title back, no? he next set of WCPW shows are being taped this week – and should give an indicator as to where they’re heading. Will they retain the WhatCulture-heavy focus that brought them to the table (and earned them derision for it), or will they become just another indie group, like a rebadged NGW but for the internet crowd? Judging by the announced talents for future shows, with the likes of Eric Bischoff, Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow and Drew Galloway, it may well be the latter.
Purely from a business perspective, changing from a mostly-British roster to having monthly star guests (who won’t come cheap), WhatCulture need to hope for a lot more sell outs, and no more of those “Thursday mornings in front of a handful people” like we had for the last round of TV tapings. Otherwise their free weekly YouTube show could well become the latest chapter of the story of failed wrestling promotions.