4 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE NXT UK (Oct 17)

2. Talk Talk Talk

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Moustache Mountain mouthpiece Trent Seven called the night "arguably the biggest day in British professional wrestling history", but it only feels so arguable because we've all heard the same speech so many times in the past few years.

Seven was given Triple H’s usual role of pumping out platitudes and boy-poppers, and for the most part, they went down an absolute storm. Both Trent and his trainee-turned-tag partner Tyler Bate were the second and third biggest stars of the night, but it begged the question as to why they (or at least first and former UK Heavyweight Champion Tyler) weren't just used in the opening match instead.

In truth, it all felt extremely superfluous. After all the bluster of the Blackpool show, the half-baked effort of the Norwich tapings and World Of Sport’s similar grandstanding on the other channel, this entire event should have been all about show, not tell. This project has patted itself on the back relentlessly since soft-launching a year and a half ago.

Admittedly, the dual-purpose promo also served as a jumping off point for NXT UK Tag Team Championships, but both Seven and partner Bate had little else to add beyond noting a lack of opposition. Hopefully this call-to-arms allows for less talk, more actions from some other dynamic duos on the brand.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, 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