10 Insane Things You Missed When You Stopped Watching NXT

1. The Entire Mei Ying Saga

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In late 2020, NXT debuted Mei Ying as a mystical practitioner of magic.

After Xia Li lost frequently throughout the year, she was summoned backstage by Boa, who handed her a letter. This perturbed Li. Subsequently, Li and Boa were shown in filmed vignettes being tortured by mysterious figures, one of whom was an elderly-looking woman clearly patterned after Sadako from the Ring franchise. This woman was revealed to be Mei Ying, who, in the storyline, was an ancient princess who fled her corrupted brother thousands of years ago and, to the cost of her soul, seized back the throne under the teachings of a dragon. She was then stationed at ringside as Li worked matches, and on occasion blew debilitating, mystical smoke in the face of her opponents.

So what became of Mei Ying in the end?

Hilariously, this 1,000 year-old sorceress, who, again, was trained in combat by a dragon, went 50/50 across two (!) matches.

After all that time, she defeated Virginia Ferry in 0:49 on September 7, 2021, and was then defeated in just 2:55 by Indi Hartwell on October 5.

So in effect, in WWE lore, dragons are just as f*cking useless as T-BAR or whoever.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!