10 Secrets Nobody Has Told You About WWE Yet

8. NXT Is Good...

Rhea Ripley Dominik Mysterio
WWE.com

...as long as you know exactly what you're signing up for.

The original NXT was a concept so fatally and catastrophically flawed that the brand should have never escaped it to become the home of WWE's most critically acclaimed product several years later. Those two extremes looked like they would define the developmental forever, but the 2021 "2.0" relaunch located something in-between, and not just the gooey middle the original sex-crazed show appeared to be.

Yes, there were initially constant references to people being up to their eyes in intercourse backstage, but eventually that levelled off into a decent hybrid landscape of inane gimmicks fused with quality in-ring in a way far more satisfying than the average two-hour telecast.

Chase University is an academic institution existing entirely within a wrestling gym. Car park lore from old NXT is observed but never acted upon. There are as many wrestlers that seemingly have wrestling as a side-hustle as those that do it for a living, including but not limited to those that commit actual crimes in order to earn a wage.

A show that rewards you asking less questions than more, it's nonetheless been home to one of WWE's best matches of the year in The Creed Brothers Vs The Dyad from, and within that, the potential next breakout star you need to keep your eye on.

Improbably, NXT in 2023 has the lot.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 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 well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, 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 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