10 Ups & 2 Downs From Last Night's WWE NXT (Dec 18)
Downs...
2. The Black-And-Bronze Brand
WWE
The announcement of a 2020 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic wasn't necessarily a shock, but it wasn't exactly a welcome twist.
Last year's tournament leaned heavy on the fractious reunion of #DIY and The Forgotten Sons getting a longer run than anybody could have possibly wanted, and felt like an act of spite in the wake of AEW's formation.
This too feels like an excuse to use the Rhodes name rather than run a tournament. Would All Elite Wrestling dream of running a Women's Tournament at the moment with their division in such a shoddy state? Unless the bracket of eight is made up of different Undisputed Era combinations fighting each other, it's unlikely the 2020 tournament will proffer can't-miss television.
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
