10 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE NXT (Sept 25)
Ups...
10. Platforming
WWE
A far cry from the indulgent opening to the inaugural edition of USA Network’s version of NXT, this week’s hot start gifted the watching world a beauty shot of the gold-laced Undisputed Era rather than the self-crowned ‘King Of Kings’.
Smartly saving a proper entrance from the quartet - and the promise that itself, all air guitar, “BOOM” and “Bay Bay” could win a quarter hour in a ratings war - the group appeared on a podium raised high above Full Sail. And what a powerful visual it provided!The omnipresent obnoxiousness of The Undisputed Era has been scaled back over the last two weeks, but like ‘Mr NXT’ Johnny Gargano, this feels very much by careful design.
This fortnight-long soft launch has provided a gentler spotlight for some of the brand’s up-and-coming stars, just ahead of the BIG one next week. There, Cole, O’Reilly, Fish and Strong will likely shine brightest, but this was economical and excellent for Week Two, and a unique way to convey their ubiquitousness.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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
