10 Ways WWE Rebuilt NXT In 2017

8. British Invasion

Johnny Gargano Tommaso Ciampa
WWE

There's often a backhanded swipe concealed in the praise often heaped upon NXT's product. In crediting Triple H as the driving force behind such a creatively satisfying product, fans draw a comparison to main roster calamities still shepherded by Vince McMahon.

It's unfair (and potentially untrue) to suggest McMahon won't have any interest in the goings on at Full Sail University, but its likely that he's got a closer eye on that than he does his UK Championship.

Looking every bit the billionaire's latest abandoned toy, the buzz from January's two-night tournament had diminished by summer thanks to a thoughtless lack of follow-up, and a set of tepid tapings from Norwich couldn't halt the concept's decline. Fortunately, nobody seemed to tell the talent.

NXT's penultimate episode of 2017 hosted a Pete Dunne/Tyler Bate match almost as good as their TakeOver: Chicago match-of-the-year candidate, whilst tag and singles matches scattered throughout the year featuring Dunne, Bate, Trent Seven, Mark Andrews et al usually stole whichever show fortunate enough to house them.

If the worst case scenario for the title (and entire league) in 2018 is a rotating spot on the developmental brand, early evidence at least suggests the whole project won't have been a complete waste of time and resources.

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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