10 Worst First Days For WWE NXT Call-Ups

8. Emma

Karrion Kross
WWE

The problem with Emma wasn't that her character was completely changed or even bastardised under the scorching hot lights of WWE's main roster. The problem was that nobody internally gave a single sh*t about her enough to explain why she was the way she was, and audiences that had never seen NXT promptly followed suit.

Emma's quirky persona was carefully curated over months of matches that quietly helped build NXT's women's division from the ground up. Her dorky dance just one of several key components of an act that very gradually captured hearts in a way that contrasted her impressive in-ring style.

WWE, from her risible February 3rd Monday Night Raw debut, simply forced audiences, announcers and fellow babyfaces to laugh along with this stranger doing strange things.

Before wrecking awesome black-and-gold runs became the rule rather than the exception, Emma was marked as an unfortunate victim of the main roster's slapdash approach when served up prime cuts of Performance Center talent. In reality, the entire process needed an overhaul and never got one. The charming and Full Sail-beloved Australian was just another victim.

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