10 Worst First Days For WWE NXT Call-Ups

3. Angel Garza

Karrion Kross
WWE.com

Angel Garza was quite the headline-grabber during the very early days of the Wednesday Night Wars. Or, at very least, he got people talking about his matches when the black-and-gold brand couldn't get near the headlines, which increasingly was the norm.

But 2019 was a good year for the handsome former NXT Cruiserweight Champion. He'd lit up the league on Wednesdays alongside the likes of Lio Rush, had gotten a comedy tearaway pants spot over as a weekly highlight and even got the big Yes from his fiancee with an in-ring proposal that went down a storm with the Full Sail regulars.

None of that mattered a jot when the main roster came calling.

Arriving on the February 3rd 2020 edition of the show with no prior notice or build, Garza decked his cousin Humberto Carrillio, then went 13 competitive minutes with Rey Mysterio only to lose by disqualification. His character was rolled back entirely to the point where he was propositioning anybody with a pulse and the trousers may as well have stayed on for all WWE valued that p*ss easy pop.

It prepped him for a remarkably awful year. Garza quickly linked up with Zelina Vega, Andrade and Austin Theory to form a never-named group that would have easily been the worst in WWE history had it not been for Retribution existing in the same f*cking timeline.

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