11 Ups & 1 Down From Last Night's WWE NXT (Oct 30)
Ups...
11. POPPY
WWE.com
Imagine thinking lighting a fuse was a way to open a wrestling show.
Semi-regular musical guest Poppy returned to NXT to provide live opening credits as well as Io Shirai's entrance in what served as five of the most exhilarating minutes of wrestling television all year.
Splicing footage of all the major angles before Shirai arrived and the pair screamed and roared all the way to the ring, this was f*cking electrifying, dynamic wrestling television for a demographic skewing older than anything happening on screen.
Current and cool, this was a homerun addition to a broadcast that would live up to the scintillating start.
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
