11 Ups & 4 Downs From Last Night's WWE NXT (Dec 4)
3. Brodown
WWE.com
Just over a year ago, Matt Riddle exploded onto NXT thanks to a quality programme with Kassius Ohno that yielded two entirely different but hugely enjoyable TakeOver matches. As an excuse to promote Ohno's return, there was probably no opponent more perfectly placed.
The lowkey in-ring highlight of the night, the match rapidly advanced past fine territory into fantastic after Riddle made the first of a couple of comebacks half way through.
He's found his explosive side in exchanges with Adam Cole and Shorty G of late, but this was yet again proof that Performance Center seasoning really does appear to have aided the 'Original Bro'. He was as good with old foe Ohno here as he's been all year.
A piledriver reversal that fed into the match-winning Bro Derek was fought over with atypical fire. That he's not in the loaded conversation about the future of the NXT Championship suggests there must be more to his pulled-back push than what happens bell-to-bell. He's otherwise too good to ignore.
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
