11 Ups & 4 Downs From Last Night's WWE NXT (Dec 4)
3. Who? Japan Pro Wrestling
WWE
Kushida is back, returning from a broken wrist sustained in his NXT match with Walter. Mirroring the videos the company produced for Roderick Strong before he joined The Undisputed Era, this family patter was all well and good for humanising a relatively brand new character.
It was also dishwater dull.
The 'Timesplitter' was once an Junior Heavyweight innovator as frightening as he was flashy. "Coming to America to give his family a better life" is the sort of sh*t that won't really fly in 2019 either - he presumably had a pretty good one on a tasty NJPW wedge, but god forbid America not be where he can really find his fortune.
Experimentation is always welcome, but this didn't feel like an avenue worth exploring.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, 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
