11 Ups & 4 Downs From Last Night's WWE NXT (Dec 4)
8. Tell Me A Li
WWE.com
Shayna Baszler is amazing.
Xia Li gave the 'Queen Of Spades' an admirable fight during their short sharp shock of a non-title clash, but Baszler's ability to be simultaneously in a state of panic yet entirely in charge remains her best weapon as a WWE-ready Sports Entertainer.
Giving herself up to the first two minutes of this four-minute thriller, Baszler appeared unprepared for Li's pacey striking game before unlocking the secret right as the Chinese star appeared to reach the precipice.
The Kirifuda Clutch restricts oxygen getting to the brain, but it also breaks hearts. Pulling her like a shark with tight hold of a toddler's leg, Li went down clean in the middle having given her best. This could have been perfunctory but instead was absolutely perfect.
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
