13 Ups & 9 Downs For WWE In 2022

7. NXT

WWE NXT Halloween Havoc 2022 Roxanne Perez Cora Jade
WWE.com

The ever-reliable Brandon Thurston recently brought something to the timeline's attention that was more required viewing than the last days of Triple H's black-and-gold brand.

NXT - in direct contrast with AEW Rampage, interestingly - is trending upwards.

Striking for sure, but for those that have dared to tune in over the past 12 months, this doesn't actually come as much of a shock.

There are other excellent articles and discussions on the weekly foibles of AEW Rampage but the same doesn't exist for NXT success stories because there isn't a market for it. The show almost never penetrates the discourse bubble, and when it does it's more because the developmental roots of the roster are far too much on show for a broadcast that airs on national television once a week. Or because of the rampant and horrifically dated sexual content on show marketed as PG but watched predominantly by people who offer Grandparental Guidance to any kids in the room.

What it does do better than Rampage even when it's doing it poorly, is front-load everybody with backstory and gimmick out the *ss to the point where you know the characters inside out even if and when the matches or stories suck. When the work is good - and there are enough wrestlers on the brand to just about guarantee one ripper a week - it feels like added value instead of reasonable expectation.

NXT hasn't cheated the system to get these gains. It's simply operated with one clear (if chaotic) direction and yielded modest but deserved rewards. The 2021 2.0 rebrand was the right call all along, and 2022 was the year an almost entirely brand new roster found themselves as performers within it.

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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