It took the guts and guile of Rhea Ripley to finally terminate Shayna Baszler's incredible second reign as NXT Women's Champion in a glorious payoff to a truly magnificent feud, but 'The Queen Of Spades' contributions up to and including that cathartic switch were possibly more important than anybody else's on a show.
Wrestling companies are often (rightfully) defined by their Champions, and the unflappable, unstoppable Baszler was simply sensational in her role as such. Her TakeOver title defences were wrestled at a different pace to every other bout on the card - fought like the monster/monster slayer battles they were, Baszler's ability to flit between dominance and panic extracted every last burst of hope from the crowd before she put another pretender away.
It informed every one of her defences up to and including the last, and if November was any indication of Vince McMahon's thoughts on her, Raw and SmackDown will be substantially better for having her.
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
