On the two final pre-TakeOver: WarGames editions of NXT, the combatants of both the male and female double cage spectacles went to war in ladder matches for the vaunted on-the-night advantage.
For male heel captain Adam Cole, this was another bruising night in the million or so he worked through as a way to prove himself bulletproof in WWE's archaic system. Mia Yim donated her head to the women's equivalent, but would have just as much damage to her body with the bumps regardless of what went wrong with the giant metal weapon.
This sort of escalation has become the unsettling norm of late, made worse by revelations that NXT stars aren't being nearly as well-compensated as they should be for their role in the ultra-competitive Wednesday Night War era for the brand. The ultra-talented and ultra-competitive performers are on an unsustainable path - they need to make it look like they're killing each other, not actually killing themselves.
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 almost 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 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL 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
