21 Things We Learned From The WWE Network's NXT All-Star Panel

5. Size Doesn't Matter

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Over the last 5 years or so, the main WWE product has started to loosen its shackles when it comes to having a fear of giving supposed “smaller” talents some time in the spotlight.

Now don’t get me wrong, the company still has a propensity to get all tight in the pants at the sight of a hulked-up, chiselled 6’5” giant, but the eventual main event ascension of the likes of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan show that maybe size isn’t quite the prerequisite for success that it once was.

Monday’s Network special only further emphasised that, with WWE Champion Seth Rollins making reference that nowadays it is no longer a case of looking for the most imposing, jacked specimen. Instead, the blueprint for NXT is to find the best wrestlers on the planet. If they’re giants, so be it. If they’re on the smaller side, again, so be it. If they're a little chubby around the midsection, no problem.

With NXT, and hopefully this is the case with the main WWE roster too, the future seems to be about rewarding those who can get the job done in and out of the ring.

And when it comes down to it, we’d all much rather have a world of Daniel Bryans than a world of King Kong Bundys, right?

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.