4 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE NXT UK (Oct 17)

WWE Network subscribers are Cambridge educated as Triple H's British Wrestling rebadge kicks off..

by Michael Hamflett
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WWE

Finally. Finally.

NXT UK finally launched proper this week, after all sorts of false starts and dawns since the company held a tournament to crown the first ever WWE UK Heavyweight Champion 22 months ago.

Finally there was something for Pete Dunne to do with the bloody thing. He took the belt from Tyler Bate at NXT TakeOver: Chicago in June 2017 in a match that can finally be vindicated for more than just being a superlative one-off.

Finally WWE can shake off the stigma that they're only bothering with the project to stub a tab in the eye of World Of Sport wrestling after that finally aired and finally - regrettably - confirmed fears that it wouldn't have the legs to be sustainable for the long haul.

And finally, here ends further mention of that loaded word for the remainder of this introduction. Any echoes of The Rock (or any bonafide wrestling megastars, for that matter) are better quashed. Comparing 'The Great One' and some of the only-okay-ones on this show smacks of Bobby Heenan's "Ice Cream and Horse Manure" take rather than Triple H's previous promos about them all changing the wrestling world.

Was it all worth the wait?

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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