It's a really, really good thing that NXT UK took the time this week to announce a tournament to crown its first ever women's champion.
If this formulaic squash is an indicator of how the whole tournament will play out, is there really even a point in showing every match? WWE had the opportunity to accelerate proceedings in this already-dated concept by chopping these bouts up into highlights, and the decision not to may prove the division's early undoing. Samuels hasn't yet convinced, whilst Kai - like others on the brand so far - took a lot and didn't give enough back before she claimed the win. Yes, she advanced, but the NXT UK Women's division did not.
Kai has already proven in various other appearances that she's far superior than this scuffle suggested. Better days will come for her and hopefully Samuels too will eventually share in that spotlight.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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
