James Drake is just another angry hard heel on a roster full of them at the moment, but the heat he garnered for daring to step to one of the show's hometown heroes was legitimately impressive and anchored what may have otherwise only been a middling match.
One mourns slightly for the year of two halves Tyler Bate had in 2017 and the disjointed one it created for him in 2018. The crown jewel of the project initially, his match-of-the-year-candidate loss to Pete Dunne at TakeOver: Chicago transferred his early success directly on to the 'Bruiserweight'. Jobbing to Enzo Amore on 205 Live later in the year never got it back.
This show could be the perfect place for Bate to be the best again. If NXT or the main roster won't ever make the most of the former and first UK Champion, let his original WWE home be the permanent one. James Drake was a beneficiary here, how many other opponents could feasibly take their careers to the next step on the wrong end of a Tyler Driver '97?
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
