4 Ups And 6 Downs From NXT Vengeance Day

4. Dabba-Who?

NXT Vengeance Day 2023 Apollo Crews Dabba-Kato
WWE.com

If this were AEW, fans would be piling on on social media about the late-match appearance of Dabba-Kato to help Apollo Crews deal with Trick Williams’ interference… just seconds before Carmelo Hayes defeated Crews nonetheless.

And moments after the match, Kato turned on his friend with a chokebomb onto a steel chair. But who is Dabba-Kato, and why should NXT fans know and/or care? We casual fans can’t be expected to know who he is and his backstory.

That’s a common criticism from AEW haters, but it’s not entirely wrong here. WWE either expects fans to remember that this was Commander Azeez, who seconded Crews during his Nigerian Prince gimmick, rarely wrestled, and hasn’t been seen on WWE TV in more than seven months. Throw in that Kato was no longer dressed as a Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band rip-off and actually looked like he’d leaned out, and you might not have recognized him at first glance.

Vic Joseph yelling, “Dabba-Kato!” like he’s a household name was just silly. This isn’t like an international megastar coming to AEW. Kato’s barely even known to WWE fans by that name, unless you were a Raw Underground aficionado.

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Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.