5 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE NXT UK (Oct 31)

WWE Network double-header shines a light on some, but the doubles division is left in the dark.

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Was this week's surprise second hour a case of WWE tacitly acknowledging a logjam?

Just days before the historic Evolution pay-per-view, eagle-eyed fans noticed that the planned pay-per-view battle over the NXT UK Women's Championship was a physical impossibility unless an entire episode was dedicated to clipped highlights of the already-shot tournament or - even worse - WWE simply spoiled the result completely and did away with the footage just to get the match on the show.

A dark match was the eventual compromise. Champion and challenger (who won't be named here in case the tournament and title are given priority in the coming weeks) fought before the cameras rolled in order to allow for the sort-of climactic culmination.

There may be more double-headers if WWE intend on the culmination coming a little quicker. It's perhaps not the worst decision - more was scuppered that just the Evolution match by the delayed airings of so much already-taped footage. And based on this week's efforts, playing catch-up may do far more good for the main players...

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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