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

by Michael Hamflett

1. Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

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WWE.com

Based on performances alone, it's been tricky to work out what WWE have seen in Wolfgang to justify him earning such a prominent place in this project, but his positioning as the payoff to this show-long angle was oddly satisfying as Week Three climaxed with the show's best angle so far.

Ultra-babyface Mark Andrews took the place of ally Travis Banks after the New Zealander was decked backstage by assailants assumed to be The Coffeys, but the set-up was revealed when Wolfgang joined Mark and Joe in beating down Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster in the post-match.

Ignoring the amaeteur hour acting of Mark and Joe as they confirmed Wolfgang's conversion to the dark side, the rest of the swerve turn played well to the Cambridge locals.

With battle lines now drawn, it's a huge positive for so many characters to have a motivation at such an early stage. And though the potential six-man blowoff doesn't particularly excite this soon into the angle, the Scottish heel trio act immediately felt greater than the sum of its parts. More than any other brand in WWE right now, NXT UK requires expert shielding of negatives to extenuate positives. Based on that criteria alone, this show-closer was a best case scenario.

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Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, 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