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

2. Mixed Doubles

Skipping ahead to week two, Moustache Mountain's Week One challenge was answered for the first time as Tony Bone and Tony Bone teamed up to lose to the duo in a match so predictable it bordered on depressing.

A direct result of the problematic first Down in this article, Saxon Huxley was dead weight before the bell even rang for both the live crowd and those watching along at home. A weak guy had been beaten by the stronger team's weaker guy - there was little to cling on to here unless you really really enjoyed the same best bits of the Tyler Bate match the week before.

Moustache Mountain are currently trapped in a wrestling vortex that once stopped Mike Awesome from becoming the industry's breakout star. The former ECW Champion was too huge to be the Cruiserweight he was capable of, but too small to be super-heavyweight in Vince McMahon's land of the giants.

In status rather than size, Bate and Seven (as a team, and Bate as a solo) are so far beyond belonging on this show it almost feels like Triple H has brought some imports over to sell out the house, possibly because he's unsure if they can hang on NXT or WWE's main roster. And with Tag Team Championships on the horizon, it's hard to see them going anywhere anytime soon.

Michael Hamflett

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

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