WWE often take the post-WrestleMania shortcut with their NXT debuts, usually to the detriment of the talent involved despite the Night One pop. A response that rationalises offering the newbies absolutely no character explanation to the mammoth audiences that don't watch NXT, the cheers from the post-'Mania loyalists often betray a more tepid reality when when the graduates hit the road the following week.
Enzo and Cass had no such problem turning their thunderous first reaction into something instantly meaningful. That they had one of the most decorated teams in industry history as foil didn't hurt either.
Bouncing bombs off of Bubba and D-Von Dudley, Enzo Amore spat fire at the table-toting twosome with the confidence of a 20-year pro. Whilst visibly the more nervous of the two, Cass held it together to carry the confidence of his partner, rattling off his version of the crowd "Not Being Down With That" in the form of his "S-A-W-F-T" refrain. With thanks to Edge for the parlance, he'd managed not to "Billy Gunn" his debut, even if he was considered quite the ass man by the time his final match rolled around.
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
