5 Ups & 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE NXT (Dec 11)

Ups...

5. A Great Cold Open

Adam Cole GIF
WWE

In a neat contradiction of the intro, NXT devised a very creative cold open for this week's show; a hybrid video package incorporating the usual open and a recap of last week was interrupted by Adam Cole with a "Wait, wait, stop..." as Slipknot chugged out and was replaced in the mix by the Undisputed Era's theme - an audible cue that illustrated the extent to which Cole et al. dominate the whole show with their gold prophesy.

The camera cut to Cole at the helm of the production truck in a unique means of cutting a promo in the classic chickensh*t mould. He claimed that no man in the Triple Threat main event had earned the right to face him, even though both Keith Lee and Tommaso Ciampa have scored recent pins at his expense, and Finn Bálor defeated Matt Riddle to establish his credentials at the precipice of the main event. As a heel, he expressed his wish to see all three men destroy one another, and in a very cute line, declared himself the greatest NXT Champion that ever lived.

This foreshadowed but did not give away the finish of the main event - who else calls himself the greatest ever NXT Champion? - in a way that, very subtly, drove the narrative heft of next week's super-show.

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Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!