I, for one, am excited about the prospect of Austin Theory in NXT. The former Evolve and WWN star was a big pick-up for the brand last year and his big unveiling against Roddy Strong showed glimpses of a potential star. At 22 the lad has absolutely everything required to make it in WWE, let alone on it's quote/unquote third show.
However, the number of bodies between him and anything remotely substantial are numerous. Adam Cole, Finn Balor, Tomasso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, Kieth Lee, Dominik Dijakovic, Roderick Strong, Velveteen Dream, Matt Riddle, Pete Dunne, Kyle O'Reilly, Bobby Fish, Damien Priest, Cameron Grimes, Kushida, Killian Dain, Tyler Breeze, Lio Rush and Angel Garza are all ahead of him in the pecking order right now, and it's going to take huge performances (and a lot of creative faith) to start jumping the queue.
On the basis of his showing against Joaquin Wilde he's a talented worker, but still lacks that "otherness" that he's going to need here. Early days, yes, but right now he's just another name.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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
