6 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE NXT (11 Sept)
Ups...
6. Making An Entrance
WWE
NXT's always been so good at the little things that used to make pro wrestling television so polished, and Rhea Ripley's arrival at Full Sail University was a perfect example of the world building that hopefully won't be lost when the crew move to USA Network.
The visual was both opulent and obnoxious, the messaging clearer than that - she had neither fear nor respected for the feared and (begrudgingly) respected Women's Champion Shayna Baszler.
This opening 30 second shot told the story better than any 20 minute promo. NXT must remember this when there's two hours to fill instead of the economical hour.
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
