Eddie Dennis' deep affection for pro wrestling teased him out of a full-time teaching job and into the squared circle, but NXT UK's version of the former headmaster has brought his demonic hatred from PROGRESS onto the WWE Network.
His deeply sinister vignettes spoke of a man made miserable by his friends' successes, and he made his debut count with an emphatic victory over Sid Scala.
Dennis was was so convincing as a hard-partying babyface with Mark Andrews because there's clearly a decent man underneath the pro wrestling persona. The growling sub-psycopath that decimated the brand's jobber-for-hire won't be smiling any time soon.
The gimmick's not yet perfect - Dennis needs better gear and his gangly frame undermines his height somewhat - but his anger's believable and his story's true. It made a refreshing change from the identi-kit debutants elsewhere on the show.
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
