Zack Gibson's pedestrian squash victory over Amir Jordan wasn't the story emerging out of the scouse rabble-rouser's latest appearance for NXT UK - his impending match against one of the brand's biggest stars was.
Trent Seven occupies a weird space somewhere in between his two megastar mates and the rest of the NXT UK rank-and-file. Like Triple H in the first version D-Generation-X or Mark Henry in the last version of The Nation Of Domination, he's defined more by who he hangs around with than what he gets up to by himself.
His allegiances and occasional great matches have at least built an aura around him enough for somebody like Gibson to bulldoze through en route to an eventual scrap with Pete Dunne.
The pair have been to war before, but Gibson hasn't given up his chase of a title he should probably take if 'The Bruiserweight' is ever permitted to exit a brand he's blatantly far, far too big for. Gibson comprehensively beating the weathered veteran of WWE's vision of the UK scene can only help him on his angry path back to Pete.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, 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
