Almost no talent has any autonomy in WWE anymore, so as usual most of this is criticism of a control-obsessed company than a talent trying to get over within it, but Nikki A.S.H was a doomed load of b*llocks and they were all a*seholes for telling you otherwise.
Nikki Cross had for too long been overlooked, she reasoned, when she aped the Captain Snowball aesthetic to get the creative attention she craved and deserved. Striking while the iron was medium temp, WWE agreed and delivered a shock women's title change as a memorable moment for the first Raw in front of live crowds. It was altogether perfectly nice.
But the one thing WWE isn't, is nice. The gimmick was robbed of any depth before some could be established, A.S.H lost the belt back to Charlotte Flair after just 33 days, a jokey persona became a straight up joke, and we're ending 2021 with the gimmick already being buried by complete strangers in backstage vignettes.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 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. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, 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
