Then, now and hopefully forever, the women's division remains at its worst the most incredible collection of wrestlers and matches within WWE. At its best, it's everything that still ensured NXT had purpose, credibility and (occasionally) a respectable number of viewers.
A rocky start to the year thanks to the Rhea Ripley/Charlotte Flair problems and global b*stard-related reasons was rectified in the run-up to TakeOver: In Your House. There, Io Shirai became champion as Candice LeRae, Shotzi Blackheart, Tegan Nox, Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez all shone in a six-woman that also contained a main roster-bound Mia Yim.
The returns of Toni Storm and Ember Moon have energised the midcard, while Rhea Ripley's recovery and the amazing emergence of Champion-elect Gonzalez and eventual babyface megastar Blackheart seems to be ushering in another golden era for the black-and-gold brand's female league.
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The HARDEST WWE NXT TakeOver Quiz You'll Ever Take!
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1. What Year Did The First NXT TakeOver Take Place?
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for nearly 10 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 65,000,000 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 provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, 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.
