NXT go to the well a lot with the confrontation-on-the-ramp craic, but this particular face-off between Lio Rush and new Number One Contender Angel Garza did very little to set up their encounter on next week's show.
It was produced with polished functionality, but is 'The Man Of The Hour' really the character to be standing for this sort of thing, even if he laughed it off?
More a segment to slot two characters into rather than one written with the characters in mind, Garza and Rush will have a banger to ensure this is instantly forgotten anyway, but why aspire to make instantly forgettable segments in the first place? NXT can and often does do better, and should be brought to charge when they don't.
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
