Arguably the standout moment from a memorable broadcast last week, Finn Bálor's return to NXT immediately felt like the smartest exchange between Full Sail and the main roster in forever. It should come as little surprise that it involved a Raw and SmackDown wrestler going back to the former developmental brand, but Bálor's history on the show feeds brilliantly into his future.
Knowing this, NXT chose to split the hype train up into two separate carriages, with the best bits from his post-2016 career saved for the second half of the show. It was, predictably, less effective than the first video, but did at least capture the full circle nature of his return.
NXT isn't currently gifted with a loaded topline - but the brand's longest-serving Champion is an immediate, enormous addition to it.
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
