9 Ups & 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE NXT (Sept 18)
2. The Dream Factory
WWE.com
An "Up" but only just, this extended segment emerging from the pretense of a KUSHIDA/Denzel Dejournette match started in captivating fashion when WALTER's Imperium acolytes made their sinister approach through the crowd to deck and decimate the unsuspecting Dejournette ahead of their leader's arrival.
In demand from then Full Sail Faithful, the UK Champion's appearance raised questions about a semi-permanent role on the black-and-gold brand, particularly when KUSHIDA turned up to reclaim his television time in a decent bit of babyface booking.
Out-battling the goobers before slipping free of WALTER's grasp via gilet-based escape, the former NJPW man appeared to lay the challenge out to the 'Ring General' for a future edition of the show. If nothing else, this proffered something of an other-worlds dream match for wrestling loyalists. How well this went down with potential new viewers remains to be seen, but much of the second hour didn't feel as though it was attempting that anyway.
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
