9 Ups & 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE NXT (Sept 18)
Ups...
9. A Whole New World
WWE
For all Triple H's opening smacked of his desperation to put himself at the front and centre of a new movement, what followed was a wonderful shot of the place where so much of the magic has occurred.
Full Sail University (in spite of certain faulty fans dotted throughout) has been a vital ingredient in NXT's reimagining of the WWE landscape, and looked magnificent here. Enhanced slightly from the usual set-up, a few gentle changes made the show look TV-ready, justifying exactly why it was far better to debut the event here than in one of the typical venues the company so often homogenises.
This was the "NXT Arena" and felt every bit like a home base.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 almost 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 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL 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
