9 Ups & 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE NXT (Sept 18)
8. Starting (And Stealing) The Show
WWE.com
Every "first" needs a good first impression, and NXT's maiden voyage on USA Network set sail with a ten-minute firecracker between some of the best talent in all of women's wrestling and Mia Yim.
A bracing multi-person brawl that never took a breath, this was a contemporary NXT classic on its own terms thanks to its history-making position on the card and the performative pressure that instantly created. The quartet crafted one of the division's best matches this year, firing a heavy shot across the bow at AEW's underachieving topliner and middling joshi displays.
Candice LeRae finally winning a big match provided the first big Full Sail pop of the night, whilst Shayna Baszler's intimidating arrival after the fact highlighted the steep nature of the challenge ahead for the new number one contender.
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
