Every Major Weekly Wrestling Show Ranked From Worst To Best

3. NXT

NXT logo
WWE

NXT is an excellent weekly wrestling product, but one still hamstrung, subjectively, by flawed storytelling mechanisms.

That they generate such building-shaking reactions every single time grants a degree of leeway, as predictable as NXT's patterns have become. Feuds and matches are typically established by a wrestler's music hitting while another stands in the ring, the crowd-popping arrival staring the other down, and Mauro Ranallo spitting a corny pop culture reference to sell it. That this generates excitement is undeniable, but there's nothing under the hood, and the show's over-reliance on contrived main roster f*ck finishes is such a bore.

Nonetheless, NXT's positives greatly outweigh those negatives. The in-ring product is a straight-up sugar rush that deserves its reputation as one of the world's most cutting edge. Bouts as kinetic as Adam Cole vs. Matt Riddle rarely go down on other weeklies and the roster is ridiculously stacked, giving Triple H an almost endless list of combinations to play with. This is a big-budget version of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla with stories, basically. It is exactly what its core audience wants and the added appeal of main roster stars like Bayley and Finn Balor showing up gives it a fresh anything-can-happen vibe.

It's a great show, just not the greatest.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.