4 Ups And 7 Downs From WWE NXT 2.0 (Dec 21)
Ups...
4. Blackheart's Mind Games Fail To Breakk Bron
Kicking us off how we ended the previous week's multi-coloured mayhem machine, NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa had the spotlight firmly on him as he addressed his sacking of current thorn in his side Bron Breakker seven days ago.
In a refreshing change of pace, instead of the typical back-and-forth promo battle that usually precedes this sort of epic rematch, Ciampa knowingly refused the incoming mini-Steiner the chance to take the mic and instead arrogantly did all of the talking for him. Of course, with this being the brilliant Blackheart, said wave of words masterfully built up the 2.0 standout as a threat worthy of colliding with him again at New Year's Evil before planting some insidious seeds of doubt in the youngster's mind over the elephant in the room that is his overall inexperience at the highest level.
Far from letting these venomous notions corrupt his mind, though, Breakker soon followed up an unexpected reality check (in the form of a puncturing slap) with a tease of another gorilla press slam to the champ, reminding him that he can end that Goldie reign any time he likes.
Sure, Breakker's final address noting how this baby shark wanted to chomp down on Ciampa felt a little too scripted for its own good, but this one-sided verbal landslide ultimately succeeded in one vital area: it proved that super Bron isn't going to fall victim to one of Ciampa's greatest weapons... his words. Contrary to Blackheart's beliefs... this lad is Championship ready and then some.