It was easy to underestimate the pressure on Johnny Gargano and Shane Thorne going into their mid-show match on the historic first two-hour USA Network edition of the show. With one promo to build it, no belt between them and sh*tloads potentially happening on the other side, the 'heart of NXT' and a member of its new blood could have easily seen their scuffle slip between the cracks.
Gargano is too good for that.
'Johnny Wrestling' worked up a magnificent level of drama in what served effectively as the night's longest squash. Thorne looked like one of the NXT jobber-to-the-stars types that will one day shine on the TakeOver stage - it wasn't destined to be the 'Black Swan's night, but his minutes were maximised before the loss.
Kept to a premium since NXT moved to USA, the booking of Gargano has shown security in the rest of the roster to thrive without him atop it. For a man handcuffed to huge programmes for the entirety of his black-and-gold tenure, there's an added excitement about his current freedom.
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
