3 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE NXT (Dec 21)

1...Big On Quality

Paul Heyman once stated that, in the greatest wrestling match, one performer goes over and the other gets over. Bobby Roode, as most would have predicted, emerged victorious - but Tye Dillinger glowed in defeat.

This gorgeously-paced, content-laden high quality main event, loaded with subplots and scope for future storylines, highlighted the quality inherent to the stipulation.

The balance was perfect. Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas was eliminated first, but only via opportunism on the part of Roderick Strong. He was the star of the opening third, and as such, his elimination was more dramatic shock than necessary contrivance. Strong was the next removed from the fray, but only after making an, ahem, strong impression. Besides which, as Roode pointed out in that awesome pre-match video package, he’s only been in NXT for “ten minutes”. His exit didn’t harm him one jot. His star rose, quietly, just by appearing in the match.

Neither did Dillinger’s; coming agonisingly close to winning the big one, NXT officials have learned the lesson imparted by Tyler Breeze’s booking throughout 2015. Whereas his heat, in the heel role, was doused by his nearly man status, Dillinger’s rotten luck only serves to fortify his standing as sentimental underdog.

The expert booking of Dillinger - a man mired in developmental for so long that hr even lived through Ohio Valley Wrestling - may yet culminate in an NXT Title win outright. From Nakamura to Roode to the Perfect 10, the title scene writes itself. That’s what happens when such glorious foundations are put in place.