3 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's NXT

2. Learning To Reed And Right

Every so often, two wrestlers will make their entrances for an unadvertised match and I'll just mutter a quiet 'oh no' under my breath. Two wrestlers who are both on the ascendency in terms of their position on the brand, but who are either on the back of a losing feud or just without a decent win in a while. Essentially, a lose/lose situation whichever way it goes.

I'm telling you this because I made the same noise at the start of Thatcher vs Reed. Both felt like they were in line for a big push in recent weeks (Reed getting a huge upset in the North American Championship Qualifier triple-threat and Thatcher's training school packages accompanying a series of entertaining squashes) but both have fallen flat since. They both need a win, but a loss puts either man back to square one.

It's getting an Up thought because NXT actually managed a rare example of giving both men something to work with here. Yes, Reed lost, but only through an interference from someone we already knew he had heat with, while Thatcher capitalised to make him tap out, not merely roll him up and "steal one".

Both of them can move on from here with a bit of momentum. Thatcher in terms of his standing, and Reed in terms of his purpose.