3 Ups And 4 Downs From Last Night’s WWE NXT (July 8)

NXT has a new champion, but, alas, neither he nor Kevin Owens were anywhere to be seen last night. Once again, the process by which WWE tapes its NXT shows weeks in advance, in this case many days before Beast in the East, means that we won't be seeing The Demon Champion, Finn Balor, wearing the strap to the ring for at least a fortnight. This is quite a tough pill to swallow, especially taking this week's anaemic offering into account.

Apart from Solomon Crowe, there was a total lack of NXT's heralded indy superstars on the card and the show felt a little empty, which is unfair because when you strip away the established megastars from an episode of NXT you get what the show is supposed to be at its heart: a development show featuring wrestlers that are still learning their craft.

Last night's card, w/ finishes:

Sasha Banks & Charlotte vs Dana Brooke & Emma

Banks locking in Bank Statement on Dana as Charlotte puts Emma in the Figure 8 for a double submission victory.

Solomon Crowe vs Marcus Louis

Crowe locks in the Crowe Bar for the submission win.

The Vaudevillains vs Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady (#1 Contenders Match)

Aiden English rolls Enzo through for the surprise pinfall.

As you can see, the show was slightly bereft of matches, with the show's middle section being dominated by a rerun of the Balor/Owens matchup from Beast in the East. Unfortunately, as you'll soon read, even the showing of that match had its own frustrations. 

Ok, this is getting silly now. Is Full Sail University built on an ancient cursed burial ground?

Last night, a backstage interview segment confirmed what many websites have been reporting for as longs as three weeks: Bayley is currently on the bench with a broken hand. Initial reports were that she would work through the injury, but it seems like that's no longer an option. 

Bayley seemed frustrated as she told the camera that she has to sit back and watch others wrestle. She incorporated into a storyline, however, blaming Emma for the injury and warning her that she was first in line for a butt-whooping when she returned, though it should also be mentioned that Bayley couldn't give a rough deadline for that comeback.

Not only is she the most recent in a growing list of top NXT stars to be struck down with injuries, including Alex Riley, Hideo Itami, Sami Zayn and Becky Lynch (and don't forget Owens' knee injury at the top of the year), but this has to be doubly hard for the Doctor of Huganomics, considering the timing. Rumours are that she was being considered for a call up to the main roster alongside Sasha Banks and Charlotte in the near future and that may have to be curtailed.

In her brief segment last night, Bayley compared herself to Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H. Like those guys she got hurt but, also like those guys, she will come back to accomplish great things. Here's hoping that's absolutely the case.