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

As mentioned before , last night's episode of NXT felt very light on seasoned indy veterans, or even seasoned NXT veterans. Every match involved developing talent, which seems like a mad criticism for a developmental show, but NXT's quality is so consistently high it's hard not to expect greatness. Combine that with a tired, quietening crowd and you have a recipe for a fairly sluggish hour.

The first match featured Sasha Banks' welcome return to in-ring action, but she spent a lot of it on the apron while Emma and Dana Brooke worked over Charlotte. The gulf of difference in talent between Charlotte/Banks and Brooke/Emma was noticeable and the less experienced Brooke being in control as often as she was left the action feeling a little disjointed and slow.

Solomon Crowe vs Marcus Louis fared little better. Crowe has been booked surprisingly badly in NXT. He's got a cool look and the hacker gimmick could be used to great effect in messing with NXT programming but they've almost completely cast him aside to the point where people aren't pumped to see him anymore. As a result, his bout with Louis lacked crowd interest and the in-ring action likewise suffered.

Finally, the #1 Contender's match, and a few odd decisions made it hard for the audience to invest. The fans in attendance couldn't quite work out if the Vaudevillains were supposed to be heels or faces. Their gimmick is silly and over, but they acted vaguely like bad'uns. This wishy-washy storytelling can hurt a match and, uninspired by the previous two bouts, the crowd was oddly unresponsive until the surprising finish.

It wasn't a disastrous night for NXT, but in terms of in-ring excitement, this week's offering was a bit of a let-down.