3 Ups And 7 Downs From WWE NXT 2.0 (Dec 28)

1. Strong And Hayes Make It Official... But Bivens Steals The Show

It's not exactly an exciting take to state that Malcolm Bivens is perhaps the most under-appreciated talker in the business at this current moment in time. Look no further than his stellar display throughout Carmelo Hayes and Roderick Strong's North American/Cruiserweight Championship unification contract signing for an example of the captivating manager putting the rest of the 2.0 locker room to shame on the stick.

Translating the string of colourful language tumbling out of Trick Williams' always enthusiastic mouth to the rest of Diamond Mine and a helpless Wade Barrett caught in the thick of this particular barrage, Bivens routinely riffed the audience into a frenzy, with his comment on Hayes not even being able to spell "scintillating" thoroughly popping this idiot.

Hayes again showed that he has the power to grip a crowd with his easy charisma and charm, carving himself out as the only real candidate to hold both straps - or whatever the hell will be thrown out the other side of this New Year's Evil unification bout. Strong on the other hand just felt like a passenger here, not exactly lighting the world on fire with his own spell on the mic and being thoroughly dwarfed by not only his rival but the rest of the under-experienced Diamond Mine in terms of overall watchability.

Whatever happens next, it's safe to assume the days of 205 title challenges will be over post-next Tuesday. And maybe the days of a Strong leader of a certain Mine will be too...