4 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE NXT (Jan 24)
3. Destroy Everything
The Authors Of Pain's squash blueprint is simple: get in, get angry, get out. It always works, and the duo delivered a textbook execution last night, putting a couple of local jobbers to the sword before the bout could even start.
Akam and Rezar blitzed the ring. Attacking their hapless foes prior the bell, they destroyed them with corner Death Valley Drivers, then grabbed a microphone, spitting bile and venom at The Undisputed Era. As their increasingly redundant manager Paul Ellering attempted to control traffic in the background, the Authors then rubber-stamped the beatdown with a totally necessary Super Collider. RIP, those jobbers.
NXT's presentation of the Authors has been fantastic throughout their run, and while they still look green from time to time, they're nailing their Road Warriors-esque dominance. The formula of destructive weekly bouts plus all-action TakeOver bangers has gotten them over to a level that seemed impossible when they debuted as a couple of awkward stiffs. On top of this, their latest squash was exponentially more effective than the others on the show, and who'd bet against them having a great match with Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly?