4 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE NXT (Jan 24)

1. Gargano & The Dream Deliver

Nothing guarantees NXT excellence like Johnny Gargano's name in a high stakes match these days, and the former DIY man met expectations again last night. His bout with The Velveteen Dream was heated, well-paced, and permeated with captivating drama: exactly what we've come to expect, basically.

Dream has fast become one of NXT's most exciting performers. The gimmick was perfect from the moment it debuted, but his ring work has now caught up, and he played a great villain to Gargano's underdog babyface. A big push surely beckons, and with a match against enhancement talent par excellence Kassius Ohno now booked for TakeOver, we can only assume his stock will continue to soar, marking him as one of the Performance Center's greatest success stories.

But the night belonged to Gargano, whose spirited performance saw him topple Dream in just under 14 minutes. He fought back from several close near-falls, including a late-match Death Valley Driver off the ropes, and while the outcome was never really in question, his work from beneath sowed genuine seeds of doubt. With TakeOvert only two days away, he's peaking at just the right time.

The post-match saw Andrade 'Cien' Almas and Zelina Vega hit the ring, with the NXT Champion jumping his challenger. It backfired, though. Gargano fought back, nailed the former La Sombra with an enzuigiri and slingshot DDT, then hoisted the belt high. A great image to close the show on, and perhaps a vision of Johnny's immediate future.