4 Ups And 6 Downs From WWE NXT 2.0 (Nov 23)

5. Escobar's Return, And An Afterthought Of A Tag Division

A few months ago, your writer couldn't help but get a little excited about what the future could hold for both of NXT's resident tag divisions. Frequently showing the main roster how it really should be done, the former black and gold show could constantly call upon credible and fresh contenders to challenge whoever was on top, hurling vibrant contests at our screens and constantly leaving fans wanting more even when the storylines themselves weren't up to scratch.

And while the overall match quality still isn't what you'd class as overtly terrible, the sheer lack of effort being put into setting up the various title challenges we've seen in recent times has resulted in fans slowly losing interest in a once credible division when it comes to the men's side of things.

Before we could get to another limp set-up for a PPV title showdown, though, there was just the small matter of a returning Santos Escobar to address. And in reality there wasn't much more to it than that. The Emperor of Luchalibre quickly bulldozed Malik Blade in a sometimes clunky squash, paving the way for Elaktra Lopez to remind us again that nobody says no to Legado... looking at you Xyon "Sexy Boy" Quinn.

Before Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza could stake their claim to an Imperium title shot, though, Kool Kyle O'Reilly and "Lurch" (as Marcel Barthel so sensitively referred to him) demanded another round with the duo after the "dumb*sses" missed Wagner's foot being on the rope. What are they like?

The crowd's reaction alone told you all you needed to know about how well NXT have built up the apparent babyface duo of Kyle and Wagner towards a TakeOver-worthy title collision. Not very. And anything less than a Legado win could banish this match into infamy before it even gets started.

And how have we got this far without ever seeing a Legado vs. Imperium match? And why does it still feel like a stale contest that's been overdone? I give you the modern day NXT effect, folks...