5 Ups And 1 Down From Last Night's NXT

UPS

5. A Ridge Too Far

We kick things off this week with the not-as-appetising-as-they-think-it-is LOSER vs LOSER Part 1. Johnny Gargano, who was beaten to a spot in the ladder match by Bronson Reed, and Ridge Holland, who lost his place to Damien Priest. At stake here, the chance nab an unlikely entry at TakeOver for one, and the threat of being a Double Loser™ for the other.

Inevitably it was the far more experienced Gargano who scored the dub, and despite the best efforts of commentary to sell Holland as still both dangerous and interesting, this makes it a huge wet fart noise of a debut for him. One of the worst-looking botches seen on NXT in a long while didn't help his case either, and Gargano was lucky to get out unharmed.

But, in a formula we've seen with Keith Lee previously, Johnny Wrestling vs a physically stronger opponent is an entertaining combination. He put Holland over as an outright brute, if a bit of a dope, and the result was a solid opening to the show.

Holland's random spot-filling main roster call up feels inevitable.