5 Ups And 2 Downs From Last Night's NXT (Sep 23)

4. Tommaso Ciampa Toys With A Plucky Jake Atlas

After being jumped by Tommaso Ciampa again during last week's show, Jake Atlas finally got his match against the recently returned former NXT Champion.

Atlas showed a new fired-up side early on, attempting to use Ciampa's own underside-of-the-ring assisted slingshot catapult against him. However, that emotional momentum was eventually kicked in the face and 'Blackheart' nailed Atlas with a sickening Willow's Bell... but he wasn't finished there. After refusing to pin his beaten foe, Ciampa nailed Atlas with a modified Fairytale Ending before sealing the victory.

Despite Ciampa coming away with the sadistic win, Atlas still looked like force to be reckoned with throughout their personal battle and actually comes away from the bout looking like an exciting prospect, even in defeat.

Kyle O'Reilly definitely wasn't able to protect Atlas from Ciampa on this occasion, though, and you have to imagine 'Blackheart' won't have forgotten about his Undisputed intervention a week earlier.