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

1. O'Reilly Books A Date With The Prince

It was down to a mid-show promo package to really promote the night's main event; A Gauntlet match which was hastily assembled in order to paper over the fact that the NXT Championship picture is still recovering from Karrion Kross' unanticipated injury at TakeOver: XXX. Thankfully, it more than did the trick and the prospect of any of the five announced competitors taking on Finn Bálor at the next TakeOver event was a seriously tantalising one.

Kushida and Kyle O'Reilly got us started, playing a grappling game of chess for four minutes before the 'Colossal' Bronson Reed joined the fray. The, just as Kushida was starting to pick up some momentum, his night was spoiled by the emergence of The Velveteen Dream. One Dream Valley Driver and Tsunami splash later, Kushida was out and his story with the controversial Dream will inevitably continue soon enough.

Timothy Thatcher then entered the all-important match-up and was followed by Cameron Grimes four minutes later. Grimes threw himself around the ring like a man possessed, Thatcher tried to rip off the field's limbs, Reed launched himself at anyone he laid his eyes on and O'Reilly slingshotted around like a pinball. It's fair to say, there was a lot going on here.

Ultimately, though, O'Reilly was the last man standing once the dust had settled and he will now lock horns with 'The Prince' at TakeOver on October 4.

Even though Roderick Strong and Adam Cole were quick to celebrate O'Reilly's fantastic achievement, the leader of the UE will surely be harbouring mixed emotions after watching his teammate earn the right to challenge for his old belt.

For now, though, let's just look forward to what will no doubt be a wrestling masterclass and long overdue NXT title opportunity for O'Reilly. Will Bálor be able to see off his Undisputed challenger? Only time will tell.