6 Ups & 1 Downs From Last Night's WWE NXT (Jan 17)

2. The Authors Assert Their Dominance

The Street Profits aren't quite there yet. They've got tremendous chemistry, and Montez Ford is outrageously charismatic, but they're still putting it together between the ropes, and it'll likely be a while before we can treat them as serious contenders. Regardless, they put forth a strong showing against the Authors Of Pain in last night's number one contender's match, though their loss was decisive.

Ford took much of the heat. Akam and Rezar battered him all over the ring, and he played an effective face-in-peril before fighting back for the inevitable hot tag. Angelo Dawkins, who has seemingly been in developmental since dinosaurs roamed the Earth, ran wild, but only briefly. The plucky rookies fell to the Authors' match-ending Super Collider/Last Chapter combo, and will have to wait for their title opportunity.

The bout couldn't have been booked any better. There's no way that the Profits should be defeating AOP at this stage in their development, but Ford drew great sympathy, and the crowd adored them. Still, there's a clear gulf between them and the Authors at the moment. Perhaps they'll be on their level 6-12 months down the line, but for now, they're mid-tier guys, and the match reflected this.