6 Ups & 2 Downs From Last Night's NXT (July 22)

3. Opportunity Calls

Heading into this match, the slow realization that NXT had quietly built a whole group of midcard also-rans into three-dimensional, sympathetic, and, well, over, TV stars quietly sank in. Bronson Reed, Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, Damian Priest, and Dexter Lumis are all enjoying a run of popularity, while Cameron Grimes and Timothy Thatcher represent the booable Yin to their Yang.

Wouldn't it be great, I thought, if those were the names who managed to overcome the Garganos and the Strongs and the Balors of this tournament, and give a genuine star-making ladder match at TakeOver: XXX?

And, my god, we actually might!

Bronson Reed was a sacrificial lamb for Cameron Grimes and, more viscerally, Karrion Kross, but came out looking like a genuine talent in both matches. Rehabilitating him with two squashes of his own have helped, but getting a bonafide dub over Roderick Strong (!!) and Johnny Gargano (!!!!) makes him a big deal in a stroke.

It helps that the match was a ripper, too. Gargano and Strong looking every inch the seasoned veterans of the brand, but Reed staying with them step-for-step. Having the courage to let him win completely clean is to NXT's credit as well, as often the desire to protect a top star can undermine the push of a rising one. If Keith Lee's "opportunity" patter is going to hold up, then it needs to be the Bronson Reed's of this world getting it.