6 Ups & 4 Downs From Last Night's NXT (19 Feb)
1. A Dream Return... Just
Was... this... a... shoot fight?
Two of the smoothest, cleanest workers in NXT came out in this evening's main event and just chucked each other around like the proverbial empty tracksuit. Laying potato after potato into their opponent's body. In parts it was captivating, but in parts, it was incredibly difficult to watch with a series of noticeable botches throwing any momentum out of the window.
The crowd - initially pumped for the start of the contest - were watching in an uncomfortable silence by the closing section, not removing their hands from their faces until Dream disrobed to reveal yet another piece of attire adorned with Marina Shafir's face. This was heading in a bad, bad direction, but Dream scoring a decisive victory, even in the face of UE interference, means that (like so many things this week) the match emerges as a net positive.
Strong, the first man to lose a belt in the stable, could not get the job done here. Dream, making an in-ring return after 5 months of injury has embarrassed him and the angles coming out of this just about make the ends justify the means.
Just.