6 Ups & 4 Downs From Last Night's NXT (Jan 15)

3. Spoiling The Surprise

Surprise returns and shocking moments are what make wrestling what it is. Done correctly they can elevate a match from passable to memorable, and on certain levels, they can turn an otherwise solid show into unmissable, once-in-a-lifetime viewing. If you've got them up your sleeve, and you don't need them to sell tickets in advance, you drop them out of nowhere.

NXT clearly understand this, as the reception that greeted Shayna Baszler was that of someone who'd been away years, not a mere few weeks, but by telegraphing the returning Tegan Nox (and her long-awaited showdown with Dakota Kai) they robbed the audience of a moment they've been looking forward to since WarGames.

Given the quality of the match this feels like an incredibly petty gripe, but if NXT were worried that a debuting Martinez and returning Nox would have depleted the crowd too much to care about Baszler's appearance they are comically wrong. Sometimes more really is more.