6 Ups And 2 Downs For WWE NXT (Jan 13)

5. Grizzled Young Veterans (Ever)Rise To The Occasion

After making it all the way to the finals of the 2020 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, the Grizzled Young Veterans were understandably motivated to go one better coming into their opening round match-up against Ever-Rise. And a passionate Zack Gibson promo before the bout had even got underway seemed to suggest it could be a painful evening for their unfortunate opponents.

With Ever-Rise sensing their only chance of winning would come via their ability to rile up even the most in-sync of duos, Drake and Gibson were forced to find their composure and think on their feet. Mixing in violent tag team offence and frequent tags, GYV were soon able to isolate Chase Parker for a significant spell before Matt Martel received the hot tag and powered his team back into the unlikely driver's seat.

However, this unexpected momentum wasn't to last as the former NXT UK Tag Team Champions ultimately nailed Martel with a Ticket to Mayhem for the victory. One of the tournament favourites now advances to Round Two, but Ever-Rise yet again proved here why they have the capacity to be much more than just a faceless pair of goobers for pushed teams to feast on.