6 Ups And 2 Downs From Last Night's WWE NXT (May 18)
3. Indy Takeover
NXT was already going strong when we fans were given a treat - an appearance from the tag team of Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. Despite having appeared in NXT since last summer, both men only recently signed contracts with WWE. Thankfully, those contracts will allow them to continue wrestling for independent promotions, as Gargano is a cornerstone of EVOLVE Wrestling.
Here, the two indy standouts were in action against Rob Ryzin and Danny Burch, and the result was a more athletic TV match than we're used to seeing in NXT. Despite all the accolades the brand (deservedly) gets, and the fact that TakeOver cards are usually stacked, it's still a developmental territory, and that's reflected in the weekly show. It's nice to see a few minutes of work from talent that's, well, developed.
Gargano and Ciampa looked great here, hitting some cool combination kicks en route to putting their foes away. Hopefully before long, they'll be challenging American Alpha for the NXT Tag Team Titles, and who knows? Maybe in a few years, they'll be facing each other for the Intercontinental Title.