6 Ups And 3 Downs From WWE NXT 2.0 (Oct 5)

2. Pete Gets The Job Dunne In The Mess

NXT 2.0's upper-mid-card is a little bit clunky as of late. Numerous plates are all being spun with the aim of building up new stars whilst keeping the old ones busy enough to fall into the category of "impressive scalp" should the time come to pull another rookie trigger.

However, the major problem with this tactic is the fact that things regularly devolve into a clusterf*ck on Tuesday nights, with no real obvious programmes or angles tumbling out of all-out carnage. That was again on show during the Cameron Grimes/Pete Dunne battle on the latest edition of NXT 2.0 as the two put on a thrilling back-and-forth affair, only to have all their hard work overshadowed by the madness going on elsewhere.

On the back of Kyle O'Reilly telling Von Wagner (him again!) "cheers, but stay out of my bizniz", Kool Kyle was here to lend a hand to Grimes when Ridge Holland attempted to give his mentor an unfair advantage. O'Reilly was quickly sent flying over the announce desk for his troubles before The Dogefather was emphatically dumped on his face via Bitter End for the Dunne win.

The sight of Holland thumping O'Reilly post-match highlighted just how important a pick SmackDown may have made in the 2021 Draft, but what did it do for NXT? Dunne looks dominant, sure, but who is he going to spar with next and what will he do without his muscle once he's gone? O'Reilly has been massacred by a departing rookie, and Grimes is caught in the middle of all this crap wondering how to get laid. What a mess. Hey, but at least Wagner has Kyle's back, eh.