6 Ups And 4 Downs From WWE NXT 2.0 (Jan 11)

1. Waller Isn't Quite Phenomenal, But AJ Brings Out His Best

It must be said that having a bad match with AJ Styles is about as likely as WWE suddenly deciding to open their Forbidden Door to Cody Rhodes in a few weeks time. But even with that being said, last night still acted as a serious test of the credentials of 2.0 darling Grayson Waller in his first-ever main event bout under the NXT banner.

Proving he can bring some bite to go along with his many barks, Waller answered every forearm, Pele kick, and brainbuster with his own variety of devastating kicks, elbow drops and a rolling cutter near-fall as nail-biting as anything you'll see all year. The Aussie *sshole also sold like a champ from start to finish, squirming away from the veteran's inevitable comebacks like a lad who knew he'd bitten off more than he can chew.

A Styles win here always felt likely and a Phenomenal Forearm-induced conclusion for Waller was met with glee from a CWC crowd that hadn't popped this hard since the return of Samoa Joe last year. Whether Waller's interactions with Styles on Tuesday and Monday nights have successfully positioned him as a credible threat to Bron Breakker as we close in on 'Mania season remains to be seen, but it can't have done him any harm.

The return of LA Knight late in the day also gave us a clean segue into the immediate future for Waller, even if it did feel a touch disappointing after it became clear that Styles wouldn't be sticking around much longer. But all in all, class this one as a job well done, and a rare chance to see AJ prove again why he's one of the finest to ever do it.