7 Ups & 2 Downs From Last Night's NXT (May 13)

2. Thatch Entertainment??

In all probability, when NXT booked this match they envisaged it as a big star-making moment for Timothy Thatcher. After months of putting up with his carefree partner, taking beatings on his behalf, being constantly irritated by his juvenile jokes, he'd had enough and finally, finally snapped. The seeds of this explosive seperation have been sewn for weeks now, and it was always just a matter of time before this odd couple came to blows.

Except... no. This has all happened in less than a month.

Riddle unveiled Thatcher as his new partner on April 15th, and that night the pair had a really good match with Undisputed Era. Since then it's been two backstage skits, one comedy segment on the ramp, and now we're being presented a "shocking" breakup designed to set up a "fierce rivalry". Sasha and Bayley have been doing this dance for a year, and yet they've rushed Riddle and Thatcher through in under 4 weeks.

This is one of NXT's biggest ever I'm-Not-Angry-I'm-Just-Disappointed moments because, while they've followed the booking steps everyone wanted them to, they've delivered it in the most underwhelming way imaginable. These friends-become-enemies feuds can be incredible, but only if you take the time to lay the groundwork.

Do we know what it is that's so irked Thatcher? Do we know why they were even friends in the first place? Do we even really know how good he is in the ring? Nope, all we know is that he really, really, really hates monkey flips. With so little going on in NXT at the moment rushing through this is a massive shame, and a hard one to understand at that.

Still though, whenever these two do finally come to blows - presumably at the upcoming In Your House TakeOver or even just in a hugely anticipated TV main event a few weeks down the line, it's guaranteed to be a classic...cagemat

Best ever ref performance I've ever seen