7 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's NXT (23 Jan)

3. Just Zack Gibson In General

Give Zack Gibson a live microphone on a WWE show and I will give you an up. Likewise give me a wrestling fan who thinks there's a more venomous, original, and entertaining talker on the planet and I will give you a liar.

Last week was the first proper look the core NXT audience will really have had of him. Yes he's been a staple of NXT UK, yes he was in the most recent final for the WWE United Kingdom Championship, but the bulk of Wednesday Night's audience would have been new to him. Along with partner James Drake they showed Full Sail by knocking off the Timesplitters, then absolutely tore the crowd to shreds on the mic afterward.

This week was largely in the same vein. An (admittedly assisted) shock win over Undisputed Era and then later in the show emerging to label the crowd "neckbeards" as well as Dunne and Riddle a "pair of dweebs". It brought the best out of Riddle as well, responding with "You said something about manipulating a joint and I sorta lost focus and started daydreaming.”

It's amazing, isn't it? What can happen when you stop scripting these lads to within an inch of their lives and just let them talk the way they want to talk.