7 Ups And 2 Downs From WWE NXT (Dec 2)

Downs...

2. Strap This Feud To A Rocket And Send It To The Moon...Please.

Once again we had a singles contest involving the ball of charisma that is Cameron Grimes on this week's episode of NXT, and yet again the commendable, if brief, work in the ring was overshadowed by the absolute nonsense which followed it.

Here Grimes faced the challenge of August Grey - former Thatch-As-Thatch-Can student - and, after a quick back-and-forth exchange, he was able to Cave-In the new kid on the block's dreams of earning a much needed win on the black and yellow brand. Grimes then chose to target his fallen foe with a strap he'd brought on down to the ring in a sack, because as much as we'd like to pretend it isn't, a strap match involving Grimes and Dexter Lumis is heading our way this Sunday.

To the surprise of literally no one, an arrogant Grimes was soon given the fright of his life after seemingly tying himself to Grey, only for Lumis to switch places with him in the blink of an eye. The stoic figure immediately whipped Grimes out of the ring before then staring into the camera like a child watching his sibling pull the head off their favourite action figure. Because nothing says compelling babyface like an intense, unsettling stare into a lens apparently.

This feud should've ended weeks ago and has been treading water since Halloween Havoc. Let War Games be the end of it, and give both men something more interesting, or at the very least entertaining, to do in the wake of this never-ending sh*t show.

1. Boa And Xia Li Are Punished For Their Sins

For weeks, it appears a mysterious force has been hanging over Boa and Xia Li, and after last week's trip to a dingy garage offered hardly any more information as to who the person behind cloak actually is, this week did much of the same.

Both Li and Boa were seemingly punished for their sins by being forced to dunk themselves underwater as a master-like figure watched over and demanded them to perform the act 'AGAIN!'

Then, just when it appeared we were finally going to be given some answers, Boa and Li were kendo sticked into oblivion before the ominous hidden leader of this...group?

Though you have to admire the attempt to do something a little different on the show, the lack of real development in the story being told, apart from Li and Boa being consistently made to look like nothing more than scared losers desperately trying to keep their heads above water (in more ways than one), has made this entire angle feel rather stale before it's even been given a chance to really get going.

Hopefully the pay-off will be worth the agonising wait, but for now, this surreal story is getting a down.