7 Ups And 2 Downs From WWE NXT (Sep 30)

2. A Finn Red Line

It's not normally NXT's strong suit, but sitting Finn Balor down with Kyle O'Reilly to add a bit of personal heat to this otherwise sterile matchup was brilliant.

Don't get me wrong, O'Reilly winning the number 1 contender match was an astounding piece of booking. I can't remember the last time I was this excited for an NXT Championship match, but this was two people I wanted to see wrestle purely because of who they are individual, not because of who they are collectively. There's no obvious story here.

But now there is.

Between this and the video package, they've painted an image of someone NXT has slept on for far, far too long. The story of him just missing Finn Balor on every major step of his career (whilst, coincidentally, taking the very same steps he was) is brilliant, and totally pushing the UE subplot to the side means you can really invest in this as a contest. Rather than, say, a sideshow to a bigger story.

Whatever happens here (I still think Cole will cost him), we're going to get one of the most engrossing TakeOver main events in a very, very long time. How they've created this out of nothing in less than 2 weeks might be the brand's biggest accomplishment this year.