7 Ups And 3 Downs For Last Night's NXT (May 6)

6. All Killer No Filler

Jesus F***ing Christ.

I'm actually at a loss to recall a wrestling entrance that got such a low, guttural 'wow' out of me in recent years. Karrion Kross (as we're now calling him) has been presented as a sinister, sneaky, violent threat to the roster, working in the shadows and attacking Tomasso Ciampa out of nowhere in a dark room. This is unsettling, and something new for the show, but didn't exactly make him look like the monster he is.

This did.

There are bands on the planet putting five figures into their stage set up that don't look anywhere near as metal as this. The dry ice, the flying raven, the end of the world soundtrack, Bordeaux screaming the lyrics down the ramp, the pageantry, the theatrics of it all. NXT have experimented with a few different ways of making you forget the arena's empty, but flooding the thing with smoke as these two specimens emerge from it was a masterstroke.

As well as a 'wow' through this also got an 'oh s**t this is a match!?' out of me when the bell rang, and within about 8 seconds Leon Ruff was tapped out. Big debuts haven't really worked in the Empty Arena Era but, like Dexter Lumis before him, this is a gimmick that's almost better for not having a crowd inject themselves into it. Kross is here, and he's essential viewing.