8 Ups And 3 Downs From Last Night's NXT (5 Feb)

4. Climbing The Ladder

Mercedes Martinez vs Kacy Catanzaro was a match that felt, on its surface, like a quick squash designed to do little more than show you what the former's finisher was while reminding you the latter exists. That's not inaccurate as an assessment, but it also highlighted precisely how deep this women's division actually is.

Ask yourself, by picking up this win, how far up the ladder do you think it moves Martinez? Certainly nowhere near the three women who were in the women later in the night, but definitely far up enough that there's a genuine interest in seeing her work someone like Shotzi Blackheart in the coming weeks.

Likewise, since the title last changed hands she's got more wins under her belt than an established star like Candice LeRae, and when Io eventually returns she could find her slot taken by someone else. The future combinations, and the matches that will bring, really create the feel of an actual division for the women, rather than simply a string of random challengers.

As for Kacy Catanzaro, she got over huge in defeat at the Mae Young Classic, so there's hopefully plenty more to come from her after tonight.