9 Ups & 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (1 Nov)

5. NXT Is Over

Tommaso Ciampa The Miz SmackDown
WWE.com

Somebody had clearly been watching AEW Dynamite, because as we returned from commercial, there was Tommaso Ciampa, after the fashion set by Scorpio Sky, preparing to wrestle The Miz in his scruffs. It was a subtle touch, if intended, and drove home the unusually and excitingly febrile atmosphere permeating the show.

The match itself was fine, but the biggest takeaway from the impromptu TakeOver was just how over NXT continues to be, even if numbers tuning in on Wednesday night suggest otherwise. It's worth remembering that, for the past five years, the gold and black brand has been a bastion of wrestling for those tired of WWE's machine, and only the emergence of AEW has recontextualised the narrative.

Fans in attendance were reminded of NXT's merit and continued relevance last night, a most apt fightback off the back of another depressing corporate junket to Saudi Arabia. And boy did they get behind it.

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Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.