9 Ups And 1 Down From WWE NXT (Aug 3)

7. A Strong Showing Against A Fish

After coming up short a few week's ago during their tag team contest against Bobby Fish & KUSHIDA, Roderick Strong of Diamond Mine very much needed to lay down a marker last night. And lay it down, he did.

Ignoring the fact that Vic Joseph had clearly been drilled to remind us all how this was a contest "we never thought we'd see", despite the fact that it seemed pretty much inevitable from the second the Undisputed Era dissolved, Fish and Strong put on a top class match here. Fish matched his old pal on the ground early, before slowly transitioning into utilising his vicious knees and kicks to inflict more punishment. That was until Strong found his way back into the bout with his own set of knees, a picture-perfect backbreaker, and more forearms than you could shake a, erm, fish at.

In the end, despite not actually getting physically involved in the contest (thank the merciful lord), it was the presence of Diamond mine at ringside which gave Strong the opening he needed to seal the deal. Once Fish had been distracted, a savage suplex-backbreaker was enough to end the night on a high for Malcolm Bivens and his unit, adding another notable notch to their increasingly impressive belts.

What the future holds for Fish is anyone's guess, but this bout proved that he can definitely still go and will be able to make just about anyone on the roster look like a million bucks when given the chance. When it comes to Strong, though, KUSHIDA better hold onto that Cruiserweight title tightly because it may just be Strong-armed out of his possession in the not too distant future.