3 Things that made NXT great this week (9th October 2019)
NXT followed up last week's great episode with yet another stellar show this time around. Sometimes, the NXT product doesn't get as much credit from fans because they are consistently good. But fans can't be blamed as they have come to expect good matches and logical booking from the black and gold brand every single week.
This week, NXT Cruiserweight Champion Drew Gulak defended his title against The Man of the Hour, Lio Rush, who recently made his return to WWE. Kushida finally got his hands on Imperium's leader, WALTER, in singles competition. Another big question in the minds of the NXT Universe was regarding the fallout from the returns of Tommaso Ciampa and Finn Balor.
NXT delivered some top performances this week, and we will have a look at some of the things that made the episode a good one.
#3 Drew Gulak and Lio Rush's great opener
Last week, Lio Rush returned after a hiatus and won a No.1 contender's match for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship. This week, Drew Gulak defended his title against Lio Rush to open the show.
Rush began the match with his high octane offense and stunned Gulak, but it was a matter of time before the latter took control. The Philadelphia Stretcher cut Rush's momentum and used a variety of submissions to ground him. However, The Man of the Hour was too good to let his opponent run away with the match and turned things around soon. He finally hit the Final Hour to win the match and the title.
Post-match, Gulak handed the title over to Rush in a moment of respect. This is a great comeback story for Rush who had to take a sabbatical from WWE after having issues backstage several months ago. His WWE future was in question but he managed to turn things around. In a few months, he went from being Bobby Lashley's manager to becoming Cruiserweight Champion.
With Rush as champion, it is almost a guarantee to have a good match every time he wrestles. Since the NXT roster is stacked, we could see exciting feuds for the Cruiserweight Title. Guys like Isaiah Scott, Jordan Myles, and even an established wrestler like Johnny Gargano can feud with and put on stellar matches against Lio Rush.