Johnny Gargano returned to NXT TV on Wednesday night, distracting Adam Cole just long enough for him to beat Finn Balor and retain his title.
NXT might not have won as many Wednesday nights in the ratings war as it might have liked, but that's not the most important take-home in all of this. The show's number one worry when it went live every week on Wednesday nights was whether it could keep up the stellar reputation it has created for itself. It has answered that with a resounding yes.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about how good NXT on USA has been so far is not the Superstars who have appeared, but the ones who haven't. 14 weeks in and we have barely seen stars such as Johnny Gargano and Velveteen Dream, arguably two of the black and gold brand's biggest names.
RELATED: Week 11 Of The Wednesday Night War Was A Dead Heat
Gargano's absence has been caused by an injury. An injury inflicted by a returning Finn Balor. This week's NXT opened with a match between Balor and Adam Cole for the NXT Championship. A match that looked like it might end with Balor becoming NXT Champion for the second time in his career. That was until Gargano entered the arena and slowly started to make his way to the ring.
Balor looked like he had seen a ghost, and while he and referee were distracted, Cole saw his chance. The champ delivered a low blow to Balor and quickly covered the Irishman to retain his title. Gargano hadn't returned to NXT to cost Balor the title, though. That was just an added bonus. Johnny Wrestling had emerged from the back at that exact moment to get revenge and inflict pain.
Gargano hit Balor with a couple of nasty looking steel chair shots, sending the first-ever Universal Champion scurrying into the NXT Universe. As for Balor's response, fans might have a while to wait for that. Next Wednesday falls on Christmas Day, so no live show, and what NXT will be doing the week after that on New Year's Day is still unclear. Whatever NXT has planned, Gargano versus Balor is a match we are very much looking forward to.
NEXT: Liv Morgan's Makeover Is Giving Off Some Serious Emmalina Vibes
