WWE NXT: Results, Grades and Analysis for May 23rd

Credit: WWE.Com

Johnny Gargano Addresses the Crowd

Johnny Gargano finally made his return to NXT last night, following his brutal assault at the hands of Tommaso Ciampa a few weeks back. Gargano came to the ring with his wife, Candice LaRae and got stuck straight into what sounded like a retirement speech.

Gargano hit all the right notes here, talking about his future, his family and of course, his wife. He nailed the classic retirement speech stuff and then asked the crowd if it was worth it, a question which was met with a resounding ‘YES!’ chant.

After talking to his wife in the ring, Gargano decided that screw it, it is worth it and ripped off his neck brace before calling Ciampa out to the ring.

Ciampa then hit the ramp to a chorus of boos and LaRae promptly rang from the ring as Ciampa told her husband that if he was still in the ring by the time he got there, he was going to end him. Just as Ciampa got to the steps, a group of referees ran down, forcing Gargano out of the ring as the crowd chanted ‘let them fight’.

As LaRae finally began to calm her husband down, Ciampa took another pop at him, calling him a little boy who needed his wife to protect him. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back, as Gargano ran to the ring, only for Ciampa to hit him with an elbow and send him flying into his wife, knocking her unconscious.

The show closed with Gargano looking after his wife as Ciampa left the arena.

This was an excellent closing segment, and LaRae’s involvement with the storyline has, somewhat surprisingly, managed to add another dimension to proceedings. Not only does it add an emotional element to Gargano’s story, it has also allowed Ciampa to become even more of a heel as he uses their relationship to provoke his nemesis. This has, hands down, been the best storyline in the WWE this year, and I can’t wait to see the two men collide again at Takeover: Chicago.

Next: WWE 205 Live: Results, Grades and Analysis for May 22nd

Once again, NXT managed to do an awful lot in such a small amount while still being crazy entertaining. Takeover: Chicago is shaping up to be a great show, and on next week’s show, we will Shayna Baszler defend her NXT women’s title against Dakota Kai, and NXT champion Aleister Black make an appearance.