3 Reasons Why NXT Appearing on SmackDown Worked This Week

# 2 The Timing Was Perfect

Thanks to Crown Jewel being held the previous day in Saudi Arabia and the vast majority of Smackdown Superstars being stuck in Saudi Arabia. Smackdown wasn't exactly jam-packed with their usual top-line talents. Those that didn't fly over to Saudi Arabia for the show included the likes of Sami Zayn, The Miz, Daniel Bryan, and the majority of the female members of the roster.

Sami Zayn has not been booked to look strong and hasn't been booked to perform in-ring for weeks, instead, Zayn has been managing the Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura. Zayn was beaten down by Matt Riddle and Keith Lee, two highly placed NXT Superstars who did a fantastic job of laying out the former NXT Champion.

The Miz, a multiple-time Intercontinental Champion, and former WWE Champion is a great wrestler. However, he was coming up against the former NXT Champion in Tommaso Ciampa who is currently at the top of his game. It's not entirely surprising that Ciampa beat The Miz clean in the center of the ring.

The only questionable match was in the main event, where former WWE Champion Daniel Bryan faced off against the current NXT Champion Adam Cole for the NXT title. The back and forth fight was great to watch with Cole retaining cleanly in the end. This would have been the best opportunity for a dirty finish, especially given the fact that Roderick Strong came out with Cole and seemed to turn back at the top of the ramp.

The fact that Cole won clean just shows how seriously WWE is taking NXT at the moment, but it would have also been perfectly acceptable for Bryan to win by DQ or for Cole to win after interference from members of the Undisputed Era as he regularly does on NXT itself.