While I expected Mason Rook to really look good in tonight’s tag team match, where he teamed with fellow newcomer Kam Hendrix against NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo and North American Champion Myles Borne, I didn’t expect to also really be impressed by Hendrix. I was thinking to myself as the match rolled on that I hope the creative for Hendrix is pivoting to him going up against Borne, rather than him continuing to attack D’Angelo, and with the finish of the match, that thankfully looks like where we’re headed, especially after Rook laid out Hendrix for thinking he could call his shot against D’Angelo later in the night.

I liked that this tag team match opened the show. I wasn’t sure where it would fall tonight, with both champions being involved. But I thought it was a fun way to open things up, especially with the crowd so hot with their chants for Rook. And, while he didn’t body slam anyone’s dad tonight, he looked really impressive. He went toe-to-toe multiple times with D’Angelo, and at the beginning, just absorbed the champion’s punches. I also knew he was speedy for his size, but this is the first full Rook match I’ve ever seen, and I was still impressed. D’Angelo had to work hard to get Rook off his feet, and it took Borne to help him get the big man up for a suplex.

I also liked that it was Tavion Heights that basically cost Borne the match, so it kept the champions looking strong, while the new guys still scored the victory. I don’t necessarily need a Borne vs. Heights match, but I’m not going to complain about it if and when it happens. It also makes sense to do that first if Hendrix isn’t immediately going after Borne.

Rook did the excellent (and I still think unnamed?) move of his where he put Borne across his shoulders, then hit a cannonball into the corner, nailing him off the second turnbuckle pad. Hendrix then tagged himself in, and I thought maybe that’s where we’d see the tension between the two heels, but nope, Rook just let him pin Borne, one, two, three.

The tension came later on in the night, when Hendrix was interviewed in the ring and said he wasn’t looking to challenge Borne, but to go for the top gold. That didn’t sit right with Rook, who laid him out for failing to acknowledge it was he who won the match. I could have dealt without that, and Hendrix could have just pivoted to Borne without kind of burying the NA Championship, but I think we’ll get back there, eventually, now that Rook put him in his place.

Written by Daisy Ruth