It may have been Preston-born Bad News Barrett who took the WWE King of the Ring crown but it is his compatriot and losing finalist Neville who is making huge waves in the company.
Neville, a product of the WWE NXT roster and former NXT champion, has delighted fans with his high-flying intensity in the ring ever since being introduced to the main roster in a thrilling Monday Night Raw a day after WrestleMania 31.
Billed as “The Man that Gravity Forgot”, Neville hasn’t quite swept all before him but he has proven a superb technician in the ring and not once has a fight of his disappointed.
The Geordie has introduced the obscenely athletic Red Arrow finisher and a combative style that belies his more obvious skills from the top.
He is a remarkable athlete and the WWE are taking notice.
Having pulled them out of a hole by admirably filling in for fan favourite (and fellow NXT graduate) Daniel Bryan at Extreme Rules and on the back of his tremendous start on the main card, Neville most recently took a run at the King of the Ring title, beating some star names en route.
Neville accounted for Luke Harper and another Brit, Sheamus, before an admirable defeat to Barrett.
Not only is his rise great for fans in his home country and the WWE but it is also further evidence of the success of the WWE’s feeder show WWE NXT.
Not only Bryan, but Heath Slater, Harper and the Wyatt family and the entire Shield crew, which now sees Seth Rollins as WWE Champion and Roman Reigns taking top billing, have all made the step up from NXT prospect to the main roster.
The latest man to do so is Sami Zayn.
The Syrian-Canadian featured for the first time on WWE Raw this week, taking on John Cena and the man that vied with Neville for the NXT championship less than two months ago has all the potential to follow his good friend towards the upper echelons of the middle card and beyond.
With the likes of Zayn and Neville on the rise the future is bright for the WWE. The future is NXT.
