Top 3 Performers of NXT (November 14, 2018)

#1 Kyle O'Reilly

O'Reilly is the most under-appreciated member of the Undisputed Era stable, along with maybe Bobby Fish. O'Reilly is a gem both inside and out of the ring but is often overlooked in favor of his more recognizable stablemates in Roderick Strong and Adam Cole. This performance against the War Raider's Hanson was another piece of evidence that Kyle O'Reilly is a great, not only in tag team competition but also, as a singles competitor.

While O'Reilly was the smaller man in the fight, he used his quickness and agility to try and cut down his bigger opponent. O'Reilly started the match by aiming a series of low kicks at the much bigger Hanson's knees and shins as a way of trying to get the bigger man down. It was clear that throughout the match, this was going to be O'Reilly's plan.

When momentum was on O'Reilly's side he would intentionally target the legs, making it hard for Hanson to establish a power base. O'Reilly also used a series of takedowns relating to the leg in order to avoid his opponent's clear strength and size advantage.

While the tactic didn't factor into the finish, it certainly made it look like O'Reilly was going to try to win the fight cleanly but with the referee's back being turned, he still resorted to using the title belt as a weapon. In the ultimate heel move, O'Reilly could have fought clean but still decided to use the weapon anyway.