Last month, Mason Rook defeated Tony D’Angelo and Saquon Shugars on WWE NXT to become the #1 contender for the NXT Title.
He followed that up by going back and forth on the mic with resurgent NXT Champion Grayson Waller – a segment of TV that once again showcased Waller’s verbal abilities, but also importantly showed that Rook could keep up with him.
The match between Waller and Rook was scheduled to take place last week, but it was announced at the top of the show that Rook wasn’t cleared by WWE medical to compete and there would be an open challenge instead.
Everyone in the locker room wanted the title shot, but it was ultimately EK Prosper who answered the open challenge, though he came up short and Waller won to retain his title.
Mason Rook could be a bigger deal upon returning
There’s been no word on the exact issue that kept Rook out of action, but hopefully it isn’t anything serious enough to keep him out of action for months and months.
If it is only a temporary problem, it could end up being a blessing in disguise for the man from Worksop who has repeatedly been praised by John Cena.
Taking a little while off TV would mean Rook would get a big reaction upon making a return – something that could boost is already growing popularity among fans and make him, and the match, feel like an even bigger deal.
Also, while the match was originally scheduled to take place on a normal weekly episode of WWE NXT TV, the brand does have its Halloween Havoc premium live event coming up, which actually falls on Halloween this year.
Provided Rook is ready in time, this means the Waller vs Rook match might actually take place at that show, which in theory is a bigger deal than it just being on a weekly episode of television.
Is Halloween Havoc actually a bigger platform?
There is a debate though as to whether Halloween Havoc actually would be a bigger platform than NXT TV.
WWE NXT premium live events for the past few months have been broadcast on the CW Network – the same as weekly TV, so it’s not like they’re on a bigger platform or being shown to more people.
In fact, viewership for the PLEs has generally been lower than normal TV due to airing at the weekend and not being usual routine viewing like every Tuesday is for fans.
Still, the important thing is that the PLEs are presented as a bigger deal, which counts for a lot in this scenario.
The overall point is, Rook could come out of this situation better than he did, which we’ve seen countless times with wrestler injuries. While they’re never a good thing, making the most of them can absolutely result in success.
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