The dark match that took place before the recent NXT TV Tapings at Full Sail University saw Stacey Ervin Jr. defeat Shane Thorne. Ervin Jr. is a former amateur gymnast who signed with WWE earlier this year. He was on the team that won The 2013 NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championship. This would be one of Thorne’s first matches since his TM-61 partner Nick Miller left the company to go be with his newborn baby in Australia.
NXT Announcer Mauro Ranallo recently took to Twitter and expressed frustration with his performance at the recent NXT TV Tapings.
Mauro mentioned his car accident from December 23rd and wrote, “Like me or loathe me, I pride myself on performing my job at the highest level possible. Tonight, I failed. I know it will come across as an excuse to some but the car accident and other personal issues affected me more than I thought. I apologize to @WWENXT I WILL BE BETTER.”

Like me or loathe me, I pride myself on performing my job at the highest level possible. Tonight, I failed. I know it will come across as an excuse to some but the car accident and other personal issues affected me more than I thought. I apologize to @WWENXT I WILL BE BETTER.
— Mauro Ranallo (@mauroranallo) January 4, 2019