Adrian Neville Shows He Will Have No Trouble Catching on with WWE Fans

Adrian Neville introduced himself to the WWE audience by way of astonishment.

The NXT champ won't struggle to make a connection with the crowd the way that recent call-ups Emma, Adam Rose and Bo Dallas have. His dazzling move set and uncanny athleticism provide an instant bridge from wrestler to audience.

On Monday's Raw, WWE featured all four competitors in the NXT title match at developmental's third ever live special.

Neville teamed with Sami Zayn against Tyler Breeze and Tyson Kidd. The casual fans only knew Kidd, a former tag team champion. The other wrestlers were looking to make an impression in their first time on the big stage. 

Kidd had Zayn in a reverse chinlock early on as a quiet crowd watched on.

The fans who have followed Zayn, Breeze and Neville's rise at NXT had to wonder if the magic those men created at Full Sail University would translate to Raw. There had been so much talk of potential and promise. Would that result in disappointment here?

The audience seemed to be waiting for a big moment. It came courtesy of Neville.

After Zayn slipped away from his enemies and tagged him in, Neville zoomed around the ring. He hit a standing moonsault as effortlessly as a regular Joe climbs out of bed.

Credit: WWE.com

His peers from NXT had their own flashes of excitement, but The Man Gravity Forgot was the star of the match.

That's not at all surprising. Breeze's character will take some time to introduce. His ridiculous outfits begin to make sense when he talks about his modeling career and how gorgeous he is. As for Zayn, it's going to take longer matches to show off his full array of skills.

Neville's strengths can be packed into the smallest of moments.

It only takes a few seconds to see that he is human lightning. He didn't have much time in the short match but made sure that no one would leave the Baltimore Arena forgetting who he was.

As Turnbuckle Magazine pointed out, Neville seemed to take Jim Ross' old adage to heart:

A cartwheel into the corner, a series of rapid-fire kicks and cartoon-fast sprinting highlighted his ring work. That was just a taste of Neville's in-ring wizardry. That taste alone, though, had fans enthralled.

There was audible awe from the crowd. And as Fighting Spirit Magazine noted, Neville received a number of coveted gasps:

It was as if you could hear his fanbase growing as he hit his moves. 

The most thrilling item in his arsenal—Red Arrow—came last. He finished off Breeze with his corkscrewing weapon, providing an emphatic stamp to the end of the bout.

That move alone will get him noticed in a hurry. It's unique, difficult and mesmerizing. Justin Gabriel once stood out from the Nexus pack thanks to the 450 splash.

Neville is going to have eyes lock onto him from the get-go, thanks to his own spectacular finisher and all that comes before it.

With just a brief display of what he could do, electricity crackled along the air. Given more time on the main roster and more opportunities to dazzle as he did on Monday's Raw, there's no question that Neville will become one of NXT's biggest success stories.

He already had fans' jaws open and their eyes widen. There is plenty more of that to come.