After weeks of back-and-forth action, with Eddy Thorpe securing wins over Damon Kemp in two straight matches – albeit, under slightly dubious conditions – the older brother of Olympic Gold Medalist Gable Steveson was afforded a chance to settle things with the man formerly known as Karl Fredericks via a rubber match of sorts using any stipulation he likes in order to guarantee the results are fair and square.

But what would Kemp choose? One of Thorpe's wins came with his foot on the ropes; would Kemp pick a match with limited or no rope breaks a la the Ring of Honor Pure Title? Thopre's other win came when Kemp's shoulder was slightly off the mat; would he opt for a submission match, a Ladder match, or even an I Quit match, where securing a pin doesn't result in a victory?

Well, as it turns out, Kemp wracked his brain, looked through the wrestling gimmick match Wikipedia page – probably – and seemingly put on some 2020 WWE tape and found himself an option so surprising it left everyone wondering what the heck was going on.

Interrupting Thorpe backstage, who was working on his DJ set, Kemp laid out a challenge to Steveson that has never been contested as a gimmick match before but may become the new hot thing if it works out as intended.

“In two weeks’ time, I’m bringing RAW Underground to NXT,” Kemp said.

“RAW Underground?” Thorpe asked as the crowd audibly gasped at the even mention of RAW Underground.

“Yeah, just me and you in a 20 by 20 ring, no ropes, and you can only win by knockout, TKO, or submission, okay? Kemp said, to which Eddy Thorpe agreed. “Good, I grew up in the trenches of my parent’s garage; you have no idea what you just signed up for.”

Whoa, a RAW Underground match? What is a RAW Underground match? Well, fans might remember – or at least be trying to forget – RAW Underground as a short-lived idea of Shane McMahon that turned WWE Superstars into fight club members who threw down in a warehouse without ropes, disqualifications, or any other rules… at last until McMahon decided to add rules before the idea was scrapped after roughly a month due to poor reception. Based on Kemp's description, a RAW Underground match will feature no ropes, no pins, and only three ways to secure a win, KO, TKO, or submission. While Thorpe is a far more established wrestler, as he's a trainee of Katsuyori Shibata from the New Japan Pro Wrestling LA Dojo, Kemp was a star at the University of Minnesota – a school known for producing WWE Superstars – a Pan-American Games Champion, and the older brother of one of the best Greco-Roman wrestlers of the modern era, Gable Steveson; if Thorpe is going to secure the win, he's going to need some help. Fortunately, an unlikely source may be at his disposal to do just that.

Gable Steveson offers his services to Eddy Thorpe.

Evaluating tape from RAW Underground with regret in his eyes, Eddy Thorpe, Axium, and Scrypts discussed what the matches were like back in the day and how the heck the traditional grappler was going to get ready for a fight without ropes, pins, or basically any of the trappings of a normal professional wrestling match.

Fortunately, Thorpe was greeted by a surprising member of the WWE Universe who not only made his NXT debut but offered up his services to help train the NJPW crossover Superstar for the match: Gable Steveson.

“Hey Eddy, I hear you could use a training partner for that RAW Underground fight in a couple weeks,” Steveson said. “If anyone knows Damon, it’s me,” Gable said, to which Thorpe replied yeah. “Yeah, let me know if you need something.”

Now understandably, if you knew beforehand that Damon Kemp and Gable Steveson were brothers – Kemp's real name is Bobby Steveson – you probably popped pretty hard at the Gen Z Olympic hero's debut on NXT… at least for a moment. Then the questions started bubbling to the surface, like why on earth is Steveson going against his brother? Is it because he turned against his family legacy, leading to a face turn where Bobby Steveson starts competing on NXT as a good guy? Or is this just another trick by Kemp, who may still change his name back to Bobby Steveson but could do so with his brother also going full-on heel too?

Either way, there is now a very good reason to tune into the NXT after Gold Rush, as watching Thorpe fight Kemp becomes all the more interesting if Steveson is in his corner.