Gutteridge’s NXT Hit List: The last show before NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II, sit-down interview with Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura, Hideo Itami vs. Mustafa Ali, and a six-woman tag match

By Darren Gutteridge

NXT Hits

Video packages for Takeover: Brooklyn II: This show was nothing short of an avalanche of videos hyping SummerSlam, WWE Network, WWE Shop, and many and various music tracks. That got nauseating, but the two packages surrounding the Brooklyn event, namely the one highlighting Asuka vs. Bayley and the second one on the undercard, were really well done as always. This entire show did a great job of selling Takeover: Brooklyn as a must see event in a jam packed weekend.

Hideo Itami vs. Mustafa Ali: We’re still in the honeymoon period of “Isn’t it great to see Hideo back?”, so this gets a pass. I’ll be interested to see what he does at Takeover, either as part of the pre-show or elsewhere. Ali didn’t show anything here that made me think he is getting an NXT contract.

Carmella, Liv Morgan, and Nikki Glenncross vs. Alexa Bliss, Daria Berenato, and Mandy Rose: I’ll forgive some of the clunkier spots as this match served a greater good – introducing us to three new players on the NXT scene. On the one team, Daria has a great look, and Mandy Rose also looks great. In fact, they could actually make quite a nice team, along the lines of what they were doing with Nia Jax and Eva Marie. I’m used to Nikki Glenncross as a heel, so seeing her as a babyface was slightly odd. But she was one of the very few bright spots in the otherwise murky landscape that was TNA British Bootcamp 2, so I have high hopes.

NXT Misses

Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura: Only a minor Miss, just because it didn’t feel like the last throw of the dice before their NXT title match in Brooklyn. This felt like a segment worthy of week two or three of the build instead of the go-home show. Joe’s answers were fine, but they were a little hampered by Nakamura’s lack of fluidity in promos at the moment. He was playing mind games clearly, but it is still a little hard to tell exactly what he was saying at times.

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