Gutteridge’s NXT Hit List: Shinsuke Nakamura vs.Samoa Joe in a cage match for the NXT Title, Tye Dillinger vs. Eric Young, Andrade Almas vs. No Way José, and Bobby Roode vs. Oney Lorcan

By Darren Gutteridge

NXT Hits

Andrade Almas vs. No Way Jose: The match was nothing complicated, but it was effective in giving both men a chance to look good. Their hands were tied given the short length of the match, but they maximized their minutes.

NXT Misses

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Samoa Joe for the NXT Title in a Steel Cage Match: Let me open with a quote from last week’s Hit List – “. . .no Joe vs. Nakamura match is ever going to be bad (I may have now jinxed us all ahead of next week’s cage match)”. Sorry everyone(?). While this wasn’t actually a bad match, having it on back to back episodes really made it lose its luster. This feud did deliver strong matches at the start, but I’m very hopeful this is the last time we see these two in a ring together for some time.

Bobby Roode vs. Oney Lorcan: For all the criticisms I had for the above match, it still should have gone on last. It wasn’t as good as last week’s showing from Joe and Nakamura, but it certainly felt more main event than this match did. Lorcan earning a spot even to qualify is laughable given his won/loss record. Having said that, who else is there at this stage? I think there is enough juice left in the “old hands” like Roode, Young, and the like to get us through another Takeover or two, but after that new, young talent needs to start filtering in and getting noticed.

Tye Dillinger vs. Eric Young: This was a classic case of not booking yourself into a corner. Sanity are in the process of being built, and yet Tye needed to go over. The solution is simple – don’t put these two in a match under these circumstances! The DQ finish was weak, leaving Tye with no momentum, and the Damo attack amounted to nothing in terms of how it pushes Sanity forward.

Roderick Strong vs. Elias Samson: AKA “Don’t care” vs. “Won’t care”. A less interesting match it is hard to fathom than the terminally beige Strong vs. the least compelling guy possibly in NXT history. Lord knows where they go with Samson now that he has already began losing again following his return from injury, but at least the result here spared us from his presence next week.

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