By John Moore, Prowrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT Hits
Adam Cole vs. EC3: This wasn’t a long match but it did the job in being a solid TV match that enhanced the heel tendencies of the Undisputed Era and continued NXT’s push of EC3 as a plucky babyface. Why EC3 is coming into WWE as a plucky fan-favorite is beyond me, but at least he’s handling his end of the character work well in the ring. Where he falters a bit is in his mic work. This was also the second week where they were reintroducing Bobby Fish back to the crowd and they succeeded at that in the post match attack.
Mia Yim vs. Aliyah: Basic squash match, but a good showing from both women. Mia Yim has been on a roll on the indies since finding her true character in early 2017. Aliyah looks really down emotionally during her entrance and I hope they elevate her to the next level soon because her in-ring has elevated. Hopefully she isn’t acting depressed with seeking a push because that might rub people the wrong way.
Kassius Ohno vs. Justin Xavier: This random Justin Xavier guy looked really good for the amount of time he was given on offense. Hopefully if he’s a developmental guy he gets better theme music. He might also be a temporary indie worker who was just working the night. Part of him looking good might just be Kassius Ohno, but it was a good first showing. The best part of this match was NXT establishing Ohno as petulant and overconfident.
NXT Misses
William Regal segment: The Velveteen Dream line about Lars Sullivan not wearing pants in public was the best part of this segment. Aside from that this was your formula WWE in-ring set up for the next world title match. They didn’t even get to the announcement part.
Johnny Gargano Reveal: They didn’t flat out say that Gargano is the attacker, but Black and Gargano’s quotes during the Gargano in-ring ambush imply that he is. At least it wasn’t a lame reveal because Gargano is a solid and logical culprit. The disappointing part is NXT spending a lot of TV time planting seeds and laying out clues only to have the number one suspect be the reveal if that’s actually what happened. This wasn’t terrible, it was just a disappointing potential payoff to a long story.
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>>Hopefully she isn’t acting depressed with seeking a push because that might rub people the wrong way.<<
"Might"? It would be insanely unprofessional, despite any weak attempts by certain columnists to make excuses based on sympathy.
“This wasn’t terrible, it was just a disappointing potential payoff to a long story.”
I don’t think there was any payoff to this that would be worth the wait, the story went on way, way too long. The Nicky Cross involvement turned out to be completely pointless.
I think that they could have found a different way to build to Ciampa or Gargano being the culprit in a more creative fashion than just making them the obvious suspects. It could have been interesting but I agree it’s tricky.
My theory of Nikki Cross trying to manipulate Black like a gun would have been intriguing but that would make more sense if Sanity were still around