Powell’s NXT 2.0 Hit List: Roxanne Perez vs. Tiffany Stratton in the NXT Breakout Tournament final, Solo Sikoa and Apollo Crews vs. Carmelo Hayes and Grayson Waller, Santos Escobar vs. Nathan Frazer, Josh Briggs vs. Von Wagner, Pretty Deadly vs. Andre Chase and Bodhi Hayward, Alba Fyre vs. Tatum Paxley

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

NXT 2.0 Hits

Santos Escobar vs. Nathan Frazer: A well worked match with a story that gave Frazer a needed win. More importantly, the pre-match footage and the actual match helped establish Legado Del Fantasma as sympathetic babyfaces who are stuck under the thumb of Tony D’Angelo. The mob family feud is still a ridiculous concept, but at least it’s easier to follow now that we know who the babyfaces and heels are.

Apollo Crews confronts NXT Champion Bron Breakker: A soft Hit for Crews returning to NXT. Crews clearly fell out of favor on the main roster, so it will be good to see him involved in something meaningful again. That said, I have mixed feelings about Breakker likely working with another main roster wrestler when there are plenty of NXT wrestlers who I would like to see challenge for the the brand’s championship.

Solo Sikoa and Apollo Crews vs. Carmelo Hayes and Grayson Waller: Crews capped off his return with a main event win. Hayes and Waller are the type of heels who can take a loss and get their heat back with ease. With that in mind, it was good to see the charismatic Hayes work a little harder in his opening promo to turn the crowd against him.

Roxanne Perez vs. Tiffany Stratton in the NXT Breakout Tournament final: It’s good to see that the NXT creative forces see what ROH and others see in Perez. The former Rok-C was the right person to win the tournament and has a very bright future. For that matter, so does Stratton, who has the look and athleticism to do big things on the main roster if she keeps putting the work in. All of that said, I wonder what the plan for the tournament was before Nikkita Lyons had to drop out due to injury.

Pretty Deadly vs. Andre Chase and Bodhi Hayward: The Pretty Deadly duo picked up a bounce back win after dropping the NXT Tag Titles at In Your House. Chase and Hayward were protected via Hayward’s injury angle.

Alba Fyre vs. Tatum Paxley: A solid win for Fyre as she moves forward with her character reboot. The post match angle with Lash Legend indicates that Fyre is being tasked with the assignment of carrying her new rival. It’s a common sense approach in that the the rookie can only benefit from working with the veteran rather than trying to learn on the fly with other newcomers.

NXT 2.0 Misses

Josh Briggs vs. Von Wagner: The decision to have a tag team wrestler beat the monster heel singles wrestler was a strange one. Briggs is talented. I’m just not big on the country boys tag team gimmick, and I would save Wagner’s losses for key situations.