Powell’s NXT Hit List: Wes Lee vs. Carmelo Hayes for the NXT North American Championship, Dijak returns, Pretty Deadly vs. Andre Chase and Duke Hudson for the NXT Tag Team Titles, Cora Jade vs. Wendy Choo, Ivey Nile vs. Tatum Paxley, Sol Ruca vs. Zoey Stark, Scrypts vs. Guru Raaj

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

NXT Hits

Wes Lee vs. Carmelo Hayes for the NXT North American Championship: A strong main event that would have fit right in on an NXT PLE. Lee pinning Hayes in a singles match felt like a bigger win than when he won the vacant title in a five-way ladder match. The post match angle with the return of Dijak was well done. His new look is strong and it’s good to see that a company finally got it right with his name. I just hope Dijak isn’t with Tony D’Angelo crew. D’Angelo was lurking around Lee throughout the night, but we never saw Dijak with him, so hopefully they are not aligned. I enjoy D’Angelo’s work, but I think Dijak would be better off being his own man.

Bron Breakker video package: So simple and yet so effective. Breakker was a real person rather than being the character who emulates his uncle’s promo style. He did a really good job of establishing the pressure of being the champion while also displaying a very relatable side of his personality. I loved this. Here’s hoping we get similar video features with other NXT wrestlers.

“Pretty Deadly” Kit James and Elton Prince vs. Andre Chase and Duke Hudson for the NXT Tag Team Titles: Chase U continues to be an undercard comedy act success story. Sure, it helps that they have their own planted cheering section, but the act is clearly over with the actual fans at the Performance Center. James and Prince worked their usual magic of making their opponents appear to be on the verge of winning the titles before they came back and won the match in the end.

The Schism: Everyone other than the planted fan could see where this was going, but it was still pretty well done. More than anything, it was encouraging to hear Joe Gacy say the group is no longer about inclusion, as it leaves me hopeful that the faction will drop the dead end PC element that Gacy’s act was originally built around. Ava Raine has breathed new life into this act. Obviously, it was a big boost to add Rock’s daughter to the faction, but even if you put that aside and judge her on her own merits, Raine has done a nice job with her character thus far.

Zoey Stark vs. Sol Ruca: Ruca showed some improvement and I doubt that it was a coincidence that it occurred while she was working with Stark. The post match angle with Nikkita Lyons getting a measure of revenge for Stark turning on her was just in right in terms of not giving away too much physicality between the two.

Von Wagner destroys Edris Enofe and Malik Blade: A nice bounce back moment for Wagner after he lost his NXT Championship match with Bron Breakker last week. The recent story of Blade wearing sweater vests daily due to his late father was really sappy. So while I get what they were going for by having Wagner tear the sweater vest, I just don’t care. Besides, it’s not like Blade doesn’t have a full closet of replacements.

NXT Misses

Scrypts vs. Guru Raaj: Reggie worked his too smooth to look realistic style while wearing a mask that made him look like he was wrestling with an oversized shriner’s hat on his head. Oh, and he seems to be drawing a letter with his fingers for some reason.

Cora Jade vs. Wendy Choo: A well worked match with a cheesy coffee throwing finish that resulted in the eye-rolling scene of Choo crying, which only a six-year-old could love. I get that Choo is geared toward kids, but the trick with those types of characters is to avoid turning off the adults. I felt bad for the referee, who had to act oblivious while slamming his hand in the liquid to make the three count. On the bright side, Jade’s new look makes her look more mature and less like the skater girl babyface that she previously played.

Ivy Nile vs. Kiana James: A decent match that played to a quiet crowd. Nile seemed to be getting over at one point before she oddly faded into the background. James has a lot of upside, but I just can’t get past her silly big business by day, wrestler by night gimmick. They capped it off with a bad distraction finish that continues the wonky story of Fallon Henley and James feuding over James is trying to buy Henley’s family bar.

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Readers Comments (1)

  1. Scrypts and Dijacovic are future WWE world champions. just you wait

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