By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
NXT Hits
Trick Williams vs. Pete Dunne: This was a solid feud going into the show and they managed to turn up the intensity in a big way. The brawling backstage and maintaining that intensity throughout their actual match helped heat up this program heading into next week’s Last Man Standing match. It’s always a positive when there’s a storyline reason behind a stipulation being used as opposed to bookers just randomly deciding to tack on a stipulation out of the blue. The double count-out was far from a copout finish. Rather, it was a great way to extend the feud to set up next week’s match for a shot at the NXT Championship.
Ridge Holland promo: Holland showed great intensity while recapping his days with Chase U and explaining his turn. Things are finally looking up for Holland after those clunky Sad Dad days.
Roxanne Perez and Giulia: The use of Chelsea Green was comical, but the actual angle between the champion and her new arrival challenger was simple and effective.
“The Rascalz” Zachary Wentz and Trey Miguel vs. Hank Walker and Tank Ledger vs. Mark Coffey and Wolfgang for a shot at the NXT Tag Team Titles: A solid match that concluded with the right team going over. Hank and Tank are a fun undercard team and the Gallus faction are mid-card role players. The Rascalz continue to be over as a tag team now that Wes Lee has left the group. A clean finish didn’t feel like it was too much to ask for, but at least the late involvement of Je’Von Evans and the Good Brother set up a pair of matches. I continue to wonder if some type of issue will develop between Wentz and Miguel to set up a Triple Threat with Lee.
NXT North American Champion Oba Femi vs. Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo in a non-title match: A clean and decisive win for badass Femi. The real story of the match was the look on Tony D’Angelo’s face at ringside after Femi destroyed his family member. Clearly, Femi beating D’Angelo at NXT No Mercy was not the end of their program.
Je’Von Evans vs. Joe Coffey: A good bounce back win for Evans. He was pushed into title contention early in his NXT run. They’ve pulled back on his push since then, but hopefully it’s only a matter of time before he’s back in the top mix where he belongs. Evans facing Charlie Dempsey next week is an appealing match, but that’s because of the wrestlers involved and in spite of the Heritage Cup.
Lexis King vs. Oro Mensah: A decent match with King stealing the pin to extend the feud. The problem is that both wrestlers need wins and the person who wins the feud won’t gain much from beating the loser.
NXT Misses
Tatum Paxley vs. Rosemary: Rosemary’s surprise appearance last week was a feel good moment. Round two was frustrating. Rosemary is a tremendous talker and yet they sent her out there with no promo time to work a match that seemed to leave everyone confused as to which wrestler was the babyface. It turned out to be Paxley, because Lyra Valkyria showed up afterward to help her stalker turned friend. This whole situation is a mess and some of it could have been avoided had they given Rosemary some promo time.
Jaida Parker vs. Jasmyn Nyx: A minor Miss. Parker’s standout performance at NXT No Mercy wasn’t properly showcased on this PLE fallout edition. Parker beating Nyx was fine, but we really needed to hear from Parker. Meanwhile, Fatal Influence’s act has quickly started to feel like a Toxic Attraction knockoff, complete with Jacy Jayne using the same pre-match mannerisms that she used during her days with defunct faction.
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