By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
NXT Hits
Oba Femi and Moose: Badass. This is one of the two big shots that NXT had left to fire as part of their working relationship with TNA. Moose has been a dominant force in TNA for nearly a decade and it instantly felt like a big deal when he confronted the NXT Champion. It can be tough to get a feel for just how tall some of the developmental wrestlers are. Moose is a mountain of a man who was listed at 6’5″ when he took part in the NFL scouting combine. It was obvious that they are fibbing when they list Oba as 6’6″, but the important thing is that he didn’t look the least bit undersized or out of place while sharing the ring with Moose.
Jordynne Grace, Giulia, and Stephanie Vaquer vs. Fallon Henley, Jacy Jayne, and Jazmyn Nyx: A good six-woman tag team match with Grace going over to close the show. I wonder if a big heel turn is coming for one of the women on the babyface team. There is a shortage of strong heel characters who feel like legitimate threats to beat the impressive cast of babyfaces wrestlers. It’s one of the reasons it felt so surprising when they made Zaria a babyface after her introductory vignettes made her look like the monster heel the division could really use.
Ricky Saints: Ricky’s repeated references to how crazy things are in NXT felt forced by in terms of his delivery and just those lines being scripted for him to begin with. Are things on NXT television really so wild and crazy compared to Ricky’s last home in AEW? Well, maybe the Performance Center’s Parking Lot of Death, but I digress. There was more good than bad and the additions of Saints and Jordynne Grace are giving NXT a nice boost. I’m not sure why they felt the need to change his name from Starks to Bountygate Cheaters, but it’s likely to become second nature soon.
Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy: This is the other big shot that NXT had left to fire as part of their working relationship with NXT. The Hardys appearing on NXT television is a nice get and I’m curious to see if it leads to a spike in viewership next week. By the way, there are still some fun potential crossovers from TNA, but it’s hard to imagine others packing more of a punch than Moose and the Hardys.
Eddy Thorpe vs. Andre Chase: Thorpe’s push continued with a good television win, and the loss plays into Chase being down on his luck without Chase U. Chase had the live crowd behind him despite a long layoff from television matches. I’m not sure how the new Chase U that is being teased will go, but I’m enjoying the story thus far.
Sol Ruca and Zaria vs. Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson: Legend and Jackson have been built up nicely and have made some main roster appearances, so this felt like a nice win for Ruca and Zaria. I suspect that this is about Legend and Jackson elevating others in NXT before the move up permanently to the main roster than it is a sign of creative cooling off on the duo.
Shawn Spears vs. Stacks: A soft Hit for a solid match. Stacks is a setup man for Tony D’Angelo, so it was no surprise to see Spears beat him before he gets to the boss.
LeNexus takes out Mr. Stone: I’m going with that name until they give us one for Dion Lennox and his crew. This was more of an in the middle than anything, but it’s worth running through some of the potential meanings behind the attack. It may have been a random attack and we shouldn’t read anything into Stone being the victim. Stevie Turner and Stone are always at odds, so it could be a hint of her character having some involvement with the new group. And there’s also the possibility that the Stone character was faking it because he will eventually be revealed as being with the new faction and will serve as their mouthpiece. Stone is a good talker who makes damn near everything work. It would be nice to see cast in a serious role for a change.
NXT Misses
Karmen Petrovic vs. Jaida Parker vs. Kelani Jordan in a Triple Threat for a shot at the NXT Women’s North American Championship: A minor Miss. Congratulations to Petrovic for winning this match to earn the right to be fed to Stephanie Vaquer. Hey, someone has to lose to Vaquer in her first defense of the NXT Women’s North American Championship. One can only hope that Petrovic performs better in the singles match than she did when she had some rough moments during this Triple Threat.
I actually loved the Karmen/Jaida/Kelani match.
Jakara was an unsung hero in the tag match. Her selling was stellar, and she did it without making it about her, as opposed to HBK/every wrestler in 2025.
When Chase stopped the Chase U chant, Graves (sounding concerned) said “He can’t spell his last name?” I’m one of the few who enjoy Book, but Vic/Corey are great together.
Hey Mr “that was such obvious pass interference even Ray Charles would have called it” be careful there!!
My team didn’t benefit from that terrible non-call. My team had one of the quarterbacks the Saints targeted for injury during their playoff run. One thing I’m sure we can agree on is that it’s absurd that the league didn’t immediately add an eye in the sky referee to avoid missing obvious penalties.
That type of behavior was rampant in the league during that time. The Saints were made the example, but I agree, it had to stop. The NFL to this day does a LOUSY job of protecting their players, how they haven’t learned from the College rules, I have NO idea…
I really don’t hold a grudge over the bounty stuff. I just couldn’t resist taking the easy jab once I saw Ricky’s new name. The Vikings beat themselves with Adrian Peterson’s fumbles and the Favre pick, and the Saints winning was a fantastic story post Katrina. But I remember watching the previous week and feeling bad for the QB (I think it was Kurt Warner?) because of some of the over the top hits he was taking. I don’t think the Saints were the only team doing it, but I definitely think Gregg Williams earned his reputation for being a POS.
Just call him Ricky Sparks please!
And Andre Chase is giving me bum ass Corbin vibes.