By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
NXT Hits
Jordynne Grace vs. Giulia for a shot at the NXT Women’s Championship at NXT Battleground: The best and most physical match of the night. It was great to see Grace go over clean rather than another cop-out finish to set up a Triple Threat. NXT creative seems very aware of the pushback to three-way and four-way matches, given that they had Oba Femi tell the No Quarter Catch Crew that he’s finished with Triple Threat matches. Amen. Grace earning the right to challenge Stephanie Vaquer for the NXT Women’s Championship sets up a hell of match for NXT Battleground that feels like a strong candidate to close the show.
25-man battle royal for a shot at the NXT Championship at NXT Battleground: This battle royal was a reminder that WWE has too many television shows. Poor Vic Joseph had to introduce wrestlers from WWE LFG and the Evolve show while they were all standing in the ring with a bunch of other wrestlers. Joseph did his part, but this match really needed televised entrances. Ultimately, though, it was a good battle royal, particularly during the closing minutes when various wrestlers were given moments to shine. Sean Legacy made the most of his opportunity. Will he be an NXT regular or did they actually do this to drive interest in Evolve? Good luck with that. The end result was a legitimate surprise. I don’t think anyone would have predicted a Myles Borne win. I love it. Battleground has two potential headline matches in the NXT Women’s Championship and TNA Championship matches. Why not shake things up by taking a chance on someone fresh in the NXT Championship match?
Zaria vs. Kelani Jordan: A soft Hit. The wrestlers did a solid job to the point that the live crowd gave them a light “this is awesome” chant. But it’s not like the crowd had an actual rooting interest in a match between two babyfaces, so they mostly just sat back and reacted to moves. Zaria going over clean while throwing off Sol Ruca with her violent moves was logical. Normally, I would appreciate the slow burn toward two babyfaces splitting up, but the Zaria and Ruca odd couple friendship has always felt flat to me. I’m more than ready for Zaria to turn on Ruca to set up a feud over the NXT Women’s North American Championship.
NXT Misses
Joe Hendry, Hank Walker, and Tank Ledger vs. “DarkState” Dion Lennox, Cutler James, and Osiris Griffin: A minor Miss for a solid six-man tag match with a weak finish. Trick Williams pulled Hendry from the ring and fought with him at ringside. The referee saw them fighting, but he didn’t see Williams pull Hendry from the ring, so I guess that’s why he didn’t call for the disqualification? Hendry and Williams brawled to the back twice, and in both cases, the fighting looked lazy, with both men throwing weak shoulder punches as they worked their way toward the back. There were a couple of rough moments during the rest of the match, but there was more good than bad. I’m not sure if it was intentional, but it looked like the cameraman did them a favor by cutting away just before a spot near the ropes that appeared destined to go wrong. I assume that Hank & Tank taking the loss means they will be defending the NXT Tag Team Titles against two members of DarkState soon.
Jaida Parker vs. Karmen Petrovic: A minor Miss. It doesn’t mean anything to beat Petrovic at this point. But the bigger issue is that it’s hard to get a feel for how they want viewers to react to Parker. Is she just someone who calls it as she sees it and will take on all comers? Or did her taunting the lovable Thea Hail mean Parker is a heel even though the fans want to cheer her?
Most likely the women’s title match will close Battleground.I don’t see them going with a TNA title match in the main event and it’s even more unlikely that the Randy Orton cosplay main events the show.
I suspect it will, but it typically hinges on the finish. If they have an unsatisfying finish in mind for the women that’s meant to extend the feud, then it’s possible they go with the men’s title match or the TNA Title match if they have more satisfying finishes to end the show on a high note.