Powell’s NXT Hit List: Blake Monroe contract signing, Trick Williams, AJ Francis, and Wes Lee vs. Elijah, Josh Briggs, and Yoshiki Inamura, four Evolution Eliminator matches

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

NXT Hits

Blake Monroe contract signing: She’s here, she’s still queer, stay used to it? I am so used to seeing Monroe work as heel Mariah May that the idea of her playing a babyface role never really crossed my mind. Duh. I suppose the peppy animated videos should have been my first clue. Anyway, it looks like they are wasting no time in moving Monroe into the title picture. Is Jacy Jayne merely a transitional champion?

Jodynne Grace vs. Lola Vice in an Evolution Eliminator match: It was good to see a no-nonsense finish. Vice had a late flurry of offense that led to a believable near fall, and then Grace took control with a nice finishing sequence.

Jaida Parker vs. Thea Hail in an Evolution Eliminator match: A strong match to open the show with an intentionally controversial finish. I thought it was enough for Hail to hang with Parker before losing, but I really liked the finish with the referee not seeing Parker tap to a Kimura, which caused Hail to release the hold while assuming that she had won the match.

Lash Legend vs. Kelani Jordan in an Evolution Eliminator match: A decent match with a clean finish. Both wrestlers need character development. Legend showed major league mic skills when she debuted during the NXT 2.0 era. Now that she has improved in the ring, she needs to be put in more positions to showcase those mic skills. Meanwhile, Jordan seems a bit lost as a character. I liked the girl-next-door approach that she started with because it felt genuine, but the fans rejected it, so I understood the attempt to give her more of an edge. Jordan has a bright future once she figures out who her character is and makes it her own.

NXT Misses

Tony D’Angelo, Stacks, and Luca Crusifino: I’d be lying if I said that I’m not at least mildly curious to see who Crusifino ends up with, but the mob family storyline feels like it’s overstayed its welcome. To be fair, I’ve felt this way in the past, and the creative forces have breathed new life into the saga, so we’ll see if they can pull it off again. On a side note, I don’t think fans care about Stacks getting a shot at the NXT Heritage Cup, but that’s because fans don’t seem to give a damn about the NXT Heritage Cup.

Izzy Dame vs. Zaria in an Evolution Eliminator match: A lousy distraction finish caused by Sol Ruca screaming at ringside after Tatum Paxley hugged her from behind. Can we just cut to the part where Zaria turns heel on Ruca? Can Paxley grow up and stop playing with dolls? I get that it’s meant to be creepy, but it comes off so campy that it’s hard not to roll your eyes at her character and anything happening in her orbit.

TNA World Champion Trick Williams, AJ Francis, and KC Navarro vs. Elijah, Josh Briggs, and Yoshiki Inamura: A minor Miss. This felt like a routine six-man tag match until Inamura pinned the TNA World Champion. The crowd didn’t react like it was a big deal, but Inamura’s win seemingly set up a fun title match for a future television show. Well, until Inamura inexplicably gifted his title shot to Briggs while stating his intention to go after the NXT Championship. The match was fine, but the idea of building momentum for Inamura only to have him give away his title match to Briggs was a strange call.