Powell’s NXT Hit List: NXT vs. TNA build for NXT Showdown, Lola Vice vs. Fallon Henley, Jaida Parker vs. Lash Legend, Myles Borne vs. Josh Briggs

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

NXT Hits

Formation of the TNA and NXT teams: Ricky Saints kicked off the show with a brief, yet quality promo in his first appearance since winning the NXT Championship. The rest of the opening segment established the captains for Team NXT and Team TNA for next week’s elimination matches. They wisely spread out the announcement of other team members, which served as a nice hook to keep viewers engaged, and set up a couple of matches as qualifiers. The final segment of the show that featured the official announcements of the teams was nicely done. The obligatory brawl at the end was nothing special, but the overall show did an excellent job of setting up next week’s Showdown episode.

Ethan Page and Mustafa Ali: Great timing with Ali noting that he was promised an NXT North American Championship that was scheduled to be held two years ago to the day at No Mercy, only he was released from his WWE deal before that premium live event. It’s a bit odd to have two strong heels facing off next week, and yet it’s a match that I’m really looking forward to.

Je’Von Evans and Leon Slater vs. Shawn Spears and Niko Vance: What’s not to like about NXT’s brightest young star teaming with TNA’s brightest young star before they meet for the X Division Title at Bound For Glory? There was at least some question of whether Evans and Slater might self-destruct to create some tension heading into their match, but it was a lot more fun to see them work together. Plus, they can always create some tension or at least give us a preview of their BFG match since they will be on opposite sides of the men’s elimination match next week.

Lola Vice vs. Fallon Henley for a spot on Team NXT: Vice got the win she needed coming off her loss in the NXT Women’s Championship match at No Mercy. Speaking of which, Vice and Jacy Jayne putting their differences aside for Team NXT sends the message that the matches are important.

Jaida Parker vs. Lash Legend: A good brawl with Parker avenging her loss to Legend, presumably to set up a rubber match. Could this end with both wrestlers developing mutual respect and forming a powerhouse tag team? One way or another, I hope both wrestlers are pushed more consistently coming out of this feud.

NXT Misses

Myles Borne vs. Josh Briggs for a spot on Team NXT: A minor Miss. That corny skull that Briggs wears on his shoulder during his entrance needs to go. Briggs is starting to feel like NXT’s version of Lance Archer in that he’s a talented big man who gets built up briefly only to take high-profile losses. The idea was to protect Briggs by having Matt Cardona stop him from using a chain. But when someone loses almost every meaningful match, the protection doesn’t work and it feels like just another loss. Furthermore, Cardona’s involvement felt like it took the spotlight away from Borne.

(ProWrestling.net Editor Jason Powell has worked in journalism for 27 years, including as the Assistant Editor of PWTorch.com and as a Senior Editor at Fanball.com before launching ProWrestling.net on Feb. 11, 2008.)