By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
NXT Hits
Mike Santana arrives: It was a pretty basic segment with Santana walking through the bleachers before staring down Tony D’Angelo, but the arrival of the former TNA World Champion as a full-time NXT wrestler should give the brand a big boost. Is the plan to move Santana right into the main event mix by having him challenge for the NXT Championship at NXT Heatwave at the end of next month? While I’d prefer to see Santana chase and eventually beat a heel champion for the title, I won’t complain about getting to see him work with D’Angelo. Santana is awesome, and the NXT creative forces have to get it right with him.
Kendal Grey and Lola Vice: Vice carried a lot of the verbal exchange, but Grey showed improvement and held up her end of things nicely. Grey looks valiant and vulnerable for agreeing to hold the rematch in an NXT Underground match, which plays to Vice’s strengths. Wren Sinclair gets an assist for showing concern to help sell the idea that Grey might be biting off more than she can chew. I wouldn’t be surprised if Vice goes to the main roster if she loses her specialty match to Grey.
Tony D’Angelo vs. Naraku in a street fight for the NXT Championship: A good brawl that was capped off by D’Angelo going over strong. That’s back-to-back wins for D’Angelo over Naraku, which makes one wonder if Naraku’s stay in NXT will be brief. I’m as guilty as anyone of going overboard with call-up speculation, but the timing is right because there have been past call-ups around SummerSlam.
“DarkState” Dion Lennox, Osiris Griffin, and Cutler James vs. Saquon Shugars, Noam Dar, and Romeo Moreno: An action-packed opening match. DarkState got a sorely needed win, but it won’t matter if they keep trading wins and losses. It was a good call to have Moreno take the loss. There’s a lot to like about him, but he’s not a powerhouse type so some occasional early losses won’t do any long-term damage.
Reina Volcan vs. Skylar Raye: I was hoping Volcan would make a stronger first in-ring impression, but this was still a soft Hit for a solid debut. Ideally, Volcan would have plowed through her first opponent while taking 100 percent of the offense. I hope Volcan will become more animated in the ring once she settles in. If nothing else, she could do a better job of making it look like she’s wrenching on her opponents when she puts them in the torture rack. It looked like she was twitching and shaking more than actually trying to hurt her Raye.
Shawn Spears vs. Niko Vance: More of an in-the-middle than a Hit or a Miss. Spears tossed a chair to Vance while the referee wasn’t looking and then acted as if Vance struck him with the chair. The thing I don’t like about the Eddie Guerrero tribute finish is that it goes against everything we’ve been told in pro wrestling and sports as far as how referees can only call what they see.
NXT Misses
Jaida Parker vs. Nattie: Good work from both wrestlers, but I didn’t care for the finish. Thea Hail stole a towel from Nikkita Lyons and Karmen Petrovic and threw it in the ring. The referee saw the towel and just assumed that it came from Nattie’s sidekicks even though he saw Hail while he was calling for the bell. Nattie watched it all play out while locked in the Sharpshooter, yet she didn’t protest immediately. And then Hail stood at ringside and acted proud of what she did, while Lyons and Petrovic had to watch from just a few feet away and never even tried to take advantage of the numbers game. The thing I disliked most about the finish was that it put the spotlight on everyone other than the person who actually won the match.
Keanu Carver vs. Hank Walker: Even Carver’s wins are irritating. The match felt too competitive before he went over. And whatever good came from Carver’s win was erased when he was beaten up by Hank, Tank Ledger, and EK Prosper. Sure, you can say that it took three guys to beat up Carver, but seeing him lose or get beaten up has become a little too routine.
Shiloh Hill: Another eye-rolling night for Hill, who bought a tooth from Danhausen and then took part in a bad product placement skit for popcorn chicken. Things took a turn for the even worse when Hill got weirdly dark and intense during the chicken skit with Robert Stone. Please don’t tell me that the tooth he bought from Danhausen is going to bring out a spooky side of his persona. When I see Hill, I see a great developmental prospect with the size, athletic ability, charisma, and promo skills to be a top guy in NXT and perhaps even a future player on the main roster. NXT’s creative forces can’t get past the missing tooth and see him as a quirky comedy dork.
(Jason Powell, founder and editor of ProWrestling.net, has covered pro wrestling full-time dating back to 1997. He hosts a weekly podcast, Pro Wrestling Boom, and also appears regularly on the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast. Reach him via email at dotnetjason@gmail.com and on social media via @prowrestlingnet.bsky.social or x.com/prowrestlingnet. For his full bio and information on this website, click here.)
If an announcer had mentioned Hill’s tooth during a Rock-Austin WM match, you’d put that match in the miss section lol.
They definitely need to stop trying to make the tooth matter. I think we all agree Hill doesn’t need anything that gimmicky to get over.
The problem is that the people in charge don’t get that. I mentioned this on Wade’s podcast yesterday. I started laughing while we were talking because I got a text from someone warning me that I was going to hate something they filmed backstage with Shiloh. I’ve actually disliked some of the other things they’ve done with him even more, but it’s not like that person was wrong.