By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
NXT 2.0 Vengeance Day Hits
Bron Breakker vs. Santos Escobar for the NXT Championship: A solid main event. The interference of Dolph Ziggler provided a good near fall for Escobar, but the outcome was never really in doubt. As is always the case when Escobar loses a high profile match, I come out of it hoping that he’s main roster bound. It probably won’t happen right away, but perhaps he’ll be on the list if some wrestlers are called up after WrestleMania.
“MSK” Wes Lee and Nash Carter vs. Julius Creed and Brutus Creed in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic finals: This was the biggest win of the Creeds’ young careers, and arguably their best in-ring performance to boot. They were impressive in their early squash matches, but it wasn’t clear whether they could hold their own in matches that were laid out to be more competitive. While they still need reps, they stepped up nicely in this match. Of course, MSK also deserves a lot of credit for the role they played in making their opponents look good. This loss presents the creative opportunity for MSK to show a different side of their personalities by selling the loss in a serious way rather than always being fun-loving goofballs.
Carmelo Hayes vs. Cameron Grimes for the NXT North American Title: This was the best match of the night. Unfortunately, with Hayes going over clean and Pete Dunne challenging him in the backstage area, it looks like both men will be moving on to new opponents. As good as Hayes is, it’s hard not to notice that his eyes are wide open and he’s watching the referee’s count when he’s being covered in near fall situations. He’s far from the only wrestler who does this and it may seem like nitpicking, but it really does take away some of the drama of near falls. Again, though, this was a really good match.
Pete Dunne vs. Tony D’Angelo in a weaponized cage match: A fun back and forth match with some believable near falls for both men. I’m not big on adding weapons to cage matches, but they made good use of the them, and working hardcore style might be easier for D’Angelo at this stage of his in-ring development. I continue to be very impressed by D’Angelo. He has personality and mic skills, and he’s surprisingly good in the ring for a newcomer.
Gigi Dolan and Jacy Jayne vs. Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta for the NXT Women’s Tag Titles: A well worked tag match. Dolan and Jayne are a quality team that simply needs more character development. Hartwell and Pirotta taking the loss was even more logical given the backstage angle that saw Piortta walking off with Duke Hudson. I think it’s safe to rule them out as strong contenders to win the Dusty Cup.
NXT 2.0 Vengeance Day Misses
None: Okay, so the Nikkita Lyons videos feel like they were pulled from the very worst of WOW – Women of Wrestling’s introductory vignettes. Nevertheless, the actual matches on this show delivered. The creative team did a nice job of building to this themed show, and the wrestlers all came through with strong performances. This show was also effective in terms of building to the Tommaso Ciampa vs. Dolph Ziggler main event for next week’s return to USA Network.
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