Powell’s NXT Hit List: Oba Femi vs. Duke Hudson for the NXT North American Championship, Ethan Page vs. Dante Chen for the NXT Championship, The Rascalz vs. Gallus

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

NXT Hits

Oba Femi vs. Duke Hudson for the NXT North American Championship: A better than expected main event. They did a good job of setting the table for the match by making it seem like no one thought Hudson stood a chance against the dominant champion. That made it all the more fun when Hudson pushed Femi to his limit and had nice near falls down the stretch before Femi ultimately beat him.

“The Rascalz” Wes Lee, Trey Miguel, and Zachary Wentz vs. “Gallus” Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey, and Wolfgang: The feel good Rascalz reunion that started last week and continued with this match was really fun. Here’s hoping that they keep it going with future Rascalz matches in NXT and/or TNA. The follow-up to Joe Hendry big night on last week’s show was nothing special, but it’s still great exposure for the TNA star.

Ethan Page vs. Dante Chen for the NXT Championship: A solid television win for Page. For whatever reason, it feels like Chen is more over with the Performance Center crowd than the television audience. He certainly has upside and hopefully his loss in this match is a sign that the creative forces recognize that he’s a work in progress. Meanwhile, Oro Mensah’s personal grudge with Page isn’t very compelling. It’s still hard to take Mensah seriously when he felt like the fall guy for Noam Dar for so long, and his ongoing involvement with Meta Four isn’t helping.

Je’Von Evans vs. Brooks Jensen: Evans continues to shine early in his NXT run. Jensen was protected to some extent by leaving the ring to tell Josh Briggs not to waste his time when Shawn Spears walked out. The Jensen worked shoot meltdown moments failed to generate much buzz, but it feels like he’s in a decent position now in spite of that awkward storyline.

Lola Vice vs. Jacy Jayne: A solid bounce back win for Vice after she came up short in her NXT Women’s Championship match. One can only assume that the post match angle will lead to an eventual six-woman tag team match.

Charlie Dempsey: Forget about the Wren Sinclair storyline and Dempsey’s character’s desire to lead like mob boss turned developmental wrestler Tony D’Angelo. The important thing is that Dempsey is showing good mic skills now that he’s been cast as the leader of No Quarter Catch Crew.

NXT Misses

Tatum Paxley vs. Izzy Dame: Who are two NXT wrestlers who lost to Jordynne Grace, Alex? Paxley’s crazy woman act has yet to click. Dame has been getting some television time and yet I couldn’t tell you a single thing about her character if my life depended on it. The actual match wasn’t bad, but it’s tough to care about matches when it’s there’s no reason to be invested in the characters involved.

Michin, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson vs. Jaida Parker, Bronco Nima, and Lucien Price: The match was fine. It just feels like these factions are trading wins and spinning their wheels. It’s worth noting that the Michin vs. Parker rivalry has been more entertaining than the feud involving the two tag teams.