By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
NXT Hits
Undertaker and Trick Williams: Taker got off to a slow start on the mic, but he saved his best lines for last. Meanwhile, Trick did a great job of acting cocky and then showing intimidation in his eyes once he was threatened. Trick has proven his versatility by getting over as a babyface and now shining as a heel. It feels like he’s more than ready for the main roster when the time is right for him creatively.
Blake Monroe vs. Wren Sinclair: Monroe’s mirror entrance was cool and fitting of The Glamour character. The match served as a nice showcase for Monroe in her singles debut in NXT. The post-match angle with Jordynne Grace fighting off security, yet being laid out by Monroe, was really well done.
Ricky Saints vs. Jasper Troy: A good outing for Troy in that he looked dominant early in the match, and then his character took advantage of the planned entrance ramp collapse by hitting Saints with a senton. The count-out win for Jasper was much better than having him take another loss.
Ethan Page introduces new NXT North American Championship belt: They couldn’t have picked a better place for Page to introduce the Canadian version of the NXT North American Championship than Texas. This may have drawn a little heat in at the WWE Performance Center, but the Texas crowd lost their minds and had to be censored several times. And just when it seemed like a babyface would come to defend America’s honor, the Italian character and real-life Canadian Santino Marella showed up. Huh? Hey, it worked. Santino can get any crowd behind him, and he actually defended Canada’s honor by saying that his fellow Canadians don’t think like Page. That said, I’m not sure how Santino saying he’d be at this show because NXT wrestlers hold TNA’s top titles led to him challenging Page to a match for next week. And don’t even get me started on the lack of effort to explain Santino getting a title shot.
Vic Joseph: You had to love the NXT play-by-play voice dropping Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath song references throughout the show. It was also a nice touch for the company to offer an official tribute that Joseph narrated.
NXT Misses
Oba Femi vs. Yoshiki Inamura vs. Josh Briggs for the NXT Championship: The Inamura and Briggs split feels higher on the card than it should be. It’s not a bad storyline, it just feels mid-card, and Oba spent the majority of the match selling while their drama unfolded. Oba came back strong and won clean, so I don’t think he was damaged, but he really needs stronger contenders than he’s had lately.
Hank Walker, Tank Ledger, Sol Ruca, and Zaria vs. Shawn Spears, Niko Vance, Izzi Dame, and Tatum Paxley in an eight-person tag match: A minor miss. It was an energetic opener, but the match had some rough moments, and they lost me with the oddball finish that saw the DarkState entrance create a distraction that led to Paxley pinning Zaria. Hey, at least we’re another day closer to NXT creative turning Zaria heel. It has to happen sooner or later, right?
Too bad the camera missed the ramp collapse though unless they planned it that way.
The Undertaker Trick Williams segment was a big miss for me. Trick Williams facial expressions were way over the top and more cartoonish, and all this segment did for me was seal that Trick is at best a mid carder.
I haven’t watched AEW so I knew very little about Blake coming in, but I see that she has the potential be something big, and why some are complaining that she was not sent directly to the main roster.
NXT rushing through things has really damaged Jasper Troy. Why thrust him into the main event scene early? Do the slow build, establishing him as a monster over 6 months to a year, and then make a dream match with Oba Femi if he proves his chops.
At least the TV time of those SHIELD cosplayers i.e. Dork State was kept at a minimum.
Is Oba Femi gonna win against Josh Briggs Vs Yoshiki Inamura ? …. i don’t wanna watch that shit before i get a heart attack.