By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
NXT Hits
Cruz Montana promo: The highlight of the night, and it’s not even close. Hopefully, more fans will recognize that Montana is one of the best talkers in the game as he climbs the ladder and eventually lands on the main roster. Montana is also one of the coolest acts in pro wrestling. What’s more impressive is that he has he can show genuine emotion by crying without losing any of his cool factor. This guy is special. He’s off to a good start in NXT, and I hope they get it right with him on the main roster.
Zaria vs. Thea Hail for the NXT Women’s North American Championship: They opened the show with a quality title match. The fans really got behind Hail, who made them believe that she was on the verge of winning a couple of times. This was a good win for Zaria. I wish her night had ended here, but more on that in the other section.
Grayson Waller vs. EK Prosper in an open challenge for the NXT Championship: NXT was in a tough spot when Mason Rook was pulled from the title match for medical issues after they used the last two television main events to set up Rook for the title match. They handled it well by announcing the Rook news and then following up not long after with Robert Stone announcing the open challenge. Better yet, they emphasized that the open challenge was limited to anyone on the NXT roster, which prevented fans from getting their hopes up for a main roster or crossover surprise. Rather than rush into Waller defending the title against Cruz Montana, Zilla Fatu, or Tony D’Angelo, they went with Prosper, who is a likable young wrestler with a lot of upside, yet not at the point where he’s going to headline a premium live event as a singles match challenger for the NXT Championship. Prosper had a quality match with Waller and may have gained a little something in defeat, and Waller was given a credibility-building clean win. On a side note, here’s hoping that whatever caused Rook to miss the show is nothing serious and that he’ll be back in the ring soon.
Mini Vikingo and Chaz “Starboy” Hall vs. Channing Lorenzo and Uriah Connors in a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament first-round match: This was the more enjoyable of the two tournament matches. Vikingo and Hall were positioned as undersized underdogs. I doubt that worked on fans who are familiar with them, but perhaps some casual fans bought it. Either way, the live crowd was hot for the flashy style of the babyface duo and reacted favorably to them going over.
Nathan Frazer and Axiom vs. Osiris Griffin and Cutler James in a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament first-round match: A soft Hit for a solid match with a predictable outcome, which is common in the opening round of most tournaments. Griffin and James are good in the ring, but they have no chemistry as characters. It’s time to throw in the towel on DarkState and give the wrestlers involved a chance to get over doing something new.
NXT Misses
Kendal Grey’s therapy session: The nonsense continues, as fans at home are somehow able to watch Grey’s sessions with a sports psychologist. The big epiphany moment is that Grey works hard, yet the lack of balance in her life could be breaking her. Yawn. I wish I could say that these ridiculous segments were good for character development, but I’m just not seeing it.
Izzi Dame and Zaria: The story of Dame releasing footage of Zaria’s performance in a high school play to make her look bad is so weak. They are both heels, so I don’t know why the creative forces want fans to root against Zaria in the opening match and then feel sympathy for her later in the show. Zaria is at her best when she plays a badass, not when she acts insecure about her performance in a high school play. Her response to Dame or anyone else who tries to humiliate her should be violence rather than embarrassment. Likewise, most wrestlers in the women’s locker room should fear Zaria, not giggle at her over Dame’s mean girl antics.
Myles Borne promo: A minor Miss. Borne said some good things, but the live crowd’s reaction told the story. Some fans booed while many sat with their arms crossed, looking uninterested from start to finish. As I mentioned in last night’s live review, it could be fun to have Borne really lean into using being deaf in a manipulative way now that he’s a heel. For instance, he could have asked Robert Stone to give him the NXT Championship match last, and then played the deaf card as a guilt trip when Stone didn’t just hand him the match. There’s a lot to like about Borne, and hopefully he can find himself as a character.
(Jason Powell, founder and editor of ProWrestling.net, has covered pro wrestling full-time since 1997. He hosts the weekly podcast, Pro Wrestling Boom, and 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.)
