By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
NXT Hits
Grayson Waller vs. CM Punk for the NXT Championship: Punk gave Waller the thing he needed most – an in-ring credibility boost. That didn’t come from Waller stealing a pin when Kevin Owens showed up and distracted Punk. Rather, it’s because the match was laid out to make Waller look competitive with Punk before he stole the pin. It’s good to see a top guy come to NXT to make someone shine.
John Cena and Zilla Fatu: This could not have gone better. We don’t even know exactly how the John Cena Classic works, and yet the fans popped big when Cena introduced Fatu as the second entrant. I don’t think this crowd would have reacted so passionately to any other NXT wrestler in the same spot. Cena had some nice lines about his history with Samoan wrestlers, and Zilla’s reaction to Cena bringing up his late father was moving. Fatu clearly has a lot of confidence, as he didn’t seem nervous or intimidated while taking part in a segment with Cena. It was nice to see Fatu allowed to be himself rather than being scripted to act awestruck. Cena was great about letting this be Fatu’s moment when some less secure main event players from over the years would have bigfooted him.
Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno vs. Hank Walker and Tank Ledger in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament finals: An enjoyable match with the expected outcome. Dar and Moreno will challenge for the NXT Tag Team Titles next week. What comes next for Hank and Tank? There was no post-match handshake between the babyface teams. It was logical to move on quickly to Cody Rhodes presenting the Dusty Cup to the winners, but it also left me wondering how the Hank and Tank characters will react to coming up short. Will it be business as usual, or might one or both men turn heel?
Kelani Jordan vs. Paige for the NXT Women’s Championship: A soft Hit for a solid match. Jordan seemed to be a little off with the split-legged moonsault because she didn’t make much contact when Paige put her knees up. The finish that occurred moments later, with Paige setting up for Rampaige, only to have Jordan counter into an inside cradle, was a little flat. Jordan going over was the right call and added to her storyline credibility. That said, it felt like they could have gotten more out of the first NXT Women’s Champion’s return. Paige was a satisfying choice to be a mystery challenger, but I would have preferred to see her return to NXT television for a few weeks to build to a title match on an NXT premium live event.
Cruz Montana vs. Dion Lennox in an unsanctioned match with UFC fighter Michael Chandler as special referee: It was clever to have Montana jump Lennox at the start of the match. Montana joined the 946 two nights earlier. Montana’s new faction doesn’t use entrance music, but he was the babyface in this feud, so it may have confused the live crowd had he made an actual entrance without music. It was odd that Chandler was just thrown out there when he’s not well known outside MMA circles. His appearance didn’t seem to generate much fan interest, and he looked uncomfortable in the role. The other 946 members showing up to counter Osiris Griffin and Cutler James got a great reaction from the live crowd.
Rey Fenix, Dragon Lee, and Chad Gable vs. “The Vanity Project” Jackson Drake, Brad Baylor, and Ricky Smokes: A smooth opener. Drake, Baylor, and Smokes looked good in defeat. More importantly, they showed they can legitimately hang with Fenix, Lee, and Gable. The future is bright for the Vanity Project.
NXT Misses
Dion Lennox: Yes, I gave his match a Hit. He and Cruz Montana worked hard, and the crowd went nuts when Royce Keys, Jaida Parker, Carmelo Hayes, Bronco Nima, and Lucien Price showed up. Coming out of last week’s show, however, it felt like this might be a breakout night for Lennox. I can’t say that the original plan was for him to beat Montana, but he needed the win a lot more than Montana, and it seemed like he might get it to extend the feud. Any hopes of that happening ended when Montana joined the 946 on Monday’s Raw. There was no chance that Montana was going to be booked to lose when he just joined the crew feuding with the Bloodline. Whatever momentum Lennox gained from delivering the best mic work of his career felt lost because it came off like he lost yet another feud. No one did anything wrong because Montana going over was the right call, but the timing could not have been worse for Lennox.
Kam Hendrix: A minor Miss. There’s a lot to like about Hendrix. He has good size, he’s charismatic, and he’s solid in the ring. He draws heat as an arrogant heel, but this version of his persona seems limiting. His character is so obnoxious at times that he comes off as a combination of insecure and inauthentic. There are times when it seems like he has his tongue in his cheek and is playing the part of a cocky wrestler rather than being that character. Taking a more realistic and serious approach could be the difference between Hendrix being a good hand or a future main event player.
(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.)
