The Divas are the real stars down at NXTThe main reason to watch NXT is how the audience and the show runners don’t take anything too lightly. Of course, it’s not perfect but every NXT rookie plays a good role in getting a story ahead or making a character look really good and have depth.So, you have Bayley and Carmella having an interview backstage when Dash and Dawson interrupt, which obviously links their history with Carmella’s team of Enzo and Cass. A nice touch that worked for both Carmella and the tag champs.This week we had all three men eyeing Balor’s title have separate matches and a women’s tag team match among others. Here are the 5 points to note from NXT this week-
#5 The few beginnings
Sami Zayn hasn’t missed a beat since missing most of last year’s action with an injury.
He was quite his impressive self in his match against Adam Rose. His innovative arm bars combined with his quick and hard hitting offence made the match look good even if you knew the outcome. Rose got in some offence as well. It wasn’t one sided and that worked in favor of both Rose and Zayn.
Corbin, on the other hand, was allowed to dominate his match against Rich Swann.
These two were done for the night and on their way to next week’s big match, but they clearly got outclassed by the main event.
#4 Crews makes a humble request
It’s amazing how superstars, you know are reserved for jobber status, get such a favorable reaction at NXT. Tye Dillinger’s Perfect 10 gimmick is a hit with the audience and even if you know that he’s going to lose to Apollo Crews, you don’t let that hamper your excitement for the character.
Also, Crews’ entrance music is pure victory. It’s much like Cena’s entrance theme.
Crews presented quite the humble face after the match. He asked for a non-title match against Finn Balor to finish what was started a month back, in a match that ended in a disqualification because of Corbin’s interference.
And obviously, babyface Balor officially announced that the match was on.
#3 Womens tag team match
This match seriously had a really good dynamic of heels and faces. Bliss, Emma and Brooke piled up the heel role so well. Bayley and Carmella were perfect in being the babyfaces in turmoil.
Carmella got the hot tag and laid out a beatdown on Bliss.
This match was also interesting because of the things that unraveled at the Battle Royal last week. Bliss and Emma had quite the interaction last week and they began as reluctant teammates, this time around, but went on be quite a good team until Carmella got the opportunity to look really strong.
Carmella got the hot tag and locked the figure four neck lock on Bliss. It was a short yet significant showcase of the new number one contender to Bayley’s title.
#2 Most entertaining manager in NXT
Dana Brooke at ringside being the best manager at NXT with snippets like “I’m not even touching her” and “Come on, Alexa”, was a great way to use the Diva.
“This way” – telling Alexa to make a tag to Emma, and when she was asked to shut up by Bayley, she retorted “I’m not going to shut up!!’
NXT, in a way, has really worked Emma and Brooke’s alliance quite well. It’s the best mean girl team around. So, when they do decide to break them up, it’ll be quite the travesty. Methinks, they should go to the main roster as this very team. They’ve improved so well in their roles that it’s awesome.
#1 Samoan submission machine
Much like his main event match a few weeks back against Tomasso Ciampa, Samoa Joe faced Johnny Gargano in a similar situation.
While the match looked like a squash, it wasn’t. Gargano was at the end of a relentless attack by Joe, but he had his own set of vicious attacks for Joe to deal with. In the end, it was a well-earned victory for Joe. And even if it wasn’t a squash, it made Joe look really strong.
The offence was fierce enough, but Joe looked unscathed after he made his opponent submit. While Zayn had a competitive match and Corbin squashed his opponent, Joe looks like a much bigger threat than his two opponents next week.
