'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
This hasn't necessarily been the best week for WWE wrestling. RAW was okay, SmackDown Live was substandard and this wasn't the best NXT show either. That said, it could be because we've come to expect a mind-blowing weekly performance from the yellow brand. It was only an hour long and for what it was worth, it was fine.
What did you think of this week's episode of NXT? Did you think they continued the excitement of TakeOver? Let us know in the comments below.
Here is our analysis of the show. We thought it was a decent hour of wrestling, but not necessarily the best episode of NXT we've seen.
Through the course of the hour, we picked up 5 interesting highlights from the show.
#5 Heel turn for top tag team?
There's absolutely no way one doesn't cheer for TM61. Thorne and Miller are two high flying superstars who put on a dazzling display of moves every time they step into the ring. So when we heard that they would be facing the Street Profits, we expected to watch a fair babyface vs. babyface contest. And then, seemingly the unthinkable happened.
Shane Thorne put his feet on the rope and cheated to win. Everyone in the arena was shocked by what had transpired before them. Did these crowd favorite babyfaces just pull off a heel tactic to clock a win in their record books?
It remains to be seen if this was a one-off, or if this will lead into a full-fledged storyline with TM61 going heel in coming weeks. We have a feeling it will be the latter.
#4 Un-ladylike behavior
Kairi Sane has been booked as one of the strongest females in the current NXT Women's Division. She backs up her booking with an impressive display of moves on every single outing. Sane made short work of Shazza McKenzie this week. Like all her opponents, McKenzie was also forced to eat an InSane elbow and take the pin.
Very soon, Lacey Evans would interrupt Sane's victory celebrations. Bear in mind that in a recent match, Sane had put Evans away with the very same move that we just spoke of- her elbow! Evans would look to reconcile with Sane and extended her arm in a gesture of friendship and comradeship!
Sane soon found out that Evans is not to be trusted as she decked Sane with a cheap shot when Sane least expected it. The women's division is heating up just as fast as the tag team division is.
#3 The finest new transformation
We've seen the vignettes and also felt the hype. Kona Reeves has been repackaged and like him or not, he's going to be pushed as a singles superstar henceforth. This week, we saw him emerge in his brand new avatar and make short work of an enhancement talent named Patrick Scott. A new star has come forth to shine.
Somehow we're still not feeling his gimmick yet, because Reeves does not seem to have the necessary charisma to pull it off. He also seemed a little out of sorts in the ring but we're certain that he will only improve with time.
#2 A distracted LeRae takes the pin
We saw Candice LeRae break down in tears before her match with Bianca Belair. In storyline, she was concerned about her husband and the beat-down he suffered at the hands of his former best friend on last week's show. Naturally, she wasn't in the best of spirits for her match against Bianca Belair. Belair made short work of LeRae, picking up the win.
Belair put on a very impressive performance. She is incredibly powerful and almost seems main roster ready, at this juncture. We can imagine her with the title in NXT as well, somewhere down the line.
It also does seem like Kassius Ohno will be Gargano's friend in his fight against Tommaso Ciampa. We can't wait for their match on next week's show.
#1 Former teammates destroy each other
You put Strong and Dunne in the main event and you've got a winner. The two men took each other to the limit as one would expect. Moves, counters and pinfall attempts from both men set our screen on fire, through the match. We loved the spot where Dunne snapped Strong's fingers.
Dunne seemed like he had the match won, when The Undisputed ERA interfered. And then Burch and Lorcan would even the odds. Looks like we're in for 6-man action soon.
And that concludes our recap of the event. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you.
See you again, next week!
Send us news tips at [email protected]
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
