Things on NXT have picked up and how! This was quite a memorable week of wrestling, with the return of Goldberg on Raw; and Ellsworth getting a title shot on Smackdown, with social media buzzing like never before, to support the underdog jobber.
Of course, NXT had high standards to live up to, and of course, it did! With Takeover: Toronto approaching, The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Tournament in full swing, as well as two strong and insane debuts; NXT delivered a pretty power packed show.
We were entertained right up to the end. Let’s revisit what we experienced in today’s show of the yellow brand- NXT.
#5 Nakamura had an interesting encounter
With due apologies to The Miz and Dolph Ziggler, Nakamura and Samoa Joe probably have the best rivalry on WWE television, as of now! Shinsuke Nakamura came out to address Joe, after his big return last week and cut a pretty decent promo, with his limited knowledge of the English language.
The two of them have proved that as two of the finest workers in all of sports entertainment, they can translate their passion and give us a great program that spells intense action for the entire NXT universe, in the coming weeks.
But what happened then is what left us baffled. We saw Patrick Clark not too long ago, playing an androgynous character in his match against Rich Swann. In a segment that made no sense, he interrupted the NXT Champion and was taken down soon after.
Samoa Joe would use this distraction to play mind games with the NXT Champion. Is this what Stephanie McMahon meant by LGBT characters in WWE? If so, the company honestly needs better-written segments.
#4 Perfectly glorious Takeover match confirmed
Both Tye Dillinger and Bobby Roode have gimmicks that are over with the NXT Universe. In today’s episode, we saw Dillinger hurt and damaged after the beatdown he suffered at the hands of SAnitY.
But he was more upset about Bobby Roode, with whom he has an encounter at Takeover in Toronto! Can you imagine how hot the crowd will be for this feud?
Both ‘Glorious’ chants and ‘10’ chants will blow the roof off the building. And both of them are awesome workers, who’ll put on an amazing match. Oh wait...wrong word...it’ll actually be ‘GLORIOUS’!
#3- Good showing that won’t go far
Some makeshift ideas take off so well, that it’s a wonder they do so. One such idea is the pairing of No Way Jose and Rich Swann, two popular babyfaces who love to dance and party.
As impressive as they were in their first round match against Tony Nese and Drew Gulak, it is fairly certain that they have only been paired up to take on The Authors of Pain and get squashed. It is unlikely that a tag team unit, that’s really not a tag team unit will go over this invincible and strongly booked duo.
In any case, we definitely dig the pairing while it lasts.
#2- Nikki Cross is what the women’s division needed
Nikki Cross was the shot in the arm that the women’s division in NXT needed. With the departure of Bayley, Carmella, Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss there’s been a huge void with only Ember Moon looking like a likely contender for Asuka’s NXT Championship.
This void was filled by Nikki Cross who looked more deranged than anyone in the current WWE landscape (and definitely more than Dean Ambrose). Be it biting herself and/or the ropes or hitting her own stable mate- Eric Young, Cross is a sight to behold.
With Peyton Royce and Billy Kay forming a heel stable in the undercard to take on Liv Morgan, we must admit that our fears were unfounded. The NXT Women’s Division is back in full force, and it is definitely kicking some serious butt.
#1- Roderick Strong is in NXT!
The hot independent signings continue. There was much speculation about who would eventually be revealed as Austin Aries’ tag team partner. And the NXT universe was shocked when we found out that it was the Ring of Honor veteran- Roderick Strong.
The rumour mills had been buzzing for weeks, and with Austin Aries having no programme (Hideo Itami had to pull out because of an injury); we hope this awesome twosome goes far in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. It would also be the right kind of push that Austin Aries needs to get his own character ‘over’ big.
