#2 Samoa Joe isn’t moving to the main roster (yet)
When Shinsuke Nakamura captured the NXT championship at Takeover: Brooklyn II in August, fans presumed that it was the beginning of the end for Samoa Joe’s time in NXT. Even with a splendid build to their match at Toronto that made Joe look unstoppable, fans still kept the same mindset about the Samoan Submission Specialist.
Therefore, it was incredibly shocking when Joe captured the NXT championship for a second time at Takeover Toronto, becoming the first ever two-time NXT Champion. Although it enhanced the event itself by providing fans with a shocking finish, all hopes of Joe moving up to the main roster were dashed in the process.
The dream feud with Lesnar that would be set up at Survivor Series was gone, and although it is still going to be wonderful to see another Nakamura/Joe Takeover match, it’s a shame that Joe is still in the developmental brand for the time being.
Much like the Revival, Joe would fit perfectly on either brand of the main roster. On Smackdown Live, he could dominate as the top heel or babyface, challenging for the WWE World Championship sooner rather than later.
On Raw, he could battle with dream opponents like Roman Reigns or Seth Rollins, or most tantalisingly, Brock Lesnar. Sure, these scenarios could still occur once he is called up in 2017, but it would’ve been a fresh change of scenery for WWE fans to see the Samoan on the main roster as 2016 comes to a close.
#1 NXT tag team wrestling is sensational
If you were to tell a WWE fan at the beginning of the year that a tag team match would be a match of the year contender, they would laugh at you. Considering the mediocrity of how WWE handle their main roster tag division, it is incredible that NXT have completely revolutionised the division this year.
Resorting back to original teams rather than throwaway duos, NXT’s tag teams feel like they are, well, a team! Even the main roster’s most successful tag team, the New Day, were a quickly thrown together trio rather than an organically formed team.
For duos such as the Revival, American Alpha, Enzo/Cass and DIY, their pairings feel extremely natural, and this leads to some instant chemistry as partners.
At Toronto, the teams of the Revival and DIY tore the house down, stealing the show and involving themselves in talks of match of the year, despite tag team matches in WWE usually getting little attention.
Sure, the two out of three falls stipulation helped, but considering the superstars they had to compete with (Nakamura, Joe, Roode, Dillinger), the two teams did a tremendous job in wrestling another classic NXT tag team match.
With a number of incredible NXT tag matches taking place throughout 2016, NXT deserves to be commended for the spectacular management of their tag team division. It continues to outshine both tag team divisions on the main roster.
Let us hope that there is more fantastic tag team wrestling to come from NXT!
Thanks for reading, what are your thoughts on these five things? Let us know in the comments!
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