So here’s my first review of my favourite wrestling show in the world. Best roster. Best overall product. So let’s get into this weeks episode of NXT shall we?
We start off (once again emanating from Atlanta, Georgia which is a nice change from Full Sail) with The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole ‘Bay Bay!’ & the NXT Tag Team Champions Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly) entering the ring for what should be them defending their titles, instead they are jumped from behind by the monsters of Sanity (Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe and Killian Dain). The ensuing brawl leads to NXT General Manager William Regal coming out to try and put an end to the chaos. He announces the rivalry will resume in tonight’s main event, a tornado 6 man tag pitting the entire Undisputed Era vs Sanity. Should be carnage, which means it will be fun to watch!
So our first match of the show will instead be the team of Heavy Machinery (Otis Dozovic and Tucker Knight) vs Tino Sabatelli and Riddick Moss. Now… I wont lie but I care little about these 4 guys. Having seen them on NXT for a little while now they’ve still done nothing to draw me into them as characters. So to summarise: Heavy Machinery are the big, powerful face team and their opposition are playing the brash, high rollers act. The match itself was ok but the only thing anyone cared about in the crowd was the “Tino sucks” chants. It was fairly short with Heavy Machinery picking up the win, afterwards Riddick Moss turned down the cry for help from his partner so maybe this lacklustre team is coming to an end? So only Sabatelli got any sort of real reaction in this match, it was minor heat but I’ve always thought any reaction big or small, good or bad is better than no reaction at all. It means people care.
So next out is Johnny Gargano. I’ll be going into more detail in a seperate blog about him in the near future but I’ll summarise by saying he is the 2nd best in between the ropes in the entire WWE, the only man better just so happens to be the best wrestler on the planet. And he’s Phenomenal! … Anyhow he comes out to a standing ovation from the adoring crowd. He talks about how he knew he was going to win the NXT Championship in Phildelphia at Takeover 2 Sundays ago, but that just didn’t happen. He was consoled by the reaction he received afterwards despite a losing effort (fyi it was the best match in WWE for years, the best in NXT history, you really should check it out).
Mr Wrestling goes on to say he will never forget NXT Takeover: Phildelphia, OR (here we go…) he won’t forget being hit in the back with a crutch by his former tag team partner Tommaso Ciampa following the match. He says he’s bitten his tongue since Takeover: Chicago when his ex partner first turned on him but almost 9 months later he finally calls him out!
The call is instead answered by the NXT Champion ‘El Idolo’ Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas and his associate Zelina Vega. It takes two to Tango and although Gargano was the star, Almas more than played his part in an absolutely classic match. He’s a superbly arrogant heel and his character renaissance has run parallel with the arrival of Zelina Vega by his side. She has been as important to his success in NXT in recent months as a character as his legs,arms and body have been to his sensational lucha lubre yet technical and hard hitting, Mexican wrestling style he exhibits. Vega acts as his spokesperson and occasional accomplice in matches too (she’s been known to deliver the odd hurricanrana to Almas’ opponents).
Almas and Vega make their slow, methodical way to the ring as Almas holds his title aloft with a determined Gargano looking on. Zelina then cuts a promo, which is typically great, stating that Gargano is not Johnny Wrestling but Johnny “Loser”. As Gargano prepares to respond the crowd begin the “We want Candice” chants (his real life Wife). Gargano tells Vega that after the crowd reaction he got his next favourite part of Takeover was when Candice LeRae jumped over the barricade and took out her frustrations on Vega’s interference by launching an assault and chasing Zelina around the arena, much to the Philly crowd’s delight (fyi Candice LeRae has recently signed a full time contract with WWE and was previously one of the hottest commodities in independent wrestling Male or Female).
And of course out came Mrs Wrestling herself, and after a nod of approval from her husband she pushes her rival out of the ring. Gargano does the same to Almas and as the 2 heels retreat to the entrance ramp a frustrated Vega questions ‘what it will take for them to be rid of them both once and for all’? Gargano requests 1 more title shot, which Vega agrees with on the condition that if he loses again he must go away. Gargano concurs saying if he cannot beat Almas for the title he will LEAVE NXT! The crowd, his wife and indeed the commentators all seem perplexed by this drastic action.
The implications of this are massive, maybe he will finally win the title? Maybe he will actually leave NXT and go to Raw or Smackdown? Either way I expect the man of the moment wont be out of the headlines anytime soon…
Next up is a classic-NXT-make shift press conference/interview with NXT Women’s Championship top contender Shayna Baszler. If I tell you she’s got a famous mate called Ronda you can probably guess Baszler isn’t to be messed with. Baszler tells the “reporters” that she’s the most feared woman in NXT and that the champion Ember Moon is scared (Moon got the roll up win in their last encounter). This was solid heel stuff from Baszler. Their next match is going to be great fun to watch that’s for sure!
It’s then announced next week that Pete Dunne will defend his United Kingdom Championship against Roderick Strong. 2 superb wrestlers with simple but very very effective characters. Should be absolutely fantastic.
The man who lost the number 1 contenders match to Strong last week Tyler Bate is talking next. He says he’ll be watching the UK title match very closely and also speaks of his delight at collecting his recent award for 2017 NXT match of the year for his match vs Pete Dunne in which he dropped the UK title at NXT Takeover: Chicago (another one you all MUST check out). Bate says he wants to have more match of the year candidates against the very best NXT has to offer; Adam Cole, Aleister Black, Velveteen Dream etc. I must point out that Tyler Bate isn’t 21 until next month… my fucking word… his potential is incredible!!!
Next is a match between Mae Young Classic participant Bianca Belair and a jobber. For someone whose main gimmick is they use their long ponytail as a weapon she is very much an athletic powerhouse and demonstrates as much here. Less than 1 minute later and Belair is your winner. Not quite sure if she’s a face or a heel at this point but usually in NXT if someone is getting fed jobbers the their being built up, and in NXT it tends to be for a big reason.
A video package then plays highlighting the Royal Rumble entry and skills in general of the Pirate Princess and Mae Young Classic winner, one of my favourite wrestlers in the world; Kairi Sane. She’s great. Very much a potential blog subject for me in the future.
It’s then announced that next week Ember Moon will defend her NXT Women’s Championship (after responding to her remarks earlier in the show on twitter) against Shayna Baszler. I’m surprised they’re doing the rematch this soon after the first but fascinated to see where this goes. Expect a screwy finish of some form setting up a bigger match down the line.
Finally the show ends with the anticipated main event. This promises to be a bit of a free for all, but who doesn’t like wrestling when it’s just complete and utter chaos? Out comes Sanity first (minus Nikki Cross sadly, my favourite Scottish female since Miss Hooley or maybe Amy Macdonald, depending on what you’re in to) followed by Undisputed Era. Immediately after the bell rings, in fact as the bell is rung, all 6 participants are fighting all over the outside of the ring. No DQ’s in this one btw as the 3 1v1 battles go on, a particularly nice spot saw Alexander Wolfe positioned sat groggy on a chair before Kyle O’Reilly flew at him with a double flying knee move off the apron. Killian Dain (or Big Damo to me, his name when he wrestled in the UK, he will always be Damo to me) has a period in ring crushing his opponents, something I’d happily watch all the time. He focuses on Bobby Fish as the other 4 in the match take their brawl to the inner bowels of the arena.
Fish hits a great looking moonsault on Dain for a 2 count, the other 4 comeback, Fish goes to hit Dain with a kendo stick, Dain catches it and throws it away, Fish runs away, Dain chases him to the entance ramp before picking him up and launching him to the floor below and onto the rest of the people in the match. The beast from Belfast looking like a monster, which is exactly how it should be. Always.
After a brief ad break they come back to Killian Dain and Adam Cole in ring who hits an enziguri, Alexander Wolfe hits a powerbomb for 2 as O’Reilly breaks that up, Fish and O’Reilly hit a double team on Wolfe that is broken up by Dain, Dain then hits a michinoku driver (he picks him up over his shoulders and slams him basically) on O’Reilly on to Fish on the ring floor which was awesome. Adam Cole used a kendo stick to stop what would’ve been a worthy end to a fun match. Eric Young then entered the ring, eventually landing an elbow drop on Cole for another nearfall, everyone is down at this point.
Next was a whole serious of various offences: Young hit Cole with the kendo stick, O’Reilly on Young, Wolfe on O’Reilly, Fish on Wolfe, Dain on Fish. Dain then goes outside the ring, He goes to do a Cannonball on Adam Cole but as The Panama Playboy moves out the way Dain goes through a conveniently placed table. With this Alexander Wolfe is left in the ring to suffer the attack of the 3 Undisputed Era members, Wolfe begins his comeback which is ended with a superkick from Cole and followed up with the tag team finisher from Fish and O’Reilly. Young breaks this up with a kendo shot, he hits Fish then O’Reilly but then eats another Adam Cole superkick.
Undisputed Era then hit a series of big moves but can’t put Eric Young away. The heels can’t believe it, and are then greeted with the monstrous sight of Killian Dain returning to his feet and staring them down. He overpowers all 3 of them, he clears them all out, before he finally hits his Ulster Plantation (putting his opponent on his shoulders before throwing them down on the mat) on Bobby Fish to give Sanity the win. This was really fun, hardly a suprise given the extremely high quality of participants but I am a tad suprised Sanity got the win. A way to extend the fued with Sanity still due their NXT Tag team title rematch. And Dain ends the show with his two teammates, battered but victorious, barely standing but beside him. Big Damo standing tall. As it should be. Always.
And that was NXT. An action packed hour as always with plenty of interesting twists that’ll make the next few weeks of NXT tv exciting and entertaining both in and out of the ring.
Key points to take home:
– NXT’s ‘filler’ is at least half entertaining, Raw’s and Smackdown’s are terrible.
– Gargano and Almas should feud forever. Sadly they wont. But Gargano vs Ciampa will eventually more than make up for it
– I’m ALL IN on a Zelina Vega vs Candice LeRae match. TAKE ALL MY MONEY NOW!
– Shayna Bazler is gonna be a megastar
– Killian Dain is gonna be a megastar
Conclusion
Even when there are nearly 2 months til their big show and no secondary ones in between NXT has this week shown the main roster how to sustain interest in all it’s main angles to a high level without a feeling of time wasting and dragging stuff out for the sake of it. It’s one of the many, many reasons I maintain NXT is the best show in wrestling today. And it’s only an hour long. You should watch it if you don’t already. It’s really good. Always.
Josh.