NXT HITS & MISSES 5/15: Viking Raiders NXT Tag Title reign update, Keith Lee returns to action, Gargano attacks Matt Riddle, Kushida vs. Kona Reeves, The Forgotten Sons, Viking Raiders vs. The Street Profits

The Viking Raiders & The Street Profits opening segment – MISS: The Street Profits have looked good in recent weeks. With that said, they need a few more wins over some top teams to build some credibility in order to challenge for the tag championships.

Undisputed Era segment – HIT: Roderick Strong said he took care of Matt Riddle for Adam Cole. He handed him Riddle’s bloody flip flop. This storyline is the best thing in NXT right now and is obviously a hit. There are so many possible ways this scenarios could play out, and I think most fans are all for it.

Keith Lee vs. Cezar Bononi – HIT: A good return match here for Keith Lee over Cezar Bononi. Lee looked good, but could have wrestled a better opponent here. This was good for what it was. The main story here is, what will be next for Keith Lee and will he be a big draw for NXT?

The Forgotten Sons segment – HIT: They said exactly what needed to be said. They expressed that they were upset that The Street Profits were handed a match instead of them. Wrestlers being mad at not having opportunities make sense, and it’s something we need to see more of. Showing how important getting title opportunities are to talent is a great thing.

Kushida vs. Kona Reeves – HIT: While this is a Hit, they have to start giving Kushida wins over more prominent competitors. This will establish Kushida as a serious threat. The purpose of the match, to continue to introduce Kushida to unfamiliar fans, served its purpose (although keeping him in matches with lower tier talent for too long could damage the fans perception of him). I look for Kushida to be matched up with higher-caliber of opponents going forward. Drew Gulak appears to be his next challenger.

Mia Yim & Bianca Belair segment – MISS: Both of these women have been in NXT for a while now. While they are talented, being in NXT this long without much success to speak of tells fans how management sees them.

Vanessa Borne vs. Jessie Elaban – MISS: A big Miss here. This was clearly meant to introduce Jessie to the audience. The problem is she does not come off as a star. She also does not stand out apart from the other female talent on the NXT roster. If she is to be given a chance at success, she has to find some personality and charisma.

The Viking Raiders vs. The Street Profits – MISS: The match itself was good. It was The Viking Raiders’ swan song in NXT. However, it is never a good idea to vacate a championship. It automatically starts the next champions off on a bad note, as they never defeated the previous champions. Unless there is an injury, champions should lose the belts to the next talent in line. Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan caused a disqualification. I’m assuming they will be in the NXT tag title mix, along with The Street Profits.

FINAL THOUGHTS: This was a decent show that featured Keith Lee’s return, as well as another chance for fans to get familiar with Kushida. The big negative about this show was The Viking Raiders vacating the NXT Tag Titles without putting over the next talent in line. They could have lost the titles in a tremendous losing effort. This wouldn’t negatively affect The Viking Raiders and would immediately make the opponents more credible and respected as new champions. Overall, it was a decent show that could have been much better had there been more meaningful matches on the show. Most of the segments were good and the show moved the storylines forward.

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