SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
This week’s episode of WWE NXT has wrapped. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and relive some of the madness.
-I enjoyed Rhea Ripley vs. Roxanne Perez. Ripley has really found herself with the Judgement Day gimmick and really came across as a big star in the NXT environment. Something tells me this won’t be the last time we see these two in the ring together. Big future together for both Perez and Ripley.
-The OC just doesn’t have the same aura without A.J. Styles beside them. The match with them and Cameron Grimes together was just fine on WWE NXT, but nothing more. Not sure they are the draw that Paul Levesque thinks they are, but they add nice depth.
-Shinsuke Nakamura was a nice surprise. Of all the talent available to work with him, “Stacks” was a bit of a disappointment even if it made sense storyline-wise given what the situation is with Tony D’Angelo.
-Alba Fyre is working really well playing off of Mandy Rose and Toxic Attraction. The gimmicks of each side are polar opposite from one another and it makes for a real organic conflict. Kay Lee Ray was a great wrestler, but didn’t have the character needed to be a player on the main WWE roster. Fyre does. The fire graphics and theme flows well within the WWE ecosystem and she’s found something that can be mainstream.
-It’s just a matter of time before Carmelo Hayes hits the main roster. He’s ready and there are diminishing returns with keeping him on WWE NXT when he would add significant value to the main roster. It’s time!
-Bron Breakker is finding his voice slowly week to week. He continues to come across more comfortable all the time and it’s helping his overall star power on the show.
-Veer and Sanga joining together as a tag team adds a nice style diversity to the tag team division in NXT. Both guys were dead in the water anyway, so why not try them together. If The Creed Brothers ever win the NXT Tag Team Championship again, Veer and Sanga could be formidable foes.
-Speaking of The Creed Brothers, how about that segment with Julius Creed and Damon Kemp? Creed’s best work to-date.
-Does anyone really care who Shotzi’s co-host will be for Halloween Havoc? No? Yeah, I didn’t think so.
-I didn’t like the Cora Jade vs. Raquel Rodriguez match, but Jade winning via disqualification was the only way to go. It puts a little heat on her match with Perez at Halloween Havoc and frankly, the match needs it. As they say, this was what it was.
-J.D. Mc-Don’t Google Me? Are you kidding Kevin Owens? Pop of the year right there. Just great stuff. The KO Show with Bron Breakker, McDonagh, and Ilja Dragunov was suitable and Owens was great. I just can’t shake the notion that this is a weird mix of wrestlers. Breakker is out of place with McDonagh and Dragunov and neither challenger is legitimately in a place to be NXT Champion. Bizarre, though the match itself on Saturday night could likely be very good.
-Austin Theory cashing in Money in the Bank to win the NXT Championship? That’s a good idea. I mean, ok, it’s a bad idea because why would Theory cash-in down in NXT when a main world championship could be had by cashing in on Roman Reigns. Here’s the thing, though. He’s not going to cash-in successfully on Roman Reigns and that could be the story. It’s heelish to dodge the bigger challenge and Theory can talk well enough to connect those dots. Breakker vs. Theory could be a nice feud for the brand too.
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