NXT HITS & MISSES (1/21): The Return of Corey Graves, Lexis King vs. Dempsey for Heritage Cup, Oba Femi vs. Eddy Thorpe, Bayley-Guilia-Roxanne-Cora

By Jason Goodspeed, PWTorch contributor


SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...

The Return of Corey Graves: Hit 

I wasn’t happy with Graves being upset for what he considered a “demotion”, but I’m glad that fences have been mended and he’s returned to the fold. If only they’d ditch Booker T, the Joseph/Graves dynamic would be awesome. Speaking of Graves…

Not Letting Graves have more talk time: Miss

Graves offers so much to commentary, Booker T offers nothing, outside of annoying catchphrases and uninspired insight. He doesn’t even pull off heel commentator well. So often, Vic would say he wanted to hear the opinions of both, but only Booker got his in, before they were on to the next part of the commentary. Three man commentator teams rarely work, especially with a guy like Booker. It’s grating for this viewer to listen to…

Tony D’Angelo vs. Ridge Holland: Hit

Nice match with a predictable outcome, aside from the Izzi Dame interference. It still amazes me that in this age of not having wrestling “characters”, D’Angelo makes his schtick work. He’s great in the ring and Holland has become more interesting these past months than most of the rest of his career.

Bayley/Guilia/Roxanne Perez/Cora Jade Promo: Hit

This gets a Hit, because that was approaching Dominik Mysterio heat on Perez and Jade. Too many times the Performance Center crowds are 50/50 or 75/25, but this was loud and I’d say unanimously or close to it jeering for Perez and Jade. This shows how the energy of the crowd can make or break a segment.

Dion Lennox vs. Wes Lee: Minor Hit


Lennox still is a bit green, but Lee can get a good match out of almost everyone. I like the Lee and Trick Williams program. I hope they put together a little feud instead of it being a one off. Williams should stay out of the title picture for a while, so having a program with Lee could be fun. I’d also like to see more character out of Lennox than resident bookworm (not judging: I’m a geek for reading, too!)

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…


Check out the latest episode of “PWT Talks NXT” with Kelly Wells and Nate Lindberg, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “pwtorch” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)


Lexis King vs. Charlie Dempsey for The Heritage Cup: Hit

These guys work well together. King has shown improvement since he came over to NXT. At first, I didn’t like the whole King transformation into a guy who didn’t want to cheat to win, but cheats to win (inadvertently or not) has kind of started to intrigue me. I still don’t know where they are going with his character, but consider me invested.

Karmen Petrovic vs. Jaida Parker: Minor Hit

I struggle getting invested in matches that stem from altercations that happened minutes ago, but the match quality was pretty good. I’ve followed NXT since the beginning and watching women like Parker and Petrovic grow and improve over the weeks is a lot of fun for me. Plus, I have to admit: the Petrovic/Ashante Thee Adonis stuff is a stupid, guilty please of mine. I like the character development of Kelani Jordan recently. A feud with Parker would benefit them both.

Niko Vance & Brooks Jensen vs. Channing Lorenzo & Luca Crucifino: Minor Miss

Not too much meat to this match. I know there’s a feud between Spears’ group and The Family, but this match never seemed to get out of second gear. Vance looked pretty good (I still don’t know much about him or his background in wrestling).

Eddy Thorpe vs. Oba Femi: Minor Hit 

A good match, but another with another expected outcome. That’s my one gripe with NXT: They have multiple title matches, but there’s never a surprise outcome. I’m not saying play Hot Potato with Championships, but bring us back to the 1-2-3 Kid moment: show us that something COULD happen. It’s too paint by numbers a lot of the time. I like Femi as champ, but NXT seems to thrive with a heel champ. I hope Thorpe isn’t relegated to obscurity following this match, as this is the most I’ve been invested in his character since he started with the company. As I mentioned, not a fan of Trick being back in the title picture. Move him up to the Main Roster already.

Stay right here and keep the flow going. We think you’ll like to read this next…

RECOMMENDED NEXT: NXT TV RESULTS (1/21): Wells’s live report on Oba Femi vs. Eddy Thorpe, Tony D’Angelo vs. Ridge Holland, Lexis King vs. Charlie Dempsey, more

OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: Powell’s NXT Hit List: Oba Femi vs. Eddy Thorpe for the NXT Championship, Tony D’Angelo vs. Ridge Holland for the NXT North American Championship, Wes Lee vs. Dion Lennox

(You can always reach PWTorch editor Wade Keller at kellerwade@gmail.com. You can also send live event results and news tips to pwtorch@gmail.com. Also, we’re always looking for volunteer contributors to help us round out of coverage of the pro wrestling scene.)

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