NXT FEUD TRACKER: Brandler’s summary and assessment of ongoing feuds including D’Angelo’s challengers,

MAIN EVENT FEUDS

NXT MEN’S HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE

Current champion: Tony D’Angelo.

On the latest episode last Tuesday, Tony D’Angelo & Myles Bourne faced two people making their NXT match debuts, “Showtime” Kam Hendrix & Mason Rook.

Tony D & Bourne operated as two singles wrestlers in a tag match. Hendrix & Rook had slightly more teamwork. After a distraction from Tavion Heights, Rook dominated Bourne. Kam tagged in and got the pinfall. Kam acted as if he had done everything to win the match.

The dynamic between the cocky Hendrix and quieter Rook intensified later in the episode when both were interviewed by Sarah Schreiber. Kam challenged D’Angelo saying he deserves a title match since he beat both champions on the same night a la Chris Jericho’s similar promo. Mason Rook came out, looked at Kam, and beat him up to the cheers of the NXT crowd.

Brandler’s Bit: The tag match showed four very talented wrestlers. Kam and Rook are likely to have a match with the winner getting a title match in the future. I suspect that Heights and Bourne will build their feud towards a North American Title match as well.

NXT WOMEN’S HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE

Current Champion: Lola Vice

Kalani Jordan came out to start the segment. In her promo, Jordan complained that she should be the number one contender having beaten Izzi Dame and Lola Vice. Dame confronted Jordan which led to Lola Vice having a back-and-forth with Izzi. She granted Izzi a title match. Right after this, Kendal Grey came out to assert her place in the title picture. Kendal and Kehlani went back-and-forth only for Wren Sinclair to hit Kehlani with her crutch from behind, setting up a match between the two of them next week.

In a backstage segment, Grey and Wren had another BFF segment saying they were best friends and “I’m not in your way,” etc. Since friendships in wrestling rarely hold up, they are probably starting the slow burn towards their breakup.

The title match was set between Lola Vice and Izzi Dame, which will probably be next week’s main event.

Brandler’s Bit: Kelani Jordan is an uber-talented performer. She has taken her gymnastics background, merged it with pro wrestling training and become a top-level wrestler. Her promo last night was not top level. Her delivery was whiny – not whiny heel – with no real oomph in her delivery. That was unfortunate because, although she can state the facts that she has beaten the champion and the number one contender for the NXT Women’s Title, she did not convince the fans to think that she’s the best woman in the division.

I’m looking forward to the Lola and Izzi match up next week. It will be interesting to see if they put the title on Izzi or will there by other layers to this story. For example, NXT planted seeds for dissension in the Culling, so it will be interesting how that begins to play out.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

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MID-CARD FEUDS

WOMEN’S NXT NORTH AMERICAN TITLE

Champion Tatum Paxley

Tatum Paxley and Lizzie Rain had a great match. This was Lizzie’s third match on NXT and the fans acted as if she’d been there forever. They loved her rock ‘n’ roll vibe. They loved her move set and chanted “Make it rain!” during one segment of the match. The fans also love Paxley’s character and her talent. Both wrestlers came out stronger from the match. Paxley reversed the backslide spot into “Cemetery Drive” for the win. After the match, Zaria beat up both Rain and Paxley. She grabbed the title and held it up high.

Brandler’s Bit: Hats off to NXT for having a face vs. face match up with no interference. It led to a compelling and competitive match that the fans enjoyed. More please. Zaria’s post-match attack will ultimately lead to a Zaria vs. Tatum title match. Will there be a match between Rain and Zaria first?

MEN’S MID-CARD FEUDS

TRISTAN ANGELS-ROMEO MORENO

Tristan Angels “Mr. England “made his NXT debut as he challenged Romeo Moreno. Both Angels and Moreno are 23 years old. Angels has wrestled in England. He has a good look and did well in his post-match promo. Moreno has wrestled in Europe. He demonstrated good moves, quickness, and agility. Prior to tonight’s NXT debut, both have been wrestling in Evolve.

Also making his NXT singles debut was Tate Wilder, who challenged Keanu Carver to a match. Wilder, who is a cross between Evan Bourne and Jeff Hardy, got in a surprising amount of offense against Carver. Carver has a persona of “I am tough and I’m going to kick your ass” was not as intense or dominant as I expected him to be in this match with Wilder.

Brandler’s Bit: There is an abundance of mid-card talent in the NXT Men’s Division. Next week, there will be the first-round match in the Speed Tournament. Two other wrestlers, Sean Legacy and Dorian Van Dux, will fight, adding more young wrestlers to the mix.

The best way to learn about all six of these men would be to watch Evolve. Their talents are all showcased on that show.

NXT TAG TEAM TITLE

This week’s main event was for the NXT Tag Team Titles. The Vanity Project, (VP) Smokes & Balor were defending their titles against Dark State. Smokes & Balor had both Jackson Drake and Myka Lockwood at ringside for them. The four members of Dark State – Dion Lennox, Cutler James, Osiris Griffin, and Saquon Shugars – attacked VP before the match.

The match was a heel vs. heel match which confused the fans’ loyalty. Throughout the match, Lennox & Shugars appeared to be on the same page, giving the impression that they had put their differences behind them. Late in the match, confusion occurred as Lennox pinned the wrong VP member. VP rolled up Shugars for the pinfall and successfully defended their titles. After the match, Cutler and Griffin and Lennox beat up Shugars and the three of them put Shugars though the announce table, Shield style.

Brandler’s Bit: Saquon Shugars is no longer a Dark State member. Will the Lennox led Dark State be a more cohesive faction without Shugars? How will Shugars get his revenge after the beat down. Will he enlist another tag team to even the odds in this feud?

LOWER CARD FEUDS

Jaida Parker and Nattie continue to verbally joust with one another. Newcomer Layla Diggs agreed with Nattie’s point of view about Jaida being soft. She was challenged by Parker for a match next week.

Brandler’s Bit: This episode of NXT debuted many new talents. All of them have potential and good skills. The upcoming weeks will tell us who has the consistency to move into title contention.