SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
LIZZY RAIN vs. ZARIA – HIT
Good match. Although I am mixed on it. On one hand, if they’re attempting to build Zaria back up as a badass monster, this might have been too long and competitive; on the other, it was against Rain, who is still new and fresh, so to beat her quickly would have been the wrong move too.
Ideally, Zaria would have been running through more expendable wrestlers quickly and dominatingly. But I understand they want to give Lizzy Rain TV time as well.
On an unrelated point, I am fascinated that they let Zaria use the F5. I can’t remember a time when two wrestlers used the same finish (except for the spear, where it seems 98 people use that). It will be interesting to see if she continues to use it when on the main roster. Or maybe Brock will be gone by then… Maybe.
OTM (Bronco Nima & Lucien Price) vs. THE CULLING (Shawn Spears & Niko Vance) – HIT
I’m a fan of OTM, and it’s nice to see them getting time and hopefully a push as the top tag team act. Price was really impressive here. He looks the part, his power work was super solid, and he can move. Bronco has a natural charisma that Price is perhaps still looking for, so they mesh really well together. They’ve got a good look too. I’m a stickler for the little things, though, and with such a short entrance way at the NXT Performance Center, their music needs to drop into the energy way quicker.
The Culling is fine; having Shawn Spears in NXT is a good idea for helping newer wrestlers in matches, and they have a uniform look, so I’d be more than fine with seeing them as part of a revitalized WWE Tag Division.
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)
TATE WILDER vs. JACKSON DRAKE – HIT
These are two wrestlers in the early days of their respective NXT runs, and from what I’ve seen, it’s so far so good. Fun high spot match. I’m enjoying Wilder’s apparent losing streak story. I can see it leading to him becoming a brat heel. He also hit a great twisting frog splash, which I would encourage to be his finish. It looked really slick. Drake is doing well with the young, cocky heel gimmick, and the addition of Myka Lockwood as the Chyna-style heavy has been a treat! Man, is she powerful, by the way!
LOLA VICE PROMO – MISS
As with nearly all NXT promos, this felt too scripted and unnatural. It’s a shame because Vice does deliver well and with confidence. But every sentence seemed to start with “I did this” and “I showed that,” which kind of made her a bit overly arrogant and cocky. Then, with Kelani Jordan coming in and basically doing the same self-congratulatory promo, I found myself zoning out.
On the plus side, the matchups on the horizon for the women’s title are promising, and the number one contenders’ match next week between Jordan and Kendal Grey should be great. I hope they give it a ton of time.
ROMEO MORENO vs. LEXIS KING (c) – Speed Championship match – HIT
Pretty good speed match. The extra couple of minutes helped the match. You get 5 minutes for championship matches as opposed to the usual 3 minutes. These are super early days for Romeo Moreno. What we have established is that he is quick, bumps like crazy, and has good facials. You root for him; it seems like they’ve thrown Noam Dar with him to take some of the talking load off him, perhaps till he gains more confidence. Lexis King feels like he has been in NXT for an age now! I still don’t really know what to make of him; it’s hard to get past that facial hair, in honesty. He’s not alone in this, of course, but I really wish they’d let him use his given name.
MYLES BORNE & TAVION HEIGHTS vs. DARKSTATE – MISS
Possibly a harsh “miss” for this match. This was only about 10 minutes, but it felt long. Maybe it was the babyface team feeling a bit thrown-together, but for me, it didn’t quite click. I did appreciate the body-part work from the heels to generate sympathy and a hot tag later in the match, however.
With Myles Borne nowhere to be seen for the 3count, the finish seems to point to a Borne-Heights program coming up.
TONY D’ANGELO (c) vs. KAM HENDRIX – NXT Championship match – HIT
Nice Championship main event. Tony D has been really good for a while, and the NXT title is pushing him further. Feels like he is enjoying the increased spotlight and responsibility. I saw Kam Hendrix wrestle live twice during WrestleMania week at WWE World. Both times, although the matches were short, you could see he just gets it. I am surprised they have thrown him right into the championship mix, but at this stage, with all the recent call-ups, I say, why not!?
Having Hendrix in the mix alongside Naraku and Mason Rook makes the whole show feel new and exciting. I credit them for this. They could easily have put wrestlers who have been in NXT a while in these spots, but they’ve gone the risky way.
Although we haven’t seen much of Naraku and Mason Rook in matches, this also adds to the intrigue. And that very intrigue will start to pay off next week as they face each other in a number-one-contenders’ match.
Overall, the core of the show remains strong. The two top titles, the men’s and women’s NXT Championships, both have multiple challengers and possible outcomes, and it just feels new and fresh. The undercard continues to introduce new characters. The big downside for these shows continues to be the back stage segments which in honesty I struggle to watch as they are so bad. Thankfully the in-ring action has been largely really good recently.
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