NXT HITS & MISSES (5/19): Mason Rook in-ring debut, DarkState vs. Vanity Project, Kelani Jordan’s promo, Zaria’s struggle to get booed

TONY D’ANGELO & MYLES BORNE vs. MASON ROOK & KAM HENDRIX – MISS

Mixed feelings on this one. I always enjoy a match first up on a show, and NXT does that pretty much as standard, plus the action was solid. The downside was that Rook was held back here. I don’t think the tag-team match was the right way to showcase him for his first match. When you debut two people at once, it’s really tough for their moves to get over; we just didn’t see any of that. Both Rook and Kam Hendrix seemed to be playing it pretty safe with the limited time they had in the ring. A better option would have been short, dominating single matches for both Hendrix and Rook to really hammer home two or three signature moves. We didn’t see that here.

KELANI JORDAN PROMO – MISS

Some of the promo content was good. Kelani started shaky, and her face had ‘ I must remember ‘ written all over it, but she did grow into it and delivered well. If it was left at that promo, it’s a hit, but the clichéd interruptions by Issy Dame, Lola Vice, and Kendal Grey, to continue the inevitable 4-way, knocked it down.

On another note, with the entrance-way so short, it’s completely pointless to hit the entry music before these interruptions. It plays for literally two seconds and comes across pretty lame on TV. Just let them walk out and do their thing, I beg!

ROMEO MORENO vs. TRISTAN ANGELS – HIT

Really good high-paced match. It was relatively short, so both men went full throttle. Good idea with both wrestlers looking to make a good early impression. Angels’ finisher is unique, and this was a great 1st outing. It would be nice if a Brit wasn’t saddled with a “posh boy” gimmick as standard, but he’s making it work, and it’s a promising start for him. He is definitely one to watch.

TATUM PAXLEY (c) vs. LIZZY RAIN – NXT Women’s North American Championship match – HIT

I actually think this was pretty good. Matches aren’t given a ton of time on NXT TV, so for the time they had, both wrestlers did their best to build the match with some good changes of pace. It was good for Lizzy Rain to have a match like this early. It shows there is more to her than the quirky gimmick, and she continues to be really popular with the NXT crowd.

The Zaria spot after the match, which she speared both wrestlers and hit an F5, was good in that it came from nowhere; it is still, however, a struggle to have her as the hated heel. The crowd liked her too much.

TATE WILDER vs. KEANU CARVER – HIT

Carver has an awesome look. The Mike Tyson-style shorts-and-boots combo works really well for him. Heavy no-thrills offence style is a nice change of pace for NXT and, although unrefined, it kind of suits Carver. Wilder got busted open near the eye early, and it actually helped make Carver look even more like a beast. It wasn’t quite a Brock Lesnar-style squash, however, as Wilder launched a comeback (that lasted too long for my liking), but overall, a strong showcase match for Carver.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

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KAM HENDRIX PROMO – HIT

I give this a small hit. It wasn’t groundbreaking in any way, but it did give some decent time for Kam Hendrix to start to get his character across to the viewer. Until now, we haven’t had much to go on other than that he interferes a lot! Simple cocky heel stuff, but it always works when done well, and he does have good confidence. With Mason Rook interrupting the promo, it seems the plan may now be to lean into the crowd reactions he’s been getting and to have him as a babyface?

DARKSTATE (Dion Lennox & Saquon Shugars) vs. THE VANITY PROJECT (Brad Baylor & Ricky Smokes) (c) – NXT Tag Team Championship match – HIT

All 4 wrestlers are really good. Shugars and Lennox have such potential. Vanity Project continues to impress; hopefully, they stay right here for a while. A main roster call-up at this stage would have them Fraxiomed.
The post-match breakup of Dark State was OK. It’s been coming for an age, so everyone saw it coming, but the way it was done has me hoping it establishes Dion Lennox as the leader of the group, as he deserves the extra focus. The table bump, by the way, looked brutal!

My show highlight – it was simple, but the Keanu Carver match. I hope the slow monster build continues.