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The recent flood of NXT call-ups to the main roster accompanied by several releases of NXT wrestlers has opened up several spots.
The vacuum they left was instantly filled with a wave of new faces.
Some more established talent has been brushed aside, while others are struggling to stay relevant.
With a refreshed cast, NXT feels like a brand-new program trying to find its next identity.
Some of the newcomers are welcome additions, while others seem rushed onto TV with little more than outlines rather than fully-formed characters.
Let’s evaluate some of the outliers.
Rising Star of the Week: Tristan Angels
Tristan Angels is something of a paradox. “Mr. England” carries himself like a stuck-up British noble, reminiscent of Triple H’s Connecticut blue blood persona.
In contrast, he also touts his extensive experience on his family’s sheep farm, even proving it by shearing a sheep in less than a minute. His farming skills are hard to reconcile with his sophisticated snobbery.
Fortunately, Angels is as adept at cutting promos as he is apparently at cutting wool. Whether prince or pauper, it cannot be denied that Angels possesses a charisma that immediately registers on TV.
In addition to being a good farmhand, Mr. England is a good hand in the ring. His debut match against Romeo Moreno was the best match on NXT TV in weeks and showcased the impressive abilities of both men.
Expect big things from Angels. His upcoming Mr. NXT pageant competition with fellow character Shiloh Hill promises to be the kind of nonsense NXT does best when it leans into the absurd with conviction.
Runner-up: Lizzy Rain
With a heavy metal gimmick and a truly retro appearance, Rain looks like she would fit right in on the roster of old 1980s Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling program.
The only difference? Rain can wrestle.
She proved it in her extended match for the North American Championship against Tatum Paxley last week.
Rain has been an instant hit with the live audience, who delight in chanting along with her catchphrase, “Make it Rain,” at every opportunity.
If Rain can bring a little depth to her character and find new ways to tap into 1980s nostalgia, she just might turn it up to eleven and transition from novelty act to long-term fixture.
Second Runner up: Mason Rook
With a unique big man look and remarkable athleticism for a heavyweight, Rook’s debut left quite an impression on fans.
His flying tank moonsault onto Tony D’Angelo made an even bigger impression on our poor champion.
The audience immediately took to Rook, and even more so to his ultra-catchy rallying cry: “He’s big, he’s bad, he’ll body slam your dad.”
Rook has the attention of NXT fandom. His performance in coming weeks will determine whether he can keep it or fade into the background once the novelty wears off.
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)
Fading Star of the Week: Dark State
Weeks of bickering between Dion Lennox and Saquon Shugars finally came to a head last week when the rest of Dark State turned on and ousted Shugars in a swerve. This week they delivered a promo justifying their actions and a mission statement going forward.
It didn’t work.
Cutler James and Osiris Griffin struggled to express themselves, giving clumsy cliches about Shugars being the “dead weight,” and the audience quickly lost interest.
By the time their more coherent leader Dion Lennox took the microphone, it was too late. The crowd was more interested in a dueling chant of “We want Shugars! / No, we don’t!” than anything Lennox had to say.
Dark State has consistently struggled to find a feud or storyline that makes their characters interesting. Expelling Shugars from the group is unfortunately no exception and only reinforces how directionless the act feels.
If he can break free from the orbit of this lackluster stable, Shugars may be the lucky one.
First Runner-Up: Kam Hendrix
Hendrix is a competent, athletic wrestler, but there’s nothing about his presentation that stands out. With a generic look and ring gear reminiscent of a WWE 2K create-a-wrestler, he would be hard to pick out of a group of performance center prospects.
His character is a fairly standard jerk, with no real edge or distinctive elements. Physically, Hendrix is good to go. Creatively, he’s very much a work in progress, not at all TV-ready.
Second Runner-Up: Lola Vice
As NXT Women’s Champion, Vice continues to put on great matches, but her character work fails to connect.
In her frequent verbal exchanges with top contenders for the title, her delivery comes off as stiff and uninspired. She delivers promos with all the elasticity of unfinished lumber
Vice is very good in the ring, but se needs a mouthpiece to keep us interested while she stands there and looks menacing.
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