SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
FRAXIOM vs. NOAM DAR & ROMEO MORENO – HIT
Good lord, what a way to start a show! I have said it before, but what NXT does well is that they start the show with a match, and usually a hot one. This was fast-paced and frantic, but the most impressive part was that they maintained the pace for nearly 15 minutes! It is perhaps a hopeless dream of mine that the main roster tag division is relaunched in a meaningful way, and a match like this would seriously help. An electric tag match.
MASON ROOK vs. NARAKU – NXT Championship #1 contender’s match – HIT
Two-for-Two this week in matches. It was short, under 10 minutes, but they both worked super hard. Having not seen much of Naraku in his New Japan days, I had heard he wasn’t great; having seen his early NXT days, I’m going to say that opinion is wide of the mark, and he was more likely held down by The House Of Torture faction. The crowd loved this; both wrestlers hit big moves, and the match felt hectic, but they were fully in control. Mason Rook had the chance to show a few doubters that he can go in the ring, and Naraku, as previously stated, was very impressive too. His finisher, Entering the Abyss, is slick, has the immediate impact fans love, and, crucially, he can use it on any wrestler of any size. The interference at the end from Kam Hendrix protects Rook, and overall, with matches set up for the PLE, it’s a great piece of business. Bravo gents.
KENDAL GREY vs. KELANI JORDAN – NXT Women’s Championship #1 Contender’s match – HIT
NXT goes three for three in matches so far this week! The most technically impressive match of the night, and more classically paced than the breakneck speed of the first two. The crowd was a little more subdued; that’s probably because the first few matches were so hectic, but they got with it as the match went on. Kendal Grey is really popular with the NXT crowd, and she is already really good in the ring. The same can be said for Kelani Jordan, too, who seems more comfortable in the heel role. The match overall was better than almost any main roster women’s TV match you will see on Raw or SmackDown. These are two wrestlers who ooze confidence in their in-ring work. The finish was out of nowhere, but props to the booking because we see sudden death finishes so rarely these days; it worked.
Kendal Grey’s win shows the high regard for her from the decision-makers, although I think it may be too soon for Lola Vice to drop the championship, so it will be interesting to see how that match plays out.
JASPER TROY vs. DION LENNOX – MISS
The match was fine, just a few out-of-the-ring events made it a miss for me. I was happy to see Dion Lennox get a singles match; he has been the standout guy in DarkState. The story of the match was whether or not Saquon Shugars would arrive, which led to a pet peeve of mine when he appeared on the big screen mid-match; that’s got to be the worst type of match distraction (although they get a slight pass as it bled into the post-match). I was happy to see Lennox win (his finisher is a bit underwhelming, however), and it’s pretty clear they have no idea what to do with Jasper Troy. A clean defeat isn’t the greatest sign.
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)
TATUM PAXLEY (c) vs. ZARIA – NXT Women’s North American Championship match – HIT
Zaria with the big win. She had to win, really, so it was never in doubt. It’s a little underwhelming in that she already seems on the level of the top women in the division, so she might have been better served as the challenger to Lola Vice to really press home that she is a big deal. The women’s match earlier in the night was better, but this one served its purpose well, and Tatum Paxley did a great job of staying in the match while also putting over Zaria strongly.
MR NXT – MISS
Oh man. This sort of segment (or multiple segments in this case) is torture. I understand why they do it in terms of character development and mic time, but it tipped too far over into cringe for me. Having said that, both wrestlers did their best. Tristan Angels really cranked up his gimmick with full levels of obnoxiousness, and he is super confident on the mic. The best part of this entire Mr. NXT event was the humble ‘everyman’ promo Shiloh Hill cut as his final speech. It came across as genuine and humble, and the crowd really liked it. That is exactly the character he should portray every week.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Overall, the matches on this show were the highlight. Everyone looked good in the ring, and the developments leading to The Great American Bash with Mason Rook and Kam Hendrix, and both the men’s and women’s championship matches were really well done, and that’s now a show I am looking forward to.
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