{"id":171263,"date":"2023-12-28T13:14:05","date_gmt":"2023-12-28T19:14:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=171263"},"modified":"2023-12-28T13:14:05","modified_gmt":"2023-12-28T19:14:05","slug":"nxt-hits-misses-12-26-breaker-vs-frazier-dijak-vs-thorpe-end-of-year-awards-lexis-king-vs-riley-osbourne-gacy-vs-coffee-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2023\/12\/28\/nxt-hits-misses-12-26-breaker-vs-frazier-dijak-vs-thorpe-end-of-year-awards-lexis-king-vs-riley-osbourne-gacy-vs-coffee-more\/","title":{"rendered":"NXT HITS &#038; MISSES (12\/26): Breaker vs. Frazier, Dijak vs. Thorpe, End of Year Awards, Lexis King vs. Riley Osbourne, Gacy vs. Coffee, more"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-4170687144\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p>My body is still in a food coma, but here are this week\u2019s Hits &amp; Misses for NXT!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Joe Gacy vs. Joe Coffee: Hit<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>So, I\u2019m not really sure where they are going with Joe Gacy at the moment as a seemingly baby face role, but I\u2019m along for the ride. I\u2019ve always been high on his in-ring abilities and I even enjoyed his \u2018cult leader\u2019 personality\u2019 (although it did begin to fade as the whole Schism thing went on). Great match that also led to a Miss (more below)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bron Breakker vs. Nathan Frazier: Hit<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A paint by numbers match, but that\u2019s not a bad thing. Nathan is fun to watch, especially against bigger, stronger opponents, as he\u2019s a great seller. I\u2019m hoping to see him get involved in something meaningful in 2024 and for crying out loud: move Bron up to the Main roster already!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Josh Briggs vs. Noam Dar: Minor Hit<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I feel this could have had the same ending, BUT could also have gone a little longer overall. Meta Four are so easy to love to hate and Briggs has been impressive in his singles push so far. Plus, I thought it was a unique match, in that usually the Heritage Cup features the smaller wrestlers, so it was refreshing to see a bigger guy like Briggs put into the mix<\/p>\n<p><strong>Eddy Thorpe vs. Dijak: Hit<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1901220138\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>These \u201cUnderground\u201d matches are usually hit or miss for me (no pun intended), but this one kept me interested throughout. I enjoy the small details of giving it a gritty-type feel with the constant encouragement of the people ringside and the lighting. I\u2019m so hoping that this is the end of this never-ending feud between these two though. I\u2019d love to see Dijak go to the Main roster and Thorpe to not necessarily get a re-boot, but to be given more than his Native American heritage as a character trait.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lexis King vs. Riley Osbourne: Hit<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you have followed my column, you know I fan boy on Lexis King, so although I hated to see him lose, I was also happy in a way, as he is already established on the roster. I still didn\u2019t see the upset coming, but it\u2019s also fun to see a developmental talent get put into a program with someone. Osbourne looked impressive, but I don\u2019t think he stands a chance against Oba.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Oba Femi vs. Tavion Heights: Hit<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Speaking of Oba, man I like this guy a lot! I\u2019ve heard that a lot of the higher ups are impressed by this guy and I can see why. Everything about him screams talent. Now, he hasn\u2019t had very much promo time outside of the vignette preceding the Breakout Tournament. Even if he\u2019s rough on the mic, give the guy a manager and turn him loose. I think he\u2019ll end up being a big deal down the road.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Chase U vs. OTM: Miss<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I was really looking forward to this match, but I was left feeling disappointed. Nima and Price are green, but they have pulled off better looking outings than this one. Usually Andre Chase can turn coal into diamonds, but in this match. It felt sloppy and it didn\u2019t make me invested in watching OTM challenging for the tag titles<\/p>\n<p><strong>Karmen Petrovic vs. Cora Jade: Minor Miss<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3324977821\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>The match was okay, but nothing to go out of your way to see. Karmen was given enough offense, but the outcome was never in question. Cora seems to be lost in the shuffle on NXT, as there are so many talented women on the brand. This is why I think NXT could benefit from a secondary Women\u2019s title (similar to the North American Championship)<\/p>\n<p><strong>End of the Year Awards: Miss<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t disagree with the recipients chosen, but it seemed odd that there wasn\u2019t more made of the winners: no presentations, no interviews, nothing. Just throwing a graphic up on the screen made the awards seem like they didn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s all for this week. I have roughly 40 pounds of leftovers to plow through. Have a Happy New Year!<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>RECOMMENDED NEXT:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2023\/12\/26\/nxt-tv-results-12-26-hazelwoods-live-report-on-taped-episode-including-thorpe-dijak-in-underground-dar-briggs-for-heritage-cup-breakout-tournament-more\/\">NXT TV RESULTS (12\/26): Hazelwood\u2019s live report on taped episode including Thorpe-Dijak in Underground, Dar-Briggs for Heritage Cup, Breakout Tournament, more<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/prowrestling.net\/site\/2023\/12\/27\/powells-nxt-hit-list-eddy-thorpe-vs-dijak-in-an-underground-match-noam-dar-vs-josh-briggs-for-the-nxt-heritage-cup-bron-breakker-vs-nathan-frazer-nxt-breakout-tournament-semifinal-matches\/\">Powell\u2019s NXT Hit List: Eddy Thorpe vs. Dijak in an Underground match, Noam Dar vs. Josh Briggs for the NXT Heritage Cup, Bron Breakker vs. Nathan Frazer, NXT Breakout Tournament semifinal matches<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"entry-meta\">\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2430310548\"><div id=\"pwtor-926861655\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>My body is still in a food coma, but here are this week\u2019s Hits &amp; Misses for NXT! Joe Gacy vs. Joe Coffee: Hit So, I\u2019m not really sure where they are going with Joe <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2023\/12\/28\/nxt-hits-misses-12-26-breaker-vs-frazier-dijak-vs-thorpe-end-of-year-awards-lexis-king-vs-riley-osbourne-gacy-vs-coffee-more\/\" title=\"NXT HITS &#038; MISSES (12\/26): Breaker vs. Frazier, Dijak vs. Thorpe, End of Year Awards, Lexis King vs. Riley Osbourne, Gacy vs. Coffee, more\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":171264,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,28,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-171263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-specialists_hitsandmisses","category-specialists"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2023\/12\/Screenshot-2023-12-28-at-1.12.01\u202fPM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171263"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171263\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":171265,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171263\/revisions\/171265"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}