NXT HITS & MISSES 9/5: Gargano vs. Velveteen Dream, More of the Who Done It mystery, Forgotten Sons get TV match

HITS

Johnny Gargano vs. Velveteen Dream: Great match that showcased both wrestlers’ attributes and ring styles.  Velveteen Dream came to the ring in a “Johnny Failure” shirt that got the crowd riled up both for it and against it.  As exciting as this match was, the story that was highlighted was what is happening to Johnny Gargano?  Throughout the match, Gargano showed a different presence to his in ring mannerisms as he was more aggressive and did an enormous amount of trash talking.  There were glimpses of him becoming the very thing he did not want to become when he put the Dream in GargaNo Escape outside of the ring only to be talked down by the referee.  He then had another moment trying to DDT the Dream when his feet were draped on the middle rope and again draping the Dreams legs on the apron attempting to drop him on the floor.  The final straw was after Gargano rolled the Dream into the ring and as the Dream taunted him, Gargano went for the running knee, only again like at Takeover Brooklyn 4, it was to his detriment as the Dream countered with a Death Valley Driver for the win.  After the match Gargano was depressed and apologizing for letting the NXT universe down.  This is a hit as it is sad to see a man fallen from grace, especially one who stands for so much.  The storyline is compelling as Gargano tries to pick up the pieces all the while keeping everyone on their toes guessing which way will he turn, to the dark side or stay the Johnny Wrestling we all know and love.  This match mainly served to further this storyline.

MISSES

None

FINAL THOUGHTS…

This week was pretty sound as we got to see the Forgotten Sons in action for the first time on television, picking up the win against the Street Profits with a distraction from The Mighty and Kassius Ohno delivering a message to any new comer to NXT that he will gladly welcome them and knock them to the back of the line.  Additionally we also saw Kairi Sane pick up a win in a non-title match only to be confronted by Shayna Baszler to where the two fought and Sane got the better of the scuffle.  Lastly (sigh), there were more of the “who done it” segments where William Regal questioned Heavy Machinery and Lars Sullivan about their whereabouts during the Aleister Black attack.  Not an exciting week, but definitely solid.

NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S COLUMN: NXT HITS & MISSES 8/29: Gargano’s emotional promo reacting to Takeover loss, Ricochet & Dunne vs. Undisputed Era, Aleister Black’s whodunit segments