NXT HITS & MISSES 10/10: Cole vs. Ricochet vs. Dunne for North American Title, Ciampa’s promo comes up short, plus Keith Lee, Nikki Cross

HITS

Adam Cole vs. Ricochet vs. Pete Dunne (North American Championship Match):  This was a fantastic match from beginning to end with fast action, near falls and great storytelling that matched each competitor.  With the face Ricochet and the ‘tweener Pete Dunne taking out the heel Adam Cole set the tone that defined the dynamic for the whole match.  Throughout the match there was somewhat of a brief alliance Dunne and Ricochet even though at moments their truce was broken as each man tried to get the upper hand and the win.  Cole managed to remain competitive and get in some offense in as well.  This match had many great moments especially the standout of when both Dunne and Cole super kicking Ricochet as he flipped from the second rope.  After a sequence of awesome spots, it was Ricochet picking up the win with a 360 splash to Dunne after he delivered a Bitter End to Cole.  It was interesting as NXT made the right move by keeping the title on Ricochet but not having Cole take the pin.  It could extend their rivalry as Dunne goes on to conquer NXT: UK, but something tells me that this is not over, especially after this battle.

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MISSES

Keith Lee vs. Kona Reeves: This is a prime example of two wrestlers who do not wrestle their size and it’s not for the best.  Reeves is just awkward and with his size and stature he needs to develop a style that fits him.  For one, he needs a better set of moves as he really doesn’t have any besides some overhead strikes and an occasional suplex or Samoan drop.  The only good move that he had in the match was the Million Dollar Elbow from the second turnbuckle, but he definitely needs to work on his footwork in the ring and just overall presence as a performer.  Keith Lee, on the other hand, wrestles with delusion.  It is somewhat impressive to see a man of his stature perform those moves, but they’re still subpar.  Those moves are better suited for someone of a smaller size as they look smoother and complete.  When Lee performs them, they seem incomplete like he can barely pull them off.  Another strike is that for someone who as celebrated as much as Keith Lee, his matches should not be that competitive against the wrestlers that he has faced so far.  Even with Kona Reeves, this match should not have went the way it did with Reeves getting in as much offense as he did. It didn’t help that this match was just not good making it an overall miss.

Tomasso Ciampa Promo: This promo had so much potential.  Ciampa was his impressive heel self being evil-ishly smug, bragging about his new theme song and being the greatest sports entertainer of all time.  He addressed the Velveteen Dream as well stating that he should mind his own business with his Aleister Black accusations.  This brought out the Dream that lead to a great exchange between the two.    The Dream said that the NXT Championship deserved an experience and not a guilt trip from a little bald man hiding behind his insecurities while Ciampa said that the Dream wants his spotlight and that the he made the accusations for attention.  The highlight was when Ciampa said that the NXT title said that maybe the Dream was not “Tough Enough”.  As the Dream came in the ring to confront Ciampa, Nikki Cross comes out with her usual crazy antics associated with the Aleister Black attack.  This brought down the whole segment.  The whole Nikki Cross thing is getting annoying as it was totally out of place at this point messing up the continuity and magic that was happening between Ciampa and the Dream.  She needs to go up to the main roster already as she should have went when Sanity was called up.  Even though this might play a large part in the scheme of a greater storyline, it’s getting old already and they need to wrap it up before it messes up more promos and possibly other storylines.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Decent show mainly because of the main event. We saw some promos from Kairi Sane and a frustrated Kassius Ohno, but other than that, there wasn’t much going on.  This episode was just solid.

NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S ARTICLE: NXT HITS & MISSES 10/3: Lars Anderson vs. EC3, North American Triple Threat match promo, Gargano vs. Neese