SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
KACY CATANZARO, KAYDEN KARTER & IO SHIRAI vs. TOXIC ATTRACTION
First things first, Kacy & Kayden’s new entrance through the crowd is awesome and invoked a great reaction from the crowd. Loved it.
Toxic Attraction is being pushed as the “Bloodline” of NXT, if you will. No, not nearly as strongly as Roman & the Usos. But after winning all the women’s gold in NXT at Halloween Havoc and all the TV time that the trio has received, it’s clear that Toxic Attraction is the face of the women’s division.
Io, Kacy & Kayden all represent the “old NXT” while the three new champions represent the new blood. While Kacy & Kayden may not be extremely high on the roster, they have been fan favorite NXT stalwarts. Io Shirai, well her accolades speak for themselves within the promotion. Beating these three women while holding all three titles cements them as the top competitors on the brand.
The match itself was on the better side of average as far as six-person tag matches go. Gigi Dolan & Shirai were easily the standouts for me.
Verdict: HIT
SARRAY vs. KAY LEE RAY
Finally, Kay Lee Ray has come back to NXT! The former NXT UK Women’s Champion destroyed Sarray in a relatively short contest. This may have been my favorite match involving Sarray, she bumped like crazy for the British brawler.
Verdict: HIT
BOA vs. JOE GACY
Dawning a new look, including facepaint with a chinese symbol, Boa had a slight new edge to him tonight. Oh yeah, he also has a new superpower. He can make the lights flash blue & red and make his health meter regenerate like some video game.
On the surface, I didn’t like the presentation of his new “power”. But if this leads to something more substantial with the seemingly forgotten Tien Sha, I’ll give it a second look then.
Verdict: MISS
JACKET TIME vs. THE CREED BROTHERS
Kushida & Ikeman Jiro debuted their new tag team name and music tonight. It’s so unbelievably ridiculous and stupid that I can’t help but eat it up. I’d love to see Kushida doing something a bit more meaningful with his time in NXT. But hey, at least he’s on TV.
The Creed Brothers continue to impress with their in-ring ability. Diamond Mine as a whole, while still a mid-card act, impresses me more each week. Malcolm Bivens as the mouthpiece of a handful of brutes whose mic skills are less than average also continues to deliver each time he represents the stable.
The Brutal Brothers easily took out Jacket Time with Odyssey Jones attacking the stable after the match. There’s a strange and sadistic part of me that’d love to see Jones challenge for the cruiserweight title and win it. With the sharp shift in direction for the Black and Gol… the tie-dye brand, seeing them throw the weight limit out for a weight restricted belt would personally just be hilarious to me.
Verdict: Lukewarm HIT
CAMERON GRIMES vs. RU FENG
Ru… Feng? What is this, Mortal Kombat? Street Fighter? What the heck is it with the ridiculous names? Bron Breakker, Xyon Quinn, Malak Blade. These all sound like the most generic, randomized Create-A-Wrestler names and gimmicks possible.
Feng just served as a crash test dummy for arguably the most popular wrestler in NXT. While he may not be in the main event scene, the NXT crowd was chanting for Grimes and stayed behind him for the entirety of this squash.
This match really just served as a way to get Duke Hudson and Grimes in the ring at the same time. Hudson came out at the end of the match and began insulting Grimes for winning at his poker table last week. Grimes launched into an incredible promo on Hudson ending with him saying that he beat Hudson at poker. Hudson wound up challenging Grimes to a “poker showdown” next week, which Grimes accepted. What exactly is a poker showdown? Yeah, I have no idea either. But if the poker segments from last week are any indication, it’ll at least be entertaining!
Verdict: HIT
LA KNIGHT vs. GREYSON WALLER vs. SOLO SIKOA
The crowd was solidly behind Solo Sikoa as LA Knight and Greyson Waller teamed up to try and take on the younger Uso brother. Sikoa absolutely captures my attention any time he is on screen, and not just because he looks so much like a member of the Anoa’i family. He has a presence about him that reminds me of a strange mix between the current incarnation of Roman Reigns, Rikishi in his younger days, Taz, and the Uso’s. He clearly has the makings of a star, and I feel like he could easily be main event material for any of the three brands if this trajectory continues.
Verdict: HIT
ELEKTRA LOPEZ vs ERICA YAN
Finally! A jobber with a normal name!
This was a match to showcase the newest member to Legado del Fantasma, nothing more and nothing less. Elektra Lopez is perfectly fine in the ring, and I’m hoping to see more out of her so I have more to judge her on down the road.
She called Xyon Quinn out after the match and asked him to join Legado del Fantasma after being impressed with him last week. The crowd chanted “No!” and Quinn declined. I have a feeling that this may be setting up for a feud between Escobar and Quinn.
Verdict: HIT
PETE DUNNE vs. CARMELO HAYES
Easily my favorite Hayes match thus far in his NXT career. He and Dunne certainly had chemistry and worked incredibly well together. Like the opening match of the night, this was the old NXT blood vs. 2.0 blood, and it did not disappoint.
Carmelo stealing one of Gargano’s moves was a brilliant way of getting heat, and serves as more fuel on Gargano’s fire to capture the NXT North American Championship once again.
I was expecting to see Melo go over considering he’s the new breed, but I liked where this angle went. I think Dunne and Gargano will be great first opponents for Melo’s still newly-won championship whether they go with a triple threat angle or choose either Dunne or Gargano to go against the North American Champion.
Verdict: HIT
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