HEYDORN’S NXT 2.0 RECEIPT 12/21: Grayson Waller gets prime developmental face time with A.J. Styles

This week’s episode of NXT has wrapped. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and relive some of the madness.

-Tommaso Ciampa is doing a nice job of carrying Bron Breakker. That’s not a bad thing, just the point. Breakker has an it-factor to him, but still needs to develop on the mic and in the ring. Ciampa is the best person in NXT to work with in an effort to develop those skills.

-Grayson Waller received a large amount of television time again this week. Jury’s still out. He has a charisma about him, but so far it seems like he’s still playing the part of wrestler and not working to find his character’s authenticity. The first part is a big one, especially in WWE, so he is certainly a guy to watch in great detail moving forward.

-Raquel Gonzalez vs. Dakota Kai worked as a way to blow off to their feud, but isn’t anything I’d go out of my way to see. The title picture features Gonzalez, Cora Jade, and Mandy Rose at this point, which is in line with the direction of the brand.

-Speaking of Cora Jade, she’s got a natural connection with the audience that’s rooted in her ability to generate sympathy. That’s a positive. The negative of that sympathy is Jade’s continuing deer in the headlight look in her eye. Once she can harness it in a more star-like way, we’ll really be able to judge what her ceiling potentially is.

-Jacket Time is so, so, so, incredibly awful. It’s embarrassing to watch what those two talents are being asked to do.

-Carmelo Hayes is a star. He’s got swagger, charisma, and confidence, all of which will carry him a long way. Have to assume he’s beating Roderick Strong at New Year’s Evil and will unify the North American and Cruiserweight Championship. The exact right guy to do it and he’ll be able to talk about it relentlessly as a heel for a long time.

-Well, A.J. Styles gave NXT 2.0 a taste of what a top star feels like. He gave credibility to Waller and set the table for what will be an intriguing match.

-If things fully click, or even just start to click a little for Elektra Lopez, she’ll be a force to be reckoned with.

-Not bad main event between Pete Dunne and Tony D’Angelo, but, D’Angelo has to go babyface right? I mean, the pop he gets is babyface in nature, and the mob boss heel gimmick just isn’t scary enough to be a effective.

CATCH-UP: HEYDORN’S RAW RECEIPT 12/20: Seeds planted for a potential Bobby Lashley babyface turn during main event