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CREED BROTHERS vs. GRIZZLED YOUNG VETS – DUSTY CUP SEMI-FINAL
The Grizzled Young Veterans have been on the cusp of NXT Tag gold for what seems like years at this point. Pre-pandemic, we were talking about GYV most likely dethroning Undisputed Era. Then, GYV was unable to travel due to COVID restrictions and were off our screens for quite some time. Coming back to NXT earlier this year, GYV has seemed more like a midcard, somewhat comical, tag team than the badasses of 2019. Contrast that to the Creed Brothers’ 2021. They may be part of a mid-card stable, but are consistently pushed as a solid up and coming tag team.
Selfishly, I wanted to see GYV take the win during this matchup. They always entertain and put on excellent tag matches. Plus, I feel like its deserved after their momentum was derailed two years ago. However, the Creed Brothers were really the team that made the most sense to win. They’re part of the 2.0 class and are the team that’s been strongly pushed in comparison. My only nitpick about the Creed Brothers is the lack of time on the mic. Yes, I know Malcolm Bivens is there to do the talking for them. But, for me, it’s hard to identify with new wrestlers when they have a mouthpiece and we aren’t able to hear them tell their own story from time to time. I love the Creed’s in-ring work, but I need NXT to give me more information about them and allow them time to hone their mic ability before I’ll be able to 100% get behind them.
Part of me hopes that the Creed Brothers break away from Diamond Mine and stand tall on their own. They have the size, power and looks to easily stand out as a powerful tag team on the main roster. But personally, I feel like a midcard manager (and lets face it, Bivens could go toe to toe with Paul Heyman if he was given the opportunity) and a midcard stable are going to hold this duo back.
Verdict: HIT
WENDY CHOO vs. TIFFANY STRATTON
How far we have fallen from the days of the absolute best women’s division in the world. Two atrocious gimmicks clashed in this matchup that belonged at a local bingo hall, not national TV. Wendy Choo… you know what, screw it. Her name is Karen Q. Karen Q is actually a fantastic hand in the ring, unfortunately stuck with the absolute worst gimmick in all of WWE. That was the only reason that this match was even somewhat watchable. Tiffany Stratton… well… she needs to tell daddy to pay for some more wrestling lessons. She can look flashy with her moveset, but the fundamentals seem to be lacking. There were plenty of times when Karen Q hit her and it took a moment for her to acknowledge and sell.
I can’t believe this is the state of the current NXT women’s division. It’s quite literally a mockery of the stacked roster they had just one year ago. Yes, this is developmental and clearly Stratton is still developing.
Verdict: MISS
PETE DUNNE vs. DRACO ANTHONY
I think it’s clear that they have big plans for Draco Anthony. From the strong debut last week, to facing Dunne this week, he has been booked strongly and prominently. That said, Pete Dunne needed to be kept strong this week going into Vengeance Day and his Cage Match against Tony D’Angelo.
Draco and Dunne put on a great match, with both men looking to break the fingers of the other. They took a page out of HHH’s playbook, slowing the match down and allowing the sell to take place and add more meaning to their offense. Because of this, I fear that most people may not have gotten into this match as it’s not the high-speed action that we’re used to seeing. For me, this match had a fantastic old school feel mixed with a modern grappling style.
Draco Anthony reminds me of where Carmelo Hayes was about 8 months ago. A create-a-wrestler, generic baby face look. But he has the chops in the ring. All he needs is a solid gimmick to connect with the crowd.
Tony D’Angelo attacked Dunne mid-match, which did exactly what I hoped. It gave Pete Dunne the win without giving Draco Anthony a clean loss. It also prompted Dunne to declare next week’s cage match a weaponized catch match.
Verdict: HIT
LA KNIGHT vs. SANGA (w/ Greyson Waller)
LA Knight and Greyson Waller’s feud continued as Waller’s heavy, Sanga, made his in-ring debut. I’m a little bit torn on this match, because if Knight is in the ring I want to see him get the W. However, up against a giant like Sanga in his debut, no less, the odds were completely against LA Knight. Especially with a little twerp like Waller ringside. Waller kept trying to interfere, including removing the turnbuckle pad, ultimately causing Sanga to fall to Knight.
Sanga actually surprised me in-ring tonight. No, I wasn’t expecting to see the big man move like Keith Lee or show power like Braun Strowman. I was expecting him to be a disappointment a la Giant Gonzalez or something. While he wasn’t nearly as bad as Raquel’s uncle (I mean, they have the same last name. They must be related, right? Just like Roman and Luther Reigns), he certainly doesn’t command the ring like Lee or Strowman either. I think Sanga has potential as a big man, but losing his debut match shows us where NXT places him on the card. And that isn’t very high up.
Verdict: 50-50
SARRAY vs. DAKOTA KAI
If this is where Dakota Kai is going to be slot on the card, she should seriously consider moving on to another promotion. Not only was she caught rooting around through Wendy Choo’s shopping bags earlier in the night, but then she had to job to Sarray? Now, nothing against Sarray, but Dakota Kai is on a completely higher level in every way. She’s easily the second best female talent in NXT, an extremely close second to Io Shirai. Kai may have had her main event moments in NXT, but she never captured the NXT Women’s Championship. A goddamn travesty. On her current trajectory, she’s going to start jobbing to Wendy freaking Choo.
Kai, you’re better than this. Get out. Become AEW Women’s Champ. Challenge Mickie James for the Impact Knockouts championship. Anything. Please.
Verdict: MISS
MALIK BLADE & EDRIS ENOFE vs. MSK – DUSTY CUP SEMI-FINAL
I don’t know what it is about MSK, but when they’re on my screen I find it hard to pay attention. I feel like I should like these guys. They’re charismatic and are great in-ring. But they just have not connected with me whatsoever since their debut last year. Edris Enofe & Malik Blade, on the other hand, are two undercard talents that I’ve been keeping my eye on.
The two NXT newcomers started out as jobbers to the NXT stars, but quickly aligned to find themselves in the Dusty Cup. Last week, they were booked to look like absolute morons during a backstage segment with Mandy Rose and Kay Lee Ray, but outside of that terrible segment I continue to be impressed with them week after week. They’re great in the ring, but we haven’t gotten much in terms of who these two gentleman are. As I said about the Creed Brothers earlier in this article, I want to see more character work out of Blade & Enofe. Character work that doesn’t make them seem like two horny teenage virgins.
MSK going over was most likely the right move to face the Creed Brothers for the Dusty Cup. The Creed Brothers are a new heel tag team and they need an established face team to go up against. I don’t think the Creed Brothers vs. Blade & Enofe would necessarily draw the attention that MSK vs. the Creeds may. I’m not saying they’ll pull numbers like Rock vs. Austin or something, but it’s surely a more intriguing matchup.
Verdict: 50-50
MANDY ROSE vs. KAY LEE RAY – NXT WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
“Time see if KLR is a miracle worker.” The words out of my PWT Talks NXT co-host, Kelly Wells, as the two were making their entrances to the ring. Kay Lee Ray is an amazing talent unfortunately paired up against a completely mediocre champion. While Rose has certainly performed in this role better than I expected, she is far from the best worker in the NXT locker room. In a real fight, all my money would be on the Scottish ass-kicker. However, this isn’t a real fight. This is pro-wrestling. Mandy Rose has been booked so strong since returning to NXT, I didn’t believe for one second that KLR would walk away champion.
Which is another travesty in and of itself. KLR is the longest reigning champion of the modern era, holding the NXT UK Women’s championship for 649 days. Roman Reigns only just passed 500 days as Universal Champion. Die hard NXT fans will never believe Mandy Rose as a credible champion. A proven, unhinged, Scottish former champion? Yeah, we could easily get behind her as a credible champ.
KLR isn’t a miracle worker, but damn close. I think this could have been Rose’s best match as champion. However, that isn’t saying much compared to the level of match we got out of our NXT Women’s champion, Io Shirai, only one year ago.
Jacy Jane and Gigi Dolan interferred in the match, causing KLR to lose. The trio was beating down KLR when Io Shirai came to make the save. Earlier in the night, Shirai and Zoey Stark were talking about how Shirai needed a new tag partner for the Dusty Classic since Stark is still injured. Shirai said she knew just the person. Presumably, we’ll see KLR and Shirai team up in a few weeks for the women’s Dusty Cup and they had better go all the way.
Verdict: 50-50 for the match. HIT for the post match angle.
Sorry mate, but Dakota Kai is in no way on a “completely higher level” than Sarray. Find me a match Kai has done that’s as good as Sareee vs Meiko Satomura, as her 3 matches with Chihiro Hashimoto, as her 2 matches against Yoshiko, as her matches teaming with Yoshiko against Arisa Nakajima/Tsukasa Fujumoto or Arisa Nakajima/Nanae Takahashi…I’ll wait, but it will certainly be awhile.