SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
This week’s episode of NXT 2.0 has wrapped. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and relive some of the madness
-A good tag team match to open the show. Solo Sikoa continues to stand out as a star in an effective way. NXT has done a nice job of building Sikoa as a challenger for the North American Championship without giving too much away regarding the finish of Grimes vs. Carmelo Hayes for that title at In Your House.
-Pretty Deadly are pretty great. Obnoxious as can be and good heels for what NXT 2.0 is. The Creed Brothers are perfect babyface opponents and polar opposite characters, which should lead to some good chemistry.
-Lash Legend and Tatum Paxley … happened? Not a good match and simply not ready for national television at this point.
-We’re getting Bron Breakker vs. Joe Gacy for the NXT Championship again. Makes sense, I supposed, but what’s with the stipulation. If Breakker gets disqualified he loses the title? The stipulation is counterproductive to the story. The money and payoff aren’t just in the championship, but also in Breakker destroying Gacy. Not sure why you take that out of the equation when much of the investment from fans has been in seeing that specifically.
-See, there’s nothing wrong with Indi Hartwell calling her shot at Mandy Rose. We know she likely isn’t winning, though. She loses credibility talking the way she does, but not delivering. It’s time to either run with her a bit or leave her in matches and feuds in the lower part of the mid-card.
-Another good match between The Viking Raiders and The Creed Brothers, but one with a completely obvious outcome. Not a bad thing in this instance, because it furthers the Diamond Mine implosion story. The Creed Brothers are a standout NXT 2.0 act from an in-ring perspective at this point.
-Grayson Waller back in the win column over Andre Chase was the only real way to go from a booking perspective. Chase has a funny gimmick, but it may have already reached its ceiling. Waller? He still has a lot to do and a high upside.
-It seems like Roxanne Perez is too polished and skilled to be in the Breakout Tournament. She’s clearly better than most out there and really should be in a higher position on the brand already. Now, if she wins and that win jumps start a full-on feud with Mandy Rose, then I take it back!
-For the little time that they had in the ring, Wes Lee and Nathan Frazer worked a fast match. Like, pace-wise. There was a ton of movement. These guys need more time to show what they can do.
-Insane bump by Lee on the spot where Von Wagner tossed him out of the ring and into the announce table. Margin for error there is huge, but it worked for both guys. Wagner looked like a monster and Lee got a mess of babyface sympathy.
-Not a great main event, but one that came as expected considering it’s involvement with Tony D’Angelo. NXT was smart to give both D’Angelo and Santos Escobar promo time ahead of the match. Both used it wisely too and spoke in ways that effectively hyped the match. The match didn’t have much heat and both promos were significantly better. D’Angelo doesn’t have an edge behind his work right now. It’s happening in the ring, but to what purpose? He doesn’t convey that he’s in a fight he wants to win.
CATCH-UP: HEYDORN’S RAW RECEIPT 5/16: Sasha Banks and Naomi drama clouds main event
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