HEYDORN’S NXT 2.0 RECEIPT 6/21: Messy booking leads to poor episode

This week’s episode of NXT 2.0 has wrapped. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and relive some of the madness.

-This week’s show was stocked with bad booking and the perfect example is the opening contest. Look, under no circumstances should Solo Sikoa be jobbing out to Grayson Waller like he did this week. Nothing against Waller. I’ll get to him in a minute, but Sikoa is one of the only talents on the show that gets a genuine reaction from the crowd. What sense does it make to slow that down?

-As for Grayson Waller, he’s had a quiet couple of weeks and this renews his aura on the show a bit. It came at a big cost in beating Sikoa, though.

-Ok, booking issue number two. The women’s tag match was put together completely backwards. Babyface pulling heel heat moves? Like, there is either a major misunderstanding on what the job of the babyface is on the part of the talent in the match, or the story they were working needed it to be the way it was. Either way, not good.

-More interesting stuff from Apollo Crews. The content feels fresh looking on the show and it certainly freshens up Crews as an act. Curious and intrigued to see where this goes.

-Booking issue number three. Why are the babyface tag teams acting like high school mean girls to one another? As Katana Chance & Kayden Carter argued with Roxanne Perez & Cora Jade, Toxic Attraction looked like the mature, sensible adults in the room. As heels. Why? Perez has something as a babyface, but this made her look petulant and juvenile. An awful look and simply not a way to build babyfaces.

–Cameron Grimes with a bit of an edge? I can get behind that. Grimes is likely to get the best match to date out of Bron Breakker at the NXT Great American Bash.

-Normally Von Wagner has been a big yawn, but this week he was straight out bad. The match with Brooks Jensen never clicked and he remains one of the flattest act on the show.

-I continue to enjoy Alba Fyre. The act borders on too much, but hasn’t crossed that border yet.

-How about that Wes Lee promo? Man, he was really good there. Believable and authentic with a story to tell. Not sure what his ceiling is quite yet, but this type of promo will certainly help him and open some eyes.

-Last, but not least. Booking issue four on this week’s NXT. Why in world is Tony D’Angelo vs. Carmelo Hayes happening? That’s a problem. Both up and coming heels that have to work together? Not smart. Even less smart than that, though, was having the finish of the match booked with uber babyface Santos Escobar helping Hayes cheat to win. PLUS, Tony D’Angelo saw Escobar pass Hayes the brass knuckles, but then turns around anyway to get clocked in the face? Just an awful display of booking an execution.

CATCH-UP: HEYDORN’S RAW RECEIPT 6/20: WWE pulls off Ezekiel and Elias segment in entertaining fashion