HEYDORN’S WWE NXT 2.0 RECEIPT 9/20: Solo Sikoa stripped of North American title the right, but strange call

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

-A bit strange to see Solo Sikoa being forced to hand over the NXT North American Championship — by Shawn Michaels, no less. On the surface, I like this as it differentiates the main roster from NXT clearly. That said, why put it on Sikoa to begin with? He already had made his main roster debut without a championship and Carmelo Hayes now is saddled with a loss without a good reason for it. It’s counterproductive if you ask me.

-Nathan Frazer and Axiom had a top five match of the week. The action was smooth, exciting, and worthy of what they are trying to build with this best of three series. Looking forward to the rubber match and hope both men can develop personalities moving forward after showing what they can do in the ring.

-Really good vignette for David Kemp. Not only did this logically tie the recent turmoil together in a nice narrative, but Kemp came across as real heel with comfort in that role.

-Not much to the Toxic Attraction vs. Nile & Paxley tag team match. Essentially a showcase for Toxic Attraction and not a great sign for the Nile/Paxley team moving forward.

-Probably the best promo from Schism yet, but that’s not saying much. It helped because they were able to tie they rambling to a feud that they are directly involved with. Ala Bray Wyatt, the group just doesn’t pack a good enough punch from a booking perspective to really make the impact it would want.

-Get the pitchforks and torches ready and I’m ready for them. It was so so so nice to see Wendy Choo do that kind of job to Cora Jade. The gimmick is going nowhere fast, whereas Jade seemingly has staying power and long-lasting potential. Jade is being positioned as a top star of the brand and not going 50/50 with Choo was a smart way to emphasize that.

-Bron Breakker’s backstage time on the microphone was short, but it was the sweetest yet. Breakker was authentic and spoke like he wasn’t reading cue cards. Can he do it live in the ring like that? We’ll see, but this was a strong step in that direction.

-Andre Chase over Carmelo Hayes? No way. There is just no way that booking can be justified. Sorry, HBK. A miss. A big damn miss.

-Sanga vs. Von Wagner …. yawn.

-Someone associated with a podcast in 20 years about NXT is going to have to explain what the hell happened to Grayson Waller. I get it, he’s working with Apollo Crews, but jobbing out to a guy who is essentially a no-name and with big stakes on the line? I’m buying a vowel on that one for sure.

-Good main event. Tyler Bate and JD McDonagh have a natural chemistry together and they showed it off in a major way. Given Bate vs. Breakker happening most recently and the fact that Bate is a babyface like Breakker is, McDonagh becoming number one contender made the most sense.

CATCH-UP: HEYDORN’S WWE RAW RECEIPT 9/19: Bayley still a flat act heading into Extreme Rules