SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
TONY D’ANGELO & STACKS vs. PRETTY DEADLY – TRUNK MATCH
Well, I mean. I guess I give them credit for trying out a new match type. We’ve never seen anyone try to stuff their opponents into a confined space before! Joking aside, I’m not sure if I would have started the show off with a somewhat comedic gimmick match like this. While Pretty Deadly can do no wrong in my eyes, their entire persona revolves around comedic relief. D’Angelo and Stacks went from being an upcoming force in NXT to occasional comic relief. Shouldn’t you book a match with more stakes to kick off your show?
The idea of having to shove your opponent into a confined space also makes it tough to create drama to build to the finish. False finishes can’t take place in the ring, you need to get your opponents to the 1947 Dodge backstage. So, you know that none of the action that takes place in the ring really matters.
The match itself was fine, but even the Chase U section was sitting on their hands for nearly this entire match. I don’t think the build to this match warranted the opening spot, and the lack of caring by the usually rowdy live NXT crowd was indicative of that.
The finish was awful. Tony Stacks hit Kit Wilson in the face with a freaking crowbar near the trunk to the car, and Wilson just kind of stumbled into the back of the trunk. If he got hit with a real crowbar in the face, he would have hit the ground, not lazily stumble into the back of the car.
Verdict: MISS
ANDRE CHASE vs. BRON BREAKKER
This should have been the opener. Breakker, former Champion, means more than a midcard tag feud. This match was exactly what you expected, Andre Chase getting a few of his spots in while Breakker winds up kicking his ass all over the ring in between. I think swapping the opener with this short match would have pumped the crowd up and made the tag feel more important.
Verdict: Meh, this existed.
LYRA VALKYRIA vs. CORA JADE
Cora and Lyra have been a thorn in each other’s sides for weeks, leading into this match tonight. Lyra, despite debuting a short time ago, is being positioned to be a top star on the brand. They also have high hopes for Cora, so putting these two together at this point in their careers makes sense. Let them build each other up, they’re more than talented enough to do so.
The match itself was on the better side of fine, probably one of Cora’s better matches to date. The match saw Cora get the win, but both women came out of this looking strong.
Verdict: HIT
CARMELO HAYES vs. GREYSON WALLER – NXT CHAMPIONSHIP
While the mid card main event is a thing… but this was probably the most anticipated match on the card. Why not kick your show off or end your show with the match people are looking forward to the most?
This match was everything I expected it to be. Intense action between two of the best that the NXT male roster has to offer leading to a Carmelo Hayes victory. Greyson Waller’s done everything he can do in NXT outside of winning the big one. With the draft right around the corner, one wonders if a main roster debut is right around the corner for Waller?
After the match, Breakker attacked Melo, spearing him through an arena wall, setting up a rematch between the two at Battleground next month.
Verdict: HIT
BROOKS JENSEN & KIANA JAMES vs. JOSH BRIGGS & FALLON HENLEY
Is this story still going on?
The saga between Brooks, Jensen, James and Henley has been waging on for the last forty two years, leading to this mixed tag tonight. The story has been given so much time, but judging by the absolute flat response by the crowd for this match after watching Melo get speared through a wall, this was a bathroom break match for most.
Mixed tags are hard for me to get invested in anyway, since when one gender tags in the other needs to tag out. It kills the momentum of the match half the time making it difficult to keep a match going full tilt. The only exception to this was the Mixed Match Challenge, a tournament designed for mixed tag action. Otherwise, I’d rather see full intergender wrestling or not see intergender wrestling at all. This “compromise” rule just doesn’t work well.
A miscommunication between James and Jensen led Briggs and Henley to pick up the victory. James then told Jensen she never loved him, and Jensen and Briggs reunited. So much for a split and a singles run for Briggs.
Verdict: 50/50 Match was okay, but I’m so over this storyline.
OBA FEMI vs. ORO MENSA
The battle of the men with three letters for a first name!
Absolutely no hype for this match, just a debut squash on a PLE-light show. Why not just debut him Femi on a normal night? Aren’t we supposed to pay off big matches during PLE’s?
Verdict: MISS
INDI HARTWELL vs. TIFFANY STRATTON vs. ROXANNE PEREZ – NXT WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
While I am all for equal opportunities for men and women to main event shows, I very strongly disagree with the choice to put this match on last. The NXT Championship match was so much more highly anticipated. I felt like the crowd was deflated for the last half of the show building up to this match after everything that happened during Melo/Waller. During the entrances, neither Indi, Stratton or Perez received the same pop that Melo or Waller did.
The decision to put the title on Indi seemed to come out of left field, at least for all of us on the Dailycast’s PWT Talks NXT, and it was certainly a feel good moment. As much as I love Indi, she didn’t feel like a champion in her initial victory. People seemed, and were, happy to see her as champion. But, it almost feels like it’s a token title reign to reward her for being one of the key players who bridged the gap from NXT Black & Gold to NXT 2.0 and into this brand new NXT era. Indi played such an important part of NXT and it’s success, so I’m glad to see her get that reward. However, it almost feels like it came at the expense of the storyline involving the NXT Women’s Title.
That said, one of the big questions leading into this match was if Indi would retain in her first defense. A case could be made for any of the three women to win the match. Perez never lost her title, Indi would solidify herself as a fighting champion with a victory, and Stratton is clearly on a path for success. I genuinely didn’t know who would come out victorious before the match started.
However when Indi was taken out of the match, then returned from the back a bit later — it seemed like an Indi win was a lock. That heroic triumph from underneath is a tried and true wrestling trope. I believe that Indi was actually injured during the match and re-cleared, so that could have definitely been a happenstance. And if so, a happy one at that.
Verdict: HIT
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