NXT HITS & MISSES (2/20): Shotzi vs. Valkyria, Perez vs. Sinclair, Briggs vs. Jensen, Carmello Hayes at The Chop Shop, Lexis vs. Femi

Oba Femi vs. Lexis King: Hit

Oba continues to shine far beyond his limited time in the ring. For a big man, he sells enough to be realistic; not screaming in pain or showing no selling at all. Lexis loses nothing in defeat, as the distraction finish plays into his ongoing story with Mr. Stone/Von Wagner. Actually, I thought this was one King’s best showings in NXY AND it was against a rookie. Good match.

Tag Team Promo: Hit

I’m not sure what to call this segment, but I liked it. The Wolfdogs have no right being over like this and Baron Corbin seems to be having a blast and I think it freshens up his character. I’m curious what happens with Breakker being called up to Smackdown. Chase U is always entertaining (man, did I laugh at Hudson mimicking Nathan Frazier) and the Frazier/Axiom dynamic has won me over. Speaking of which…

Nathan Frazier & Axiom vs. Chase U: Hit

Because of the cheesy (but, enjoyable) act by Andre Chase, you sometimes forget that he can really go in the ring. He’s crisp and fun to watch. Nathan Frazier blows me away. He moves so fast and somehow very little of what he does seems choreographed, it seems organic. I think the right team went over. I really enjoyed the match. Oh and I’m all for The Good Brothers to have a run on NXT…it worked for Corbin!

Roxanne Perez vs. Wren Sinclair: Hit

Not in a lecherous way, but I’m always distracted by Sinclair’s ‘half pants’ – I’m not sure why. Maybe because I’m OCD about things being even and I just want to pick long or short on both sides! Ahem. My apologies. Wren showed a fire eventually in the match, but I’m liking the Perez slow burn to a darker version of herself. I could almost see her becoming the next Cora Jade, in that aspect. I liked her freak out later in the show during the Women’s Championship match, when she realized she’d missed an opportunity.

Josh Briggs vs. Brooks Jensen: Hit

When this was announced last week, I had very little interest in the match. Jensen was always the “weak one” in the team, in my opinion and I felt this would be a plow through for Briggs. Instead, I was treated to a great match up and a newfound respect for Jensen. During the match, I was trying to think who he reminded me of, size-wise, and I realized he’s along the lines of Jake Roberts and Dustin Rhodes: thin, but whiplike. The sign of respect after the match I thought was well done. No hugs, but rather a bloody kiss and a statement of I did this for you. I was officially won over in this match.

Carmello Hayes at The Chop Shop (I think that’s what it was called): Hit

Damn. Heel Melo is awesome. He exudes smoothness with arrogance mixed in: perfect combination. The heat he’s going to receive in his inevitable showdown with Trick Williams should be incredible.

Jacy Jayne vs. Arianna Grace: Minor Hit

I know this match was more for developing a storyline (which I’m fine with), but between the backstage encounter earlier and the graphic on the entrance, all I could think was: who the hell is this (Jasmyn Nix)? If I fault NXT for one thing, it’s that random people show up, not just in the background, but with the bigger names and they have lines in the segment. There’s not even a “oh, this is my friend Jasmyn”. It’s all so random sometimes. But, I like Jayne and I like Grace, so I’ll go with a smidge of a Hit here.

Lash Legend vs. Kelani Jordan: Minor Miss

I’ve spoken recently about Legend’s progress: she continues to improve each time I see her in the ring. Jordan has been a favorite of mine, but in this match, she seemed off working with Legend. Maybe there was no chemistry or something, but for this viewer, I couldn’t get invested.

Lyra Valkyria vs. Shotzi: Hit (& Miss)

What there was of the match was fine and the Miss comes in for the sad injury to Shotzi. It’s not a bad Miss, but rather a Miss that of all the crazy stuff Shotzi has attempted in her matches, it was that (relatively) simple landing on her feet outside the ring that created an unfortunate injury Best wishes and a speedy recovery to Shotzi. I know the show was taped and they had the time to call an audible, but I felt Ava Raine fulfilling a commitment to a match to the fans, followed by Lash pulling double duty, it was very seamless. On a side note: I enjoyed the segment with Lyra and Tatum Paxley earlier, too. The pairing has brought a little personality out of Lyra, which I think was needed and the duo could have some fun moments moving forward, maybe even leading to a Lyra heel turn