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Thread: The NXT Thread

  1. #20301
    an affront to god mth's Avatar
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    Cole turning on KOR was something I considered happening last go 'round so I'm hoping it is what happens now. The UE break-up is over due.

  2. #20302
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    The subtle teasing of a civil war within UE seems like it's been incredibly slow-played for a hopeful spark within NXT or its just something that's being done as they're creatively spinning their wheels with UE. I tend to think it is the latter. For better or worse, the group has outgrown NXT and needs to be on the main roster. The pandemic likely caused a delay of a larger exodus of performers from NXT to the main roster. We saw a few people but the list was incredibly short. If that's the case, they found a program of convenience with War Games and they're just trying to do what they can to keep them involved on weekly programming. Case in point: an incredibly cold match for the main event of this week's episode. As I said, it was a match that didn't even make sense with utilization.

  3. #20303
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    TONIGHT:

    Year End Award Winners Announced

    Roderick Strong vs. Pete Dunne

    NXT North American Championship Match
    Johnny Gargano vs. Leon Ruff

  4. #20304
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    MORE ANNOUNCED FOR TONIGHT:

    Breezango vs. GYV

    Bronson Reed vs. Isaiah "Swerve" Scott

    Mercedes Martinez in action

    ----

    Reed vs. Scott has potential to be a pretty dope clash of styles if they get some time to work.

  5. #20305
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    Bronson is someone who realizes they already have a Keith Lee so no need to be that "high flying agile big man". He's doing his own thing and I was worried for him but he could be something of a threat.

    GYV v. Fashion Police....I know FP are doing the job but I hope they have a good match. I have no doubt Dunne v. Strong will be a good technical battle like watching Dean Malenko v. Jerry Lynn for the LHW title.

  6. #20306
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    Tropey but wouldn't mind if Scott/Reed dissolves due to Atlas interfering or just getting involved after the fact to create a triple threat. Let Reed get the win there too and then Atlas and Scott continue.

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    I just don't want to see Reed try to have a CW style match because that's what happens more often than not with this younger big guys. They need to stop watching tapes of Jushin Liger and watch tapes of agile big men like Bam Bam Bigelow, Big Bossman, shit even Kamala had a presence.

  8. #20308
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    I felt like I was watching a modern entrance for Earthquake when Reed came out to the ring. Very nice touch there. Fun match between the two of them and went ahead to continue to emphasize that Reed is a dude that is probably going to be a major problem for everyone in NXT in 2021.

    Considering the sheer volume of the nominees for the award, I'm not sure I fully buy the argument that Shotzi was the breakout star of 2020. I don't have a major gripe over it, but I'd suggest McAfee, Grimes, Priest, and Lumis have pretty significant cases.

    Solid enough match between Breezango and GYV. Certainly helps with the calendar that NXT has started to put more of an emphasis on the tag division with The Dusty Classic coming back around. I imagine GYV have to be one of the early favorites to take the whole thing. I guess UE winning Tag Team of the Year was a default choice. I am looking forward to seeing Cole/Strong working as this version of UE for the tournament.

    Xi and Boa arriving during NYE is a good addition to an already stacked show.

    Spotlight squash for Mercedes. Very good timing with her promo after the match and the sound effects lol. I seriously think she threatened to kill everyone. Not surprised with Io winning Female Competitor of the Year but a little surprised Cole won Male Competitor of the Year. I guess he rode the wave of finishing his historic reign as champion.

    Interesting but valid point being made multiple times during Strong/Dunne with them acknowledging Strong really hasn't had a singles match in a few months and having to do so against a guy as fierce as Dunne. Very fun, physical match and the right guy won. I'm really interested to see what happens for Dunne in 2021. He was brought back late this year with loose connective tissue with McAfee and Lorcan/Burch. McAfee very well could be out of the mix for a while and I don't really know what value there is in the three-man group, so a breakout for Dunne should be coming.

    Great choices for NXT Match of the Year. Walter/Dragunov was pretty damn great but I just loved the unexpected tension that came with KOR/Bálor. Really, really good and passionate promo by KOR. Bálor came across as a guy who is definitely centered on delivering a receipt to the guy who busted up his jaw. Just a guess, but I think the bleeped out line was: Make you wish you "shit the bed". Really good segway into the Priest and Kross brawl. Again, like the fact Priest isn't scared and actually bowed up and fought Kross head on. Two matches I'm definitely looking forward to seeing.

    I'm really surprised they included the real-life friendship between Rhea and Raquel. It's very good wrinkle to add - albeit late - into the story and a fun way to spin it, suggesting Raquel played Rhea. Very well-done promo package and set the stage incredibly well for what I'm guessing very well could be Rhea's swan song in NXT.

    Big week for Metalik. I'm not really sure why LHP was suddenly on NXT (maybe a spare team for the Dusty Classic) but I wasn't mad at the idea of an impromptu match. If they're not going to do anything but be fodder on Raw, just send LHP to NXT. Not a surprise but the match probably invigorated LHP in a hurry.

    Not a surprise to see Theory win Future Star of the Year. Good to share it with Indi Wrestling. Theory has taken a step in the right direction by getting some personality to his look. The cat didn't make a lot of sense at the start of the episode but they went ahead and rolled with it by creating ridiculously hilarious doses of bad luck for Gargano prior to the main event. Wearing Browns colors was just pushing Gargano's luck.

    We're essentially a month and a half into this run and Ruff main evented an episode of NXT. He's no longer a joke and can hold his own with top-tier talent. Wild. Ruff's quickness and agility really do seem to know no bounds. It was a really solid match and helped work in a way to get Ruff over and Gargano over with a silly, manufactured curse lol. Fitting Gargano/Ruff was set as this was something that could have been on NYE but made sense to keep off to just main event the show prior to it.

    NYE:
    Escobar vs. Metalik for the NXT CW Championship
    Thatcher vs. Ciampa in the Fight Pit
    Priest vs. Kross
    Rhea vs. Raquel in a Last Woman Standing match
    Bálor vs. KOR for the NXT championship

  9. #20309
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    Reed/Scott was real good and what I was hoping to see. Reed seems primed to have a breakout 2021 and I am here for it. Nice not to have a predictable Atlas interference.

    I absolutely buy Shotzi winning Breakout star. She was the overwhelming response on Twitter. I think the real thing is that NXT does such a damn good job breaking out so many folks that it's such an even playing field.

    Breezango/GYV was good. Breezango once again showing they are so much more than the joke team they used to be. NXT has too many heel teams. Will be curious if the Dusy Cup has any thrown together singles dudes as those seem to fare pretty well (I vote Ruff/Lumis become a team).

    'Bout dang time the Xia/Boa thing resolves(?) at NYE. Super damn intriguing what goes down next week and how things are going to progress with them.

    Mercedes is Queen Badass and I am super stoked for her and Io to throw down whenever that happens.

    Strong/Dunne was very good, as expected, glad to see Dunne win and glad to see Dunne have a run in with Balor and the fact that they know that's a wanted match makes me more ok with Dunne losing to KOR for this shot, since it seems highly likely he's getting one later on and it'll be worth the wait. Still not sold on KOR as a personality and his mic work still seems performative rather than genuine.

    Kross/Priest confrontation into the brawl was dope and things got pretty wild with what looked like it was supposed to be a Doomsday saito suplex but Priest maybe countered? into the equipment.

    Absolutely outstanding video package for Rhea/Raquel. Love that they brought the personal depth to it.

    I'm actually surprised it wasn't until now that Lucha House Party showed up to challenge Legado as their promos seemed directly targeted at them from the start. Damn fine match, real good week for Metalik, would love to see these guys hang around, would love to see more matches between these dudes, and will be glad to see Metalik get a CW Title match, should be a real banger.

    Leon Ruff is the fucking man. Love how he went for enhancement talent losing squash matches to signing a contract to winning the NA Title to being regularly featured and main eventing NXT. Great stuff and exactly the kind of story 2020 needed. And the dude can fucking GO in the ring. Hopping around the ringside area like Spider-Man, that springboard cutter on the floor, dude is fast, agile, and fun to watch. Love him. Should have gotten Future Star over Theory. Damn fine main event.

    Loved Lumis closing the show with the NYE sketches. Killer work and great way to put in the final hype for next week.

  10. #20310
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    The Fight Pit Match is no longer being promoted. You'll notice it's not listed on this from NXT's FB page...also wasn't listed on the new poster/t-shirts for NYE that are on WWEshop.com...

    TONIGHT:

    Hosted by Dexter Lumis

    ----

    Kross vs. Priest will probably be a short impactful hoss fight. Kross winning seems certain to me.

    Speaking of hoss fights, Ripley/Gonzalez should be a war. They tore it up last go 'round the only thing that might slow it's pace is the 10 counts but hopefully they're not too frequent to drag it out, just a few big spots. Fully anticipate Rawuel winning, Rhea disappearing until the Rumble and potentially winning that.

    Escobar/Metalik will be some solid lucha action and could be a sleeper. Don't think Metalik has a chance of winning.

    I give no real shits about Balor/KOR though I'm sure it'll be very good. I'm more than ready for UE to split or get called up or something. With Strong/Cole being in the Dusty Cup I'm not sure about either of those happening anytime soon unless those two opt to boot Kyle out of the group...

    Curious to see what Lumis does as host considering what I expected him to do is what he already did to close last week's show with the drawings. Unless he just pops up with each drawing pre-match but that seems a little underwhelming. Shotzi got involved in the in-ring action at HH if I recall correctly so I wouldn't mind seeing Dex do more than just stand around and stare (though I'm happy to take just that, too).
    Last edited by mth; January 6th, 2021 at 4:51 PM.

  11. #20311
    Furry, Filthy and Fun Badger's Avatar
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    I’d love it if Dexter broke character for a night and turned pure game show host then go back to normal the following week.

  12. #20312
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    Either cut for time or someone tested positive I’d guess.

  13. #20313
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    Quote Originally Posted by Caito View Post
    Either cut for time or someone tested positive I’d guess.
    Thatcher’s injured so the Fight Pit match is cancelled so cut for time.

  14. #20314
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    Ahhhh ok didn’t know he was injured

  15. #20315
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    Yeah, i just saw the news on Thatcher while I was farting around on YouTube...


    Hopefully we still get the match later on.

    On the plus side, gives more time to the rest of the card, i guess.

  16. #20316
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    They did seem to have a decent amount of
    matches with the fight pit included. It’s not like it’s a Takeover show either, where they have a tad more leeway with the time

  17. #20317
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    Hot start with Kross/Priest and two phenomenal entrances. It's been presented across through the duration of the build for this match and held true at the start: really appreciated the fact that Priest wasn't scared and was ready to go at Kross. I do like how Priest tried to change his approach a bit and tried to get a little more technical to shake things up too. Kross looked like he was moving relatively slow through most of the match and Priest's stuff looked more impressive. I think Kross works better with smaller guys but I would say this was better than the match against Keith Lee. The Saito Suplex setup for the running forearm works better for him versus the Krossjacket. I think the tealeaves suggest Priest (thankfully) needs to move on. Kross is going to be a player in NXT for a while it seems and Priest has achieved so much in the last 8-10 months. Time is probably running out for him so let him level up and do some work.

    Chugs versus Breezus taking part in a challenge next week? Da Party will be representing, and there will be a lotta respect. The field for the Dusty Classic seems to be coming together nicely. Great announcement by Regal to have a women's Dusty Classic coming. More than enough depth there to make it happen and that means they'll have a chance to bring the tag titles to NXT (Dakota and Raquel...).

    Another great facet of NXT is how it can shift gears and have diverse styles going from match to match and that was on display going from the opener to the CW championship match. Really nice recovery by both guys as Metalik and Escobar didn't quite get things set up cleanly for that hurricanrana to the outside. Metalik has some of the prettiest planchas I've seen. It just looks like the dude can levitate. Escobar is just so damn smooth when he's rolling. The CW championship isn't getting a ton of attention in NXT but he looks every part of being a champion.

    Loved the stuff from Mercedes. Looking forward to seeing her square off with Io.

    Xia looks shredded to the heavens since she's been off TV with this angle. The striking looks pretty fierce, too. She has a great look but it didn't look like they knew where they were going to go with her prior to this stuff. The division is absolutely stacked but they've clearly put a lot of time in terms of a commitment to her, so I'm very curious to see how far she can go.

    Shame we didn't get the Fight Pit tonight but I'm sure they're going to find subtle stories to tell to help keep things continuing until they want to really go with it.

    It's crazy to think Raquel reappeared in February of 2020 and has come this far, so fast. She's seen a couple of different layers to her character and that was all radically different than the Cowgirl look we saw from her at the MYC. She's going to be a real player as long as she can stay healthy. Great spot with Raquel ripping the cuffs off the fence. The table spot with the backdrop looked really, really painful for Rhea's back. Goodness. The swanton spot was really cool. Rhea was just willing to sell/bump and feed like crazy and do a lot of stuff in this one. Hell of a way to snuff out Dakota by Rhea haha. Wonderful and fitting spot to finish at the end with the slam into the floor. It goes without saying that these two have fantastic chemistry together and they have no problem beating the crap out of each other. Both women look fantastic and this was a class LWS match. The next time we see Rhea better be at the Rumble. Her job in NXT is done.

    Theory got his learner's permit and got to drive his parents to the celebration. Good for him. All four of them are insufferable as a group but it's wildly entertaining. I'm not really enthused to see Shotzi and Candice together but I do like Kushida and Gargano together some more. They need to do something to help Kushida back up as he's been a little stagnant for a month or so after getting a pretty healthy push prior to that if he's going to be going up against Gargano more. Not for nothing, it was funny how Barrett needled Lumis for drawing the match setup so quickly and then had to defend himself so quickly after being positioned to suggest Lumis wasn't doing a good job hosting the show.

    Bálor/KOR II didn't hit the peaks of the Takeover match but it delivered as they just beat the crap out of each other and were adding some great mat wrestling in along the way. Based on Bálor's comments leading up to the match it was obviously was going to be built towards Bálor getting his pound of flesh. Nice receipt spot as KOR creatively found his way to break the submission hold by biting the rope. It's also nice to see how they mixed it up in terms of the body part that was exploited. That was heightened by the submission finish with the final adjustment to be pulling back and causing some torque on the jaw. Hell, an abdominal stretch was the finish!

    We've now got 10 hours of programming to hype Takeover.
    I imagine we're gearing towards
    - Bálor/Kross
    - Gargano/Kushida
    - Io/Mercedes
    - Lorcan and Burch/Dusty Classic Winners
    - Ciampa/Thatcher in the Fight Pit

  18. #20318
    an affront to god mth's Avatar
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    Dexter's show opening was hilarious.

    Priest/Kross was pretty decent but I chalk up most of that to Priest as he impresses but Kross still has yet to really knock my socks off. I did like that finishing forearm, though. Still, probably Kross' best match so far. Rumors are Priest might be getting called up so i could see this as his swan song and then we see him again at the Rumble if not sooner.

    Escobar/Metalik was as good as I'd hoped with both guys really showing how they shine and with only that one really glaring botch that they recovered from quite nicely. Some amazing dives and springboards from Metalik throughout.

    The new entrance and presentation for Xia/Boa is dope and Xia is looking even more beastly when she was already looking pretty beastly before. Love it. Reset as a killer, she should be on track to buzzsaw her way towards the Women's Title hopefully.

    Last Women Standing lived up to the hype. Just beating the shit out of each other and doing some big creative nasty spots to try to keep each other down. Loved the ripping the handcuffs off the fence. Real scary announce table bump for Rhea, hope she didn't fuck up her back on that. Loved Dakota getting stuffed in the locker. Good finish with the stage bump. Big Bad-ass Chick torch has been passed. Rhea's going to the Rumble and the main roster.

    The Way appearing was a nice surprise, I assume taking the place of the Fight Pit. Great little celebration, nice to see some of Nalanium's work on the poster. Fun way to set up the match with Dexter. I had been thinking recently that he'd be interesting to have in the booth and while he didn't do much other than some stuff with Barrett, it was still amusing. I'm surprised he wasn't on the show a bit more, though, didn't do a hell of a lot of hosting. Mixed tag was fun stuff. Would like to see Shotzi/Candice blow off their feud at TakeOver and move on to other things. Gargano/Kushida should be dandy. i was kind of hoping since Dex stayed out there that he might get involved and start something with Gargano but oh well.

    Balor/KOR was all good and fine but as I said going in, i ddn't really care and nothing particularly noteworthy came out of it so meh. Biting the ropes and getting it kicking in your mouth is a pretty good spot and the only thing I'm really going to remember about it.

    Women's Dusty Cup sounds VERY interesting.

    All in all, a good show.
    Last edited by mth; January 7th, 2021 at 12:22 AM.

  19. #20319
    🪝HOOK GANG🪝 Bert's Avatar
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    I like everything about Karrion Kross except his wrestling. Damian Priest is way better in the ring. Karrion just seems so slow.

  20. #20320
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    Oh and that powerbomb on Priest legitimately scared me.

  21. #20321
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  22. #20322
    an affront to god mth's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bert View Post
    Oh and that powerbomb on Priest legitimately scared me.
    Oh god, yeah. That and Ripley's announce table bump both had me wincing. Hopefully no injuries.

  23. #20323
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    Thatcher's injury is reported not legit and just a kayfabe way to push the match back.

  24. #20324
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    Kross' powerbomb on Priest was indeed ugly, dude needs a smack on the head for that one. I like Kross, but I think it's time they started toning back the entrance. It's become quite comical at times w/ the theatrics, mostly due to Scarlet's lip syncing. Karrion seemed to take a lot of damage against Priest, which really didn't do him any favors as far as looking like a force to be reckoned with.
    Last edited by VHS; January 7th, 2021 at 4:14 PM.

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    Yeah, Scarlett is legit laughable during the entrance with her over the top cartoon faced lip syncing.

  26. #20326
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    The only thing I don’t like about her.



    other than that... god damn

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    I swear to God last week when Priest and Kross went through the table she was acting like she was squirting in her gear. She's so beautiful, ever since her ROH days.

    I agree about the entrance though. Honestly this guy doesn't need the theatrics. And stop the whole "tick tock" thing it sounds so corny. He honestly reminds me of Triple H back in 1999-2000, not 100% but I get those same vibes. I feel like 10 years from now he'll have the 40 minute walk out at Mania.

  28. #20328
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    I totally made that sort of comment to Melly when Scarlett was seemingly getting off on the table. She's like Lana for me, I get it if other people think she's hot but she doesn't do anything for me. Sometimes she wears cool outfits, at least.

  29. #20329
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    Lana does nothing for me, but Scarlett certainly does. The lip synching isn't good though.

    Loved NXT this week. The Way are so much fun.

    Escobar's group bores me to tears, I've been meaning to say that for a while.

    Opener was good, but not great. Match I enjoyed the most was Rhea and Gonzalez, 100%.

    Balor and Kross should be a blast.

    Love the Xia stuff.

  30. #20330
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    Quote Originally Posted by VHS View Post
    Kross' powerbomb on Priest was indeed ugly, dude needs a smack on the head for that one. I like Kross, but I think it's time they started toning back the entrance. It's become quite comical at times w/ the theatrics, mostly due to Scarlet's lip syncing. Karrion seemed to take a lot of damage against Priest, which really didn't do him any favors as far as looking like a force to be reckoned with.
    To me, as it was presented along the way in the build, Priest was booked to be an equal to Kross in terms of physicality. You can take that for whatever its worth but that seemed to be the story they wanted to tell from the jump. Depending on how you take it, the story then becomes that Kross took out another impressive foe.
    Last edited by BGMaverick; January 8th, 2021 at 5:14 PM.

  31. #20331
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    Yeah Priest has been booked strong and has the physique so it was never going to be the usual Kross squash.

  32. #20332
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    The field for the 2021 Men's Dusty Cup (winners face Lorcan and Burch):

    Austin Grey & Curt Stallion
    The Bollywood Boyz
    Breezango
    Drake Maverick & Killian Dain
    Ever-Rise
    Grizzled Young Veterans
    Imperium
    Jake Atlas & Isaiah "Swerve" Scott
    Kushida & Leon Ruff
    Undisputed Era (Cole and Strong)
    The Way (Gargano and Theory)

    Wednesday has UE versus Breezango, and GYV versus Ever-Rise

  33. #20333
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    Brain says UE to Maverick. Everything else wants Dain/Maverick to pull it off.

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    Feel like all the teams I'm interested in will probably be out early and it'll come down to UE and GYV or something and I won't care. Far more excited about the Women's Dusty Cup personally.

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    Does NXT really have enough women to do a Women's Dusty Classic?

    It'd be great if they teamed up Mia Yim and Mercedes Martinez as their regular selves and then as their Retribution identities in opposite brackets. So if they win both matches, they'd have to wrestle themselves. But they never acknowledge it on TV.

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    So over the last 3 days I watched War Games and the next 4 episodes. Onto New Years Evil tonight.

    At the War Games men’s match, I feel like the commentators didn’t put over Pat’s swanton dive of the cage enough. Great stuff that match.

  37. #20337
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    The field has been updated, bracket established, and it includes one mystery team.


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    I imagine the final four will be UE versus GYV, then MSK versus Legado.

  39. #20339
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    As I said earlier, I'm not that interested in the Dusty Cup as the only people I really like involved are probably going out early and it'll progress with teams I'm not into, Maybe the mystery team will be someone rad, though...?

    Only thing announced for tonight is two of the Dusty Cup matches, GYV vs. Ever-Rise and Breezango vs. UE. Outcomes seem super obvious so I'd love to see a shock upset in one of them, at least. Otherwise, I'm far more interested in whatever else happens on the show tonight, NYE fallout type of stuff and setting up TakeOver. Would love to see Gargano mad at Lumis for making the impromptu tag match setting up a match between them. Hell, a full-on feud between them would just be about the best thing.

    UPDATE: ANNOUNCED FOR TONIGHT: Shotzi Blackheart vs. Candice LaRae

    UPDATE 2: WELL WHADDAYA KNOW! Dexter Lumis vs. Johnny Gargano in a non-title match has been announced!
    Last edited by mth; January 13th, 2021 at 2:02 PM.

  40. #20340
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    I didn't realize "MSK" is an actual team. They're plugging "Who is MSK?"

    Isn't there a tag team from Impact that got signed recently? Maybe them?

  41. #20341
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    Seemed like a change of pace for Shotzi in the matchup with Candice, by showing more a technical side to her at times. I can appreciate if she sprinkles that in more with her daredevil-like spots. It does seem quite telling in regards to how respected she seems to be with that approach to a match with Candice and how much she took of the match before taking the L.

    Piss and vinegar Bálor is a pretty good Bálor. I like how that segment ultimately provided multiple angles in one fell swoop. Dunne has been calling for a shot for weeks and he's finally coming to collect. It did seem kind of off at first that Bálor was so outnumbered but that's what happens when you're a loaner. Then it got intriguing with KOR coming out for the save and the rest of the healthy UE guys coming out. Teasing more cohesion between Bálor and UE does raise some eyebrows. Cole and Roddy being pissed at Lorcan and Burch obviously provided a red herring for the tournament. Did all of that and didn't go with the obvious move of bringing Kross out then and there. Like it.

    Crazy to think NXT had maybe, at best, eight tag teams and they manufactured a 16-team tournament. Really solid, traditional tag match for the opener. Ever-Rise was douche-y and overly confident but they held their end of the bargain. GYV have really crisp and fresh tandem offense.

    "Rhea Ripley is like 2020: A bad memory we're all trying to forget." Damn, Raquel. Great video package and it looks like 2021 is going to be big for her.

    I kind of wonder what plan they have with Lumis. I think they were ultimately wanting to go a tag route with Dream back in the summer but that clearly didn't pan out. I imagine that team and its eventual breakup was going to take them through most of the year. He might have shifted towards something with the NA championship regardless but I'm still curious what trajectory they actually see with him. The match with Gargano was quite good. Theory fast-tracking his personality towards being a full-on putz works for me.

    Good to see they're going with The Fight Pit next week. Really surprised they decided to go with a talking segment to sell the match but they did their job building anticipation for the match. Feels like a missed opportunity for Barrett to chime in and say he needed some decorum with the tension building between Ciampa and Thatcher.

    "These rascals are high-flying." Okay, Joseph lol. Good to see the ones fka The Rascalz (minus one) as MSK. Kind of felt like that was a fit and a smart entry point by facing Atlas/Scott. Got MSK some shine and created a new chapter for the angst between Atlas and Scott. The energy was frenetic for most of the match, which helps show some diversity within the division and the show itself. MSK clearly are bringing a lot of freshness and innovative stylings to NXT. Reed being a peacekeeper for Atlas and Scott is interesting.

    Seems like it could go either way, but I'm hoping the women's Dusty Cup tournament is more than just four teams. That said, those four teams are solid.

    Xia's not getting paid by the hour. Sheesh. She's basically working as a Mortal Kombat character now and it's working.

    "LOTTA RESPECT, LOTTA RESPECT!" Great shout to Da Party by Chugs. Swiss and Creed watched on IG Live too...wonderful. Once the stuff from earlier in the episode happened, it opened the door for Breezango. With that in mind, I think it was great to use that as a way to kind of zig and zag within the finish of that match. Great sell by Dango on that superkick by Cole. I really could have gone with either team winning so I'm curious to see how this story with UE and Bálor continues to play itself out. Seems like we could be gearing up towards Bálor/Cole/Strong versus Dunne/Lorcan/Burch at some point in the very near future. Just as important, if the matches from tonight and the matchups for next week indicate anything, this is shaping up to be an absolutely fantastic tournament.

  42. #20342
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    Dave Meltzer on Dexter Lumis from last night's show:

    Dragging Johnny Gargano down that low? I always like every Johnny Gargano match. This one, it was slow and it was boring. Lumis, he doesn't have it. I don't even know what they see in him. He's in his thirties. He's just boring. He's not even that big. They've probably got 75 guys that are bigger than him, that are probably better athletes, that are younger. I'm sorry. I don't know why they are pushing. He's such a negative to me. I went in with the idea, Johnny Gargano can carry him and he couldn't. It was just boring.

  43. #20343
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    Shotzi/Candice was real solid, as always.

    Glad Dunne's remaining in the NXT Title conversation after losing his shot to KOR. Can't say as I'm particularly thrilled with UE and The Brand still feuding, though. Dunne/Balor should be fucking terrific whenever it happens.

    Ever-Rise got to look better than I've ever seen them and I was surprised they did as they're usually a joke.

    So Gargano/Lumis gets about five seconds in and because God hates me, MY POWER GOES OUT. Nasty winter storm last night so I didn't see anything after Lumis' Thez press until this afternoon. What a fucking spot for me be left hanging. Match was dope. Dexter rules so much, love how he moves unlike anyone else, loved some of the sequences like the bit out onto the floor where he kips up on the floor. One of Dex's better matches (I think Lumis/Gargano could kill it on a PPV with more time) and given how it finished with Theory interfering and the post-match stuff I could see Lumis costing Gargano/Theory their Dusty Cup match next week. Thing about NXT is there's always so many possibly contendors and viable options going on that yeah, Dexter could go after the NA Title but about four other people might also be in line. Not a bad thing unless you're me and you want your man to get that program.

    Fight Pit next week, hell yeah. Solid enough segment to hype it though I still think Thatcher's mic work is a bit unconvincing.

    So MSK are the dudes I suspected, that's cool. What the hell does MSk stand for, I don't think they ever said? Liked what i saw from them, though, some rad moves and good energy. Wes Lee in particularly impressed. Some nice double-team work from Scott/Atlas though the implosion was obvious.

    I guess the Women's Cup is a much shorter tournament if it's only those four teams, hey? Still, going to be damn good.

    NXT's Mortal Kombat shit is far more effective than when WCW tried it back in the day. Notcied the group got a name in their graphics though the announcers never mentioned it. Incredible presentation, feels like a PPV entrance every week. Xia just killing folks is dope 'cuz the woman is a legit badass mofo and I love it. Maybe Raquel takes the title from Io and then Xia comes for her?

    Great line by Barrett about Breeze's "polka dots". Fuck cupping. Was really hoping Breezango would pull off the upset with all the outside the ring bullshit that went down in the main event so I did go from not being too invested to getting fairly hyped only to ultimately be disappointed when UE still got the win.
    Last edited by mth; January 14th, 2021 at 5:06 PM.

  44. #20344
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    Wasn't feeling NXT this week, but I think I'm just a bit burnt out from wrestling at the moment. NXT, Dynamite and NXT UK each week is quite a lot. Or maybe it's tag wrestling, as there are a LOT of tag matches in AEW.

    Was very impressed by Wes Lee.

    And cannot wait for Dunne/Balor.

    Austin Theory is going to be fantastic. You could argue he already is.

  45. #20345
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    Austin Theory surprised me in that little backstage skit with Gargano. Good stuff.

    Dunne is great. Really looks the part now with Oney and Burch as his back up.

  46. #20346
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    I like the Grizzled Young Veterans as a team and as workers. But that name is awful.

    MSK is a way better name than The Rascalz. This isn't the 90's anymore. Putting random Z's on shit doesn't make it cool. Err... never mind.

    Anytime I heard the name "The Rascalz" I always thought of Alfalfa and the Women Haters Club. So anything works as an improvement from that goofy shit.

  47. #20347
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    Theory is getting the Grimes treatment. Grimes was getting a lot of ring time without getting a feel for who he is as a person. They finally let Grimes talk and gave him some promo videos and he was off to the races. Glad that's happening for Theory because he's certainly got some promise.

  48. #20348
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    Thoery used to be boring AF and one of my least favorite people in NXT. The Way has really turned things around for him and I'm very much enjoying him as the big dumb manchild sidekick.

  49. #20349
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    Love him in the Way too.

    “It was me all along....Austin!” Loved that in-joke.

    That should be a shirt even if fans not in the know end up confusing it to be about Austin.

  50. #20350
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    HBK said that Austin Theory and Jordan Devlin were the future. Once upon there was a shoot (I think back in 2000) where Shawn praised his trainees i.e. Paul London, Daniel Bryan, Lance Cade, and I think the other was Brian Kendrick. He wasn't really off as they all had good careers and some were very influential in the way people wrestle.

    I've made it known I'm not a fan of Garganos being heels. It feels so forced but The Way (kill me) could be a good vehicle to get Theory to the next level. Turn on the Garganos and be on his way to NA and World title gold.

  51. #20351
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    Women's bracket. Three of the women are newly-signed.
    Gigi Dolin fka Priscilla Kelly
    Cora Jade fka Elayna Black
    Zoey Stark fka lacey Ryan


  52. #20352
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    Clearly some jobber teams in there just to move things along. Would love to see the KCs upset Toni/Mercedes somehow and push through to the finals.

    ----

    ALSO TONIGHT:

    Fight Pit Match
    Timothy Thatcher vs. Tomasso Ciampa

    Dusty Cup
    Johnny Gargano & Austin Theory vs. Kushida & Leon Ruff

    Dusty Cup
    Imperium vs. Lucha House Party

    Women's Dusty Cup kicks off!

    ----

    Fight Pit has me pretty hyped just to see the stip in play again as we know the guys can deliver a brutal intense match already, should only make it more interesting.

    Both Men's Dusty Cup matches should be really good. I'm curious if Lumis appears to cost The Way their match after last weeks' shenanigans. Imperium/LHP will just be some solid wrestling action and an interesting contrast of styles.

    Curious to see the new female talent.

  53. #20353
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    Fight Pit has me interested but is Thatcher actually going to win a match? Would be nice to have him win again like he did against Riddle.

  54. #20354
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    They might make the Fight Pit "his match" and since Ciampa won their first match, he wins here.

  55. #20355
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    Quote Originally Posted by PurePlayer View Post
    Fight Pit has me interested but is Thatcher actually going to win a match? Would be nice to have him win again like he did against Riddle.
    I'm fully expecting him to win.

  56. #20356
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    Glad to see that Beth was back at the booth. Made sense with her return coinciding with the launch of the Women's Dusty Tournament. Really impressive how they were able to go so long with her doing commentary remotely and not having it be a catastrophe.

    The only thing I really didn't like with the opener was that it was a relatively fresh rematch, from a month ago. That did help for natural, built-in animosity that wasn't present with the other tournament matches but that did take away a bit for me. I do like how the roles were solid for everyone. Ruff and Theory were comedic but solid and then things went up a notch when Kushida and Gargano were in there. Great pinning setup by Kushida with the hammerlock suplex.

    I know my guy @mth wanted to see a backdoor way for Lumis to get involved but his involvement last week just felt like convenient filler to get to what they were ultimately wanting to get towards with Kushida and Gargano. Those two should be fantastic together. I imagine The Way interferes next week, allowing GYV to advance.

    Really solid video package for Dunne. I do like that the teasing isn't for naught and we're going to get Dunne/Bálor, potentially at Takeover. This has a Charlotte/Rhea vibe to it from Mania last year but inverted because the upstart is a heel. KOR/Bálor versus Lorcan/Burch is going to be good.

    Still seems out of the ordinary for a guy in Kross' situation, an NXT champ who had to relinquish the title due to injury, but it makes absolute sense for him to be eased in. The guy clearly needs some time to build his wind and strength back up, so it makes sense to take their time with him so he can rebuild his momentum when he moves back into the title picture. I doubt he actually rounds into top form for NXT-quality matches but rounding into form for him and his style will work. I've found his comp: he's a hybrid of Aleister Black and Brock Lesnar, but the version of the two that isn't nearly as sharp in the ring.

    Made sense for the beatdown, too, to allow a replacement/mystery team to fill in for Adonis and Troy. Curious to see who it is.

    Semi-relatable, silly guys with personality is the angle with MSK? Alright. Still need to know what MSK stands for lol.

    Great contrasting styles with LHP/Imperium. Just can't get over how much rehabilitation LHP has gone through with just getting time in NXT. It's not even that they were miscast on the main roster. They just weren't even used very much. It makes sense they won because you got a sense of redundancy with GYV and Imperium, even on opposite sides of the bracket, so this works. You also had a wrinkle with Wolfe back in NXT, probably in attempt to help recharge Imperium. Would love if it was a initial tease that Walter was coming but I doubt that's the case haha.

    The opening match of the women's tournament was way more balanced than I thought it would be. The storytelling played out as Io came back her pound of flesh on Mercedes, and that ultimately cost her team. That didn't look like a clean one but Kacy hit a gnarly Phoenix Senton there...and SHE PINNED TONI STORM!

    Good enough match between Rust and Reed. Tells a story that Rust got a little ahead of his skis and asked for a match with Reed from Regal. The midcard scene in NXT certainly isn't shallow.

    Bringing Curt Stallion back after announcing he was going to take on Escobar but they now have to provide a backstory for him to create a level of investment. And it looks like they have every little time to do that, with the match next week.

    They ramped up the presentation for the Fight Pit and I would say those enhancements really worked. In addition, it was a good tweak to have it start on top of the pit and wait to see how they would transition inside. NXT owned what Raw tried to do with Raw Underground. What a gritty ass fight. As expected, Thatcher won. He might not amount to much in a regular setting but he's nearly unstoppable in the Fight Pit. However advised Ciampa to grow out his hair gave him bad advice. There's a 2 percent chance my dual call for Ciampa/Thatcher may still play out since there's an opening in the Dusty Tournament lol but I won't hold my breath on that.
    Last edited by BGMaverick; January 20th, 2021 at 11:16 PM.

  57. #20357
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    Opening tag match was really good as expected. I guess BG's right about Lumis not being involved but from a storyline perspective, it seemed like he'd at least pop out from under the ring to spook Theory or something just to return the favor from last week even if Kushida's the one getting the NA Title push (plus it resulted in a Lumis-free episode which makes mth a sad panda). Dope finishing move from Kushida in this one, too.

    I want to like Kross but so far, still meh and honestly leaning towards dislike with how over-the-top his whole presentation is. I kind of dig the new finisher to the back of the head, though. Will be curious to see if Adonis/Troy are replaced by anyone worth getting excited about. **

    Cracks me up that they keep doing these "Who are MSK?" videos but none of them ever explain what MSK stands for. Not sure that Borat impression made a good, well, first impression.

    Imperium/LHP got really good and had me on the edge of my seat in the closing stretch. Really figured Imperium would win as LHP still hasn't fully shaken off their jobber status from outside of NXT. Some dope moves in this one and a thrilling final stretch and a nice surprise win. Happy to see LHP getting to shine.

    Speaking of wins I was happy to see, the KCs got it done! During the match i was just thinking they'd get a strong showing and look like they could hang but ultimately lose. Io showing up didn't cross my mind but once she did, I knew they'd pull it off which was hype. One hell of a bonkers flippity splash by Kacey to win it, landing was close to being concerning.

    Not a bad angle with Rust/Bivens but I really wish Biv would tell the dude to grow a beard. Happy to see big Bronson getting another win.

    I was thinking the Legado/LHP confrontation seemed unnecessary until they followed up with Escobar granting Stallion his title match for next week. Haven't seen any of the dude's stuff so far so I'll be curious to see if he's any good. Not really eye-catching at a glance, though.

    WATCH YOUR MOUTH, PRINCE! Good lord what a cringe line there...right after more of that cat-related bullshit from Finn. Of course he was gonna pick KOR and of course they were gonna try to make it seem super intense 'n' shit. Meh.

    Fight Pit underwhelmed for me. Didn't help that it felt like half the match was during the commercial break. Once it came back from ad it just felt a little rushed without too much for false finishes to really suck me in. Still, they used the structure well and did some creative stuff and the DDT off the ref's back and the finishing spot were both pretty memorable. Just felt like fell a bit short of what it could/should have been.

    Quote Originally Posted by BGMaverick View Post
    There's a 2 percent chance my dual call for Ciampa/Thatcher may still play out since there's an opening in the Dusty Tournament lol but I won't hold my breath on that.
    **Oh shit, didn't think of that but with the way the show ended...I think you're seriously underestimating that percentage...

  58. #20358
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    I forgot: Thank goodness Dakota/Rhea are in their tournament. They have to be the winners so my prophecy can be fulfilled.

    Quote Originally Posted by mth View Post

    **Oh shit, didn't think of that but with the way the show ended...I think you're seriously underestimating that percentage...
    There might not be a better alternative at this point. They'll be damaged from the Fight Pit but they can clearly beat Nese and Divari. It gets real interesting though with a matchup against UE. The Lorcan and Burch stuff could prove to be a factor that equalizes things and allows for a deep run for Thatcher/Ciampa. The dream may end in the semis against GYV but it could be a cruel twist of fate if Lorcan and Burch allow Thatcher/Ciampa to move on only to see them win the tournament.

    The match I instantly want to see is MSK versus LHP. That could be bonkers.

  59. #20359
    an affront to god mth's Avatar
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    Now correct me if I'm wrong but McKenzie didn't actually finish her announcement regarding Adonis/Troy so maybe Troy just gets a new partner and it's no one particularly important and Ciampa/Tatcher don't team and we're just way off the mark...

  60. #20360
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    Quote Originally Posted by mth View Post
    Now correct me if I'm wrong but McKenzie didn't actually finish her announcement regarding Adonis/Troy so maybe Troy just gets a new partner and it's no one particularly important and Ciampa/Tatcher don't team and we're just way off the mark...
    You are correct. My doubt is that Troy is someone big enough to warrant just staying in with a cold tag partner, so my thought is they just bring an entirely new team into the mix.

  61. #20361
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    Quote Originally Posted by BGMaverick View Post
    There's a 2 percent chance my dual call for Ciampa/Thatcher may still play out since there's an opening in the Dusty Tournament lol but I won't hold my breath on that.
    Ninety-nine percent, @mth lol


  62. #20362
    an affront to god mth's Avatar
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    Give yourself a pat on the back.

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    Ok, I'm officially tired of Carry-on and his entrance.


  64. #20364
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    Ciampa/Thatcher are in! Haha

    Quote Originally Posted by mth View Post
    Give yourself a pat on the back.
    The Horowitz!

  65. #20365
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    Is there a more cringey actor in wrestling than Roderick Strong? Not since the days of Mike Awesome or Davey Boy, for me. At least he's bloody good in the ring though and ticks all the other boxes.

    Really enjoyed the opening tag. Otherwise, I was a little distracted this week, but all seemed fairly solid.

    Guessing Finn will retain when he faces Dunne and then go on to drop it to Kross. After that, guessing a proper heel run on the main roster is next for Mr Balor.

    Actually, a wee run in NXT UK would be fantastic. A man can dream!

  66. #20366
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    Quote Originally Posted by Murphy View Post

    Actually, a wee run in NXT UK would be fantastic. A man can dream!
    I'm still of the belief that was going to be their plan for him before the pandemic. Possibly more than a brief run.

  67. #20367
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    It would be awesome if Wolfe’s return does lead to the eventual return of Walter, but can understand if he’s needed to support the NXT brand for now.

    I do hope we get Walter/Balor eventually which was on the cards before this shit hit.

  68. #20368
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    Caught 205 Live since it had two notable Dusty matches. Kind of wild 205 Live had matches with women involved and a dude clearly over 205 pounds working (Thatcher).

    It was hilarious to see Candice and Indi absolutely creeped out and equally not concerned about Gigi and Cora. I still need to see some more cohesion with Candice and Indi. Gigi clearly looked like the standout of the newbies but Cora wasn't a slouch. Seems like this was a nice trial run for them and now they'll get some time off TV to get some seasoning and get proper introductions.

    There wasn't a lot of angst between Ciampa and Thatcher for their tag match. Commentary obviously tried to convey early on that they weren't sure how Ciampa and Thatcher were going to work together after going to war in the Fight Pit earlier in the week. There weren't any tandem moves and both had opportunities for flashes as hot tags. As I said, the overwhelming chemistry together as a team wasn't present but they had the cohesion when they were on the brink of losing (due to the fact Divari and Nese were working over Ciampa's injured knees).

    Just trying to get a feel for them, it seemed like this match was just establishing that they're a duo. No wires crossed or near-accidental hits on each other. Just two guys deciding they're going to see what can happen. If they're going to have a run in the tournament, I think we see they evolve and mesh together more as the matches go by. I imagine there's going to be more intensive storytelling on how they're going to work together coming on Wednesday.

  69. #20369
    an affront to god mth's Avatar
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    Appreciate the recap of the 205 Live matches. Was considering giving it a watch myself for the Women's bout at the very least unless it wasn't anything spectacular (which it sounds like it wasn't). I suspect I'll get my chance to see more of the new gals on NXT soon enough.

    I'm starting to think Thatcher/Ciampa might win the Men's one now.

  70. #20370
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    I dropped out of 205 Live a while ago. Any ongoing feuds/matches there worth checking out?

  71. #20371
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    I’m officially 100% a Pete Dunne fan now.

  72. #20372
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Scott View Post
    I’m officially 100% a Pete Dunne fan now.
    He good.

  73. #20373
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    Still not liking Kross and still don’t get why he has this overblown entrance, when he steps in the ring he’s just your normal genetic bald guy, black trunks.

  74. #20374
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    Why no Walter back yet,

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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Scott View Post
    Why no Walter back yet,
    He's probably gotta be the face of NXT UK. If he comes here he will need to quarantine 14 days before he can go back there which may be more trouble than it's worth.

    Might not be much longer with all of Imperium in NXT, just need a good contender to lose the title to.

  76. #20376
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    Yeah makes sense, so once he loses the UK title we know he’s on his way.

    I’ve fell behind like 8 months worth of NXT UK.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Scott View Post
    Yeah makes sense, so once he loses the UK title we know he’s on his way.

    I’ve fell behind like 8 months worth of NXT UK.
    Watch Dragunov/Walter from the tail end of the year last year fun NXT UK. Outstanding and was a call back to some brutal old school wrestling.

  78. #20378
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Scott View Post
    Yeah makes sense, so once he loses the UK title we know he’s on his way.

    I’ve fell behind like 8 months worth of NXT UK.
    The storyline suggests that but unless something philosophically has changed in Walter's mind, I doubt that's the case. He's openly said that he has no interest moving to America and staying here to work for a lengthy amount of time. I imagine the pandemic hasn't changed that stance and it's certainly made it difficult (and probably less compelling) to come over for one-off scenarios.

  79. #20379
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    I could see him coming in for maybe a one off program with Finn.

  80. #20380
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    TONIGHT:

    * Kyle O’Reilly & Finn Balor vs. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch (non-title)

    * Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarterfinals:
    The Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Leon Ruff and Kushida

    * Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarterfinals:
    Drake Maverick & Killian Dain vs. MSK

    * Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round:
    Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez vs. Aliyah & Jessi Kamea

    And possibly Cruiserweight Title Match: Santos Escobar vs. Curt Stallion although it's not on the WWE.com preview apparently...

    ---

    Lots of tag team matches tonight. I don't really give a shit about KOR/Balor vs. Lorcan/Burch though it'll likely be good. The other two Men'd Dusty Cup matches are more interesting to me. I assume Ruff/Kushida lose here, probably because of The Way to further Kushida/Gargano, and I'm eager to see more of MSK who I am certain will win their match. Kai/Gonzalez are no doubt winning their bout, as well.

  81. #20381
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    Jumping in about Walter-Balor-NXT UK talk.

    I definitely think the idea was going to be to use Balor's star power on both shows. Would he have defeated Walter for the title? I think that was the route they were going to take. It'd be interesting to hear what the plans were. Maybe Finn was just going to put over Walter to elevate that brand more.

  82. #20382
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    walter should never lose

  83. #20383
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matthew View Post
    walter should never lose
    I think he has the look and the ability to be that guy. I know he's already lost a couple matches but that's ok. Hopefully nobody remembers he was squashed at Survivor Series 2019 because that was his only real shit loss. Took the pin in the tag-match against Dragonslayer. Nobody on the UK roster is jumping out as the next big thing but that's probably more to do with covid shutting them down for 5-6 months derailing a lot of momentum some of these fucks had.

  84. #20384
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    Tag-Team Wednesday. Lots of tag matches and all of them were quality. Great run for the Dusty tournament(s) this year.

    Albeit not for a long time, Dain/Maverick is more of an established tag team compared to Atlas/Scott and that provided a tougher challenge for MSK. Gotta love the unorthodox tandem offense Dain/Maverick utilize during their matches. The assisted moonsault is just a sick move to see. Fun match, give me more of MSK.

    As I expected, Raquel/Dakota handled their business with their opening round opponents. Gotta give credit to Jessi and Aliyah as they had some moments to shine. Raquel obliterated Jessi's hot tag lol. Of all people, Robert Stone said the Finals of the Women's Dusty Tournament will take place at Takeover. If that is to be taken as gospel, then I see Raquel/Dakota vs. Shotzi/Ember as the matchup for that setting.

    I have no idea what Scarlett was talking about. Kudos to Barrett trying to make sense of it.

    It was hilarious how they said Rust had no wasted motion as he proceeded to roll around more to set up his submission. I'm very curious to see where they're going with him. Bivens is going to be the personality that rounds out Rust's character, so there's clearly something to work with there.

    Really love the continuity, chemistry, and cohesion GYV show each week they're in the ring. I really like the setup Kushida/Ruff have as a tag team. Ruff can bring the energy and then carry things when he's having to sell, the Kushida just wrecks shop as a hot tag. Pretty surprised it was a clean win, without Gargano/The Way stepping in, but that's a very pleasant surprise to help reinforce the fact GYV are a force.

    Massive golf clap for the fact that they waited until after the match to have The Way come out. Shortsighted booking has interference to get a tag win and progress a story elsewhere. Smart booking is what we saw. Love that. Seems like Lumis/Theory is going to be the sideshow story while Kushida/Gargano is the title tory.

    Wrestling Matthew McConaughey seems to be a workable gimmick for Stallion. He clearly came into the fold with a clean slate so that as the setup works for me, but he might be treading on the turf of Grimes in terms of talking about the stars. It felt way too rushed to get Stallion out there in a title match so...he once again got jumped by Legado lol. Escobar was absolutely hilarious with his regret that Stallion couldn't compete. Very interesting wrinkle with the tarot card Scarlett was using earlier sitting on Escobar's bag. The no-sell by Escobar was ominous, too.

    Triple threat for the women's title? Triple threat for the women's title! Makes sense to go this route with the title picture because you've got a lot of women that are viable threats so all of the bases are covered between the tournament and this title program. Kind of lacking a tweener presence but I guess Toni may try to carry that role. I imagine this is just biding time for Io until they move on to something bigger.

    Looks like I might be wrong with Walter if they're going to go ahead and tease that Imperium at full strength is on the horizon. The vignette was quite sick. If this is in play and we saw what we saw earlier with Kross, they really might be veering away from Kross/Bálor for quite some time and we might go to Walter/Bálor after Takeover. Wild, wild potential.

    I would have rather seen a squash in favor of Reed but this was good enough as a back and forth match to help keep some heat on Scott.

    Nice touch to have Thatcher pull up a chair to fit Ciampa's promo style. Based on what we saw on 205 Live and what I'm anticipating, I figure we see a grind of a battle between Ciampa/Thatcher and UE and that battle brings the unlikely duo closer together.

    Really strong fundamental tag match for the main event. From a logic standpoint, I'm partially surprised that they had KOR and Bálor get a pin over the tag champs. That doesn't feel like NXT's style but it certainly put over the fact that KOR/Bálor could coexist and they're a problem when they're simpatico. I guess it made sense to give them the win so Bálor could "progress" towards Dunne, but Dunne still got his "pound of flesh" by getting an attack on the champ. They're really laying it on thick with the idea that Bálor and UE are going to team up and a massive merger could come of it.

  85. #20385
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matthew View Post
    walter should never lose
    Walter’s sorta like an Asuka when she was in NXT. So dominant he needs to be pushed to the main roster right now not losing (sweeping under the rug the losses Nash pointed out) but he’s handcuffed to support the NXTUK brand.

    I hope he retires the title before being pushed up.

  86. #20386
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    Opening tag was good. Nothing really new from MSK in this one, though, but nice to see Dain/Maverick's tandem stuff now that they've gelled.

    Nice to see The Robert Stone Brand back on TV at least as it's been awhile and I feel like they're wasting some use out of the Brand. Rawuel/Dakota's win was obvious but nice to see some of the obvious matches still give the losers some chance to shine en route to losing. I'd say Rawuel/Dakota have got to be heavy favorites to win the whole damn thing.

    I'd give no shits about Rust if it weren't for Bivens. That flippy snapmare move he does is stupid.

    YEEEEAAAAH. Marked out when Dexter popped from behind the curtain. @BGMaverick thought he could shut down my dude getting in The Way's stuff last week but he was wrong. Was surprised again that The Way/Lumis didn't actually get involved in the tag match itself as I expected them to be involved in the finish. Obviously happy about the post-match shit and will be curious to see if Lumis still gets in the NA Title picture.

    Well, Curt Stallion effectively killed my interest in him with that corny sit-down thing about shooting stars and shit. Will be rooting against him now for sure. What a dingus. The fact that he got attacked and the match got pushed back and the Kross tease, though...makes me a little worried he might be winning it next week. Kross going after Escobar is something I'd have never seen coming and don't really get...but that makes it kind of interesting.

    Totally on board for Toni/Io/Mercedes for the belt. Hell yes.

    Interesting that Imperium seems like it might be returning to full ranks. Would be quite interested to see big Walter finally get in the NXT mix.

    Good stuff as expected with Reed/Scott. I noticed Reed ditched the Godzilla on his ring jacket, seems like a poor choice when the Kong/Godzilla trailer just dropped but maybe they don't want to risk getting in legal trouble, heh.

    I did not give a shit about the main event and skipped to the end. Just feels redundant having KOR/Balor essentially doing the same angle as Ciampa/Thatcher with the brutal wars leading to respect thing. The match didn't matter, anyway, it was just about if they'd get along and win and they did as I fully anticipated, so it was just a matter of seeing what happened post match. And that was also pretty predictable. When UE all had their eyes on Balor I thought for a moment they were gonna beat him down but then they didn't. Meh. I'm totally on board for Dunne/Balor but I'm thinking KOR's getting in there, too, which weakens it a bit for me.

    Seems like TakeOver might possibly be a triple threat heavy show (Toni/Io/Mercedes, Gargano/Kushida/Lumis, Balor/KOR/Dunne) which they could make the theme if that's the route they roll with.

  87. #20387
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    I still see it being Dunne/Balor. KOR has lost twice clean to Finn now. Not sure where the Finn/KOR angle is going though. I will say though, this week's backstage promo's were just as cheesy between the two, if that's the word for it. Joseph saying 'that was intense' was laughable.

  88. #20388
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    Quote Originally Posted by Murphy View Post
    I still see it being Dunne/Balor. KOR has lost twice clean to Finn now. Not sure where the Finn/KOR angle is going though. I will say though, this week's backstage promo's were just as cheesy between the two, if that's the word for it. Joseph saying 'that was intense' was laughable.
    Both of them are trying to one-up the other in regards to pregnant pauses.

  89. #20389
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    Finn Balor with his recent "I'm a cat" nonsense...


    EDIT: Oh damn, I guess you have to click through...sorry 'bout that...

  90. #20390
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    TONIGHT:

    -Edge will be in the building

    -Women's Dusty Cup: Kacy Katanzaro & Kayden Carter vs. Raquel Gonzalez & Dakota Kai

    -Men's Dusty Cup: Undisputed Era (Cole & Strong) vs. Timothy Thatcher & Tomasso Ciampa

    -Men's Dusty Cup: Lucha House Party vs. Legado Del Fantastma

    Also Cruiserweight Championship: Santos Escobar vs. Curt Stallion
    ---

    Pretty hyped for tonight. Edge will likely not be going for the NXT Title but just being there and interacting with some folks will be fun, would be insane if we got a match out of it tonight...imagine if Pete Dunne gave him shit and we got Dunne vs. Edge as our main event?!
    KCs vs. Kai & RG will be good and very interesting as both teams could be potential winners. LHP vs. Legado will be some lucha goodness and the other Men's match will be one of those "really good matches that I dont give a damn about" like last week's main event, so I might be skipping through it.
    Will be curious to see if the CW Title match actually happens this week and as I said last week, part of me thinks Stallion might get the upset, especially after that strange Kross tease with Escobar.

    EDIT: Also, TakeoVer on Feb. 14th is now called Vengeance Day.
    Last edited by mth; February 3rd, 2021 at 5:24 PM.

  91. #20391
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    The pace for the opener felt a little too rushed and that led to both teams being unable to hit tandem moves they were trying to accomplish multiple times. It was also weird where there was a spot where Kayden apparently had leverage to block Raquel from lifting her up? That didn't make sense lol. The timing got a bit better after the commercial break but still had some problems. That Phoenix Senton from Kacy is wild. I can't tell how she's going to hit it flush on the opponent, which is kind of dangerous, but she weighs next to nothing lol. Right finish as Raquel and Kacy were left alone with time and that allowed Raquel to assert her power for the win.

    Theory and Ruff showed their good chemistry together. That was a pretty good match. Shame Theory didn't bring back the Ataxia for his finisher and went back to the ATL. Made sense he got the win and set up for the heat after the match to have Lumis come out for him. I'm curious if they try to do something with Lumis having part of Theory's hair lol. While we've already seen the match, I'm looking forward to seeing those two square off.

    Lore and animation? For wrestling? Beth kind of killed the hype of Tian Sha by not selling the gimmick but I really appreciate the effort and the different approach to bringing this individual (and group) into the mix on NXT.

    Loved the style within the LHP/Legado match and some fairly crazy spots in there. I probably could have used an extra few minutes but that's just because I was digging it. I would have liked to see LHP get a long run in the tournament because they've been tearing it up in NXT. That said, Legado made sense as a viable opponent against MSK. Speaking of that, the match between those two will be nuts. If they can find a way to add another layer to LHP, they're essentially tag championship material whenever NXT wants to go with them.

    Good on NXT to wait until the second hour to let the Edge thing play out. I think they missed a chance for Bálor to reply to Edge, though. The fact Edge did call out the NXT championship as an option and NXT energizing him certainly did help boost the stock for the brand. That was solid, but I think taking the extra step of Bálor have his bravado shine through by saying Edge would be making a mistake picking him would help boost things even more. I guess that's hard to navigate when that callout isn't for something immediately on the horizon and Takeover is the bigger priority. Bálor/Dunne is going to be bonkers. Good shining moment for Dunne in another spotlight match and Bálor is going to deliver again.

    "Crazy people jail"...what a line by Gargano lol. Fun way to firmly establish Kushida/Gargano for Takeover. Kushida lost the momentum he had late in 2020 and Gargano is rolling right now so I'm curious to see if they ultimately want to pull the trigger on a title switch. I have a feeling that's certainly not happening at Takeover but I imagine they're going to make this a multi-month program.

    Jessi Kamea going the RSB is fine enough. That thing has been flat as can be for a while...but they indirectly got a win tonight lol. Good to see Io get one-up on the contenders, and doing so with just one calculated move.

    Glad to see we we are done taking our medicine and Cameron Grimes is back next week.

    After weeks and weeks of teasing, we must send the warmest regards to Stallion for finally getting his championship match. His pre-match promo really didn't do anything for me. The match really didn't do anything for me either, other than show how in control Escobar can really be. That kind of played a role in the stuff after the match. He wasn't phased at all with Kross, which does wonders for him. That probably doesn't do much for Kross but he looked imposing with his promo. Escobar didn't show any kind of angst until he was basically shooed away. I don't get the connection as to why Kross and Scarlett would be calling out the Cruiserweight champ but it's certainly intriguing and I'm curious to see more. Kross taking out Legado probably didn't help their chances next week with MSK, too.

    Kross calling Edge out made much more sense and was done in a vain similar to what I wanted to see from Bálor. I really like how Edge used his inspired and motivated run here to put Kross on notice. So many layers and wrinkles available within different stories in NXT. I like that. Congrats to Edge being in the parking lot and surviving. It's not really going to get acknowledged on Friday and Monday but Edge showing up tonight did help NXT. He made the acts he involved with look like equals or threats and didn't stick his nose up toward them. That's quality.

    Really solid main event. Thatcher isn't working like a traditional face but being linked to Cimapa here makes him one by association. It kind of works for him as an individual. The match didn't play exactly as I anticipated but they did make an effort to have Ciampa/Thatcher work in more of a fluid manner as a tag team. The pace got wild at the end. It's tough to see makeshift teams beat legit teams but they set it up where there were just slight misses by UE where Ciampa/Thatcher were able to capitalize. UE are certainly in a heavy case of limbo: Fish is hut, KOR is clearly out of the title picture now, Cole/Strong have nothing. Really fun final four for the Men's Dusty. Outside of Legado, you can make a case for any of the other three teams to win it.

    Takeover: Vengeance Day
    Bálor vs. Dunne for the NXT title
    Io vs. Toni vs. Mercedes for the NXT Women's title
    Gargano vs. Kushida for the NA title

    Dusty Finals, Kross/Escobar??

  92. #20392
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  93. #20393
    an affront to god mth's Avatar
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    Opening tag was pretty decent. I really hope that whoever wins the Women's Dusty Cup goes on to win the Women's Tag Titles and brings them to NXT. Two legit teams in this one plus Ember/Shotzi could easily continue, Robert Stone Brand's now a pair, Candice/Indi, etc., whereas RAW/SD it's just odd makeshift teams that come and go. It'd finally cement the fact that they are tri-branded titles and would be a great boost to the brand. Anyway, these are two teams i could easily see fighting over them down the line and would be eager for it (maybe a ladder match please). Couple of good spots with Kacy's scaffold dive and Raquel's effortless powerbomb lift into the one-arm slam. Was a day late watching the show so I had this one's result spoiled ahead of time unfortunately.

    Ruff/Theory was solid as you'd expect. Soon as he started the post-match beatdown I knew we'd see Kushida or Lumis and the hair bit with Dexter is interesting. Will be curious to see if he's going to make a doll out of it something, heh. If Lumis/Theory happens again I think some type of stip might be in order to freshen it up.

    That TianSha package was outstanding. Very nice animation and very cool to see them invest this level of effort to produce it and to provide them a backstory in addition to the weeks of vignettes they already got. Really seems like a serious investment and I am here for it.

    Legado/LHP was everything I wanted it to be. Just stellar lucha goodness. Fortunately for me, I don't have the brackets in mind when I'm watching so I don't think about the logical winners as far as the next match is concerned. Legado/MSK is going to be fire. LHP should really get in the tag title picture, though.

    Pretty good confrontation between Balor/Dunne/Edge. Personally, Edge going after the NXT Title would be my preference even though I'm fine with Edge/Reigns or, to a lesser extent, Edge/Drew. But NXT getting that shine would rule and the match itself (Edge/Balor most likely, but Edge/Dunne as well) would be insane. Then Kross had to go pop up and I was a lot less excited about that but hey, old dude giving young dudes the rub is good all around, really, so yeah,t hat'd be ok, too.

    I really thought Kushida was on track to the NXT Title and a match with Balor a few months back but going after the NA Title is pretty good and he'll likely and ought to win it. Good set up here.

    'Bout friggin' time the Rober Stone Brand got another client. Dude should really have a full on stable by now but whatever. nice to see they got the actual win here. I bloody love Io and all but her moonsaults are always shit. Women's Title triple threat is going to rule, though.

    GRIME TIME, BABY! Stoked that one of my favorites is coming back.

    I see nothing in Curt Stallion. Looks like nothing, nothing character, lame promos, did nothing special in the match. Was legit worried he might win, though, with the Kross stuff looming over Escobar (literally tonight). Very odd that Kross is targeting him and maybe a face now? Would be nice if they gave some reasoning for it.

    Wasn't overly invested in the main event so I skipped the picture in picture chunk. Was as good as you'd expect considering who was in there and I was super pleased Thatcher/Ciampa won as I figured that UE would win 'cuz they're UE and they always win. I'm going to find myself feeling similarly unenthusiastic about the match with GYV next week as GYV are solid enough in the ring but I've got no investment in them otherwise, so it'll be another good match that i won't really care about.

    Vengeance Day is shaping up nicely.

  94. #20394
    Her right to choose… Tyson's Avatar
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    The thought of Edge challenging the NXT champion (and putting them over at Mania) just gave me goosebumps; Edge’s appearance during the Balor/Dunne faceoff elevated both dudes and that title as it is.

  95. #20395
    an affront to god mth's Avatar
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    TONIGHT:

    Dusty Cup Semifinals:
    Timothy Thatcher & Tomasso Ciampa vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

    Dusty Cup Semifinals
    Legado Del Fantasma vs. MSK

    Women's Dusty Cup Semifinals:
    Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon vs. Candice LaRae & Indi Hartwell

    Cameron Grimes returns

    ---

    Both Men's Dusty Cups should be good in their own way. MSK/Legado should be good fast paced wild action. I'd expect MSK to get the win. The other Men's Dusty Cup will be on the compelte opposite end of the spectrum style-wise and should be good gritty hard-hitting affair. I could see either team winning that one but I'm gonna guess the up and comers win that, as well, so we get MSK vs. GYV as the final match at TakeOver.

    Women's Dusty Cup doesn't feel like the freshest match in the world but should deliver just fine, they can all go and it's a good dynamic of characters. I'm certain Moon/Shotzi are taking it so they face Raquel/Dakota in the finals.

    Super happy to have Grimes back. Love the guy. Very curious what he'll be doing and if he'll be diving right into a new feud or just squashing someone to establish that he's back.

    Curious if the Lumis/Theory hair bit last week might be setting up a Hair vs. Hair match between them for TakeOver? Or is that card full enough as is?

  96. #20396
    World Champion Donald's Avatar
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    Should be Tony Nese and whoever his partner is vs. GYV. I'm not sour about it or anything. If those dudes who got taken out by Kross couldn't compete, Nese and guy should have received a bye. You don't just insert random teams into tournaments.

  97. #20397
    an affront to god mth's Avatar
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    You make a fair point. Perhaps you should make an appointment with Mr. Regal.

    EDIT: Apparently, Austin Theory posted on social media that Gargano/Kushida for TakeOver is off. Theory said he's facing Kushida tonight to defend Johnny's honor or whatever.
    Last edited by mth; February 10th, 2021 at 1:04 PM.

  98. #20398
    World Champion Donald's Avatar
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    I really should, I'll try to find his phone number.

    Maybe Gargano tested positive for COVID? If so speedy recovery.

  99. #20399
    an affront to god mth's Avatar
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    If Johnny tested positive, i would think that'd pull Candice off the show, too, but it seems it hasn't so...

  100. #20400
    X Ringo's Avatar
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    Ugh that's shit. Was looking forward to that one.

    Grimes returning is good though. Want to see him stay in NXT as long as possible

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