NXT Europe isn't set to roll out until 2023. They're not going to run any shows or tapings so it's either have these people sit and do nothing or let them get out there and work, make some money, and more than likely quite a few will be brought back. They're expanding beyond the UK. Some of these wrestlers needed cut a long time ago including Seven.Originally Posted by MTR
Felt the same way. Using the foreign object right in front of the Ref was weird, especially when he should have had time to remove it.
Didn't like the finish to Rose vs Stark either. I'm guessing they want anther match, but that felt like the perfect opportunity to crown Zoey.
Reminds me of when you don't get DQ'd for throwing someone into the exposed turnbuckle. You get DQ'd if the ref sees you pull it off but if someone goes into it, no biggy lol.
Opening exchange between Bate and Breakker was fine if a little flat.
Gallus haven't done anything to catch my interest and being involved with Briggs/Jenson and Diamond Mine doesn't really help that but at least Pretty Deadly are also in the mix.
Waller Effect segment was pretty good with a few good insults in there.
The stuff with Grimes/Schism is moderately interesting if moving a little slow. Bernal doesn't seem that interesting though the Big Body nickname and the "prick" thing with Hank are kind of amusing.
Davenport/Indi was rough, the finish in particular. Indi's been in some clunkers lately and I'm not sure how much of that's on her. Blair seems pretty cool, though, and I popped hard for Meiko and am hoping she can stick around in NXT 'cuz she's so cool.
INDEX! Holy shit, jumped off my couch when Dexter popped up. Lovely stuff with the consoling hug and the goodbye note and everything. This is the wholesome content we need during these unprecedented times. Seems like this was putting a bow on the InDex angle (for now) and it was super cute.
Legado looked good in defeat to Dyad. So glad Dyad aren't wearing those dumb hooded outfits anymore. Loved Legado getting picked up by Escobar so we know the whole crew is gonna go (hopefully) tear it up on the red or blue brand.
Bate/Wagner was fine.
Dude, the main event was LEGIT. The lighting was bad but the match itself was damn good. Some fun stuff with the props, the brought their work boots and both probably put in their best performance yet. The Lego stuff was fun, nice improv after the first slam missed them. Very pleased to see Wendy get the win, did not expect it, she definitely came across as more badass than she has before.
So we are unifying all the titles at When Worlds Collide. Okay. So is NXT UK just shutting down completely for a while before NXT Europe starts? I guess it is a way for then to introduce new titles to start NXT Europe without renaming the NXT UK stuff.
Wild to me that bron breakker is younger than Tyler bate
I didn't realize that Charlie Dempsey guy is Regal's kid. That's cool.
Yeah they're basically shutting it down that's why they're releasing a bunch of talent from that brand and moving others to NXT. That way these cats can get work while WWE is doing their thing and then I'm sure we'll be seeing some of these wrestlers back. I don't expect NXT Europe until early 2023.
Yeah they said 2023 so there is time before it gets going.
Is he as McDreamy as Patrick Dempsey?
Kind of cool to have the various main roster folks popping by to pep talk the title holders.
Crews/Waller was decent. The eye gouge thing was weird 'cuz the first one, even in replay, was hard to spot. Surprised Waller won as I figured Crews was supposed to be gaining momentum.
Women's tag match was fine, mostly just there to give the KCs a win to set up the post-match challenge. Nikki's gear was pretty rad if she'd just drop the superhero/mask gimmick.
My god, Gacy on the mic is like going to the dentist. I reckon the guy can probably talk well it's just how he's directed, so to speak, but it's painful to listen to his slow...drawn out...delivery. The stuff with him and Grimes was basically nothing. Drag it on for weeks only for Grimes to say no and there's no interesting wrinkle, we'll just see the two have a match at some point. Meh.
Mixed six-person was fun.
Chase/Dempsey was good. Despite the goofy gimmick, Chase has really been proving he can go as of late. Pissed of Dempsey really does look like Regal with different hair.
Kiana being a big deal business woman with a bunch of letters under her name had me cracking up. Someone having a character, even if it's silly, just lean hard into it and embrace that shit, and it's far more interesting/entertaining that bland-ass motherfuckers like UE who can wrestle circles but have the personality of a cardboard box. Anyway, good match to get Zoey back on track and it seems the alliance with Lyons is still on even if they aren't going after the main roster women's tag belts, so maybe the NXT tag belts are their new target?
Skipped Gallus vs. Diamond Mine.
Cannot wait for Quincy. Was a little concerned when there was no follow up last week.
Holy shit, Ricochet/Hayes should be an absolute banger. Funny how Hayes took a shot at his mic skills when he seemed to hold his own just fine here.
Great opener and closer. The rest of the show was pretty solid. If not for Pretty Deadly (though they've been in NXT proper for a while), this wouldn't be a great showing for the UK talent in relation to championship opportunities lol.
Ricochet/Hayes was FIRE. Incredible stuff. Personally, it was my Match of the Weekend.
Tag title match was fine for what it was and I was very happy that Pretty Deadly got the big win 'cuz they rule.
Women's title match was good though I never really felt like anyone but Mandy was going to win. Meiko rules and I hope she sticks around somehow, would love to see her against some of the top stars, but I wouldn't be surprised if she's done and goes back to Japan.
Women's tag title match was fine although the ending was kind of odd.
Much like with Rose, I had no doubt Breakker was going to win against Bate and there really wasn't any nearfall in the match that had me second guessing that. It was a damn fine match, though.
Very solid show overall.
Meiko is facing Perez on Tuesday.
WOO!
Yah Ricochet/Hayes was absolutely magical! Also happy for Pretty Deadly.
It was a good show but a lot of the build pre-empted the outcome. Especially everyone talking to Bron “Unify the titles!”
Roderick Strong being laid out in a quelle surprise parking lot attack and Damon turning on the Creeds if this is some meta way that Roddy was taken out on purpose. Another whodunnit that’ll probably drag on for a while. Smacks of them overcomplicating it. Would’ve been much simpler and much shorter time if they just kicked out the Creeds out of Diamond Mine for getting too big for their britches but really jealous of their success. Maybe Damon turned because they thought they attacked Strong but either way this has been dragged out to hell.
Schism handing out the smiley badges was funny. Not so much Grayson refusing them but the hooded person wearing a backpack in the background of Grayson’s promo that took one. Hopefully that leads somewhere.
I would be shocked if Damon came out and said "oh and it wasn't me who attacked Roddy" It seemed pretty obvious that was the swerve. They kept thinking Roddy was a dick, Wade kept blaming Julias, and the unlikely of the group turned in an attempt for shock value. IDK how I feel about this move but it just happened 2 days ago so we'll see.
Now that I think about it, yeah you’re right in that it is Damon. IIRC Roddy was badmouthing backstage which led to a match so this is probably him plotting and getting revenge after all this time.
Still think this Diamond Mine storyline has gone on a bit long and they should’ve disbanded the group a long time ago.
I think it's Adam Cole baybay who took out Roderick strong
That would shock the system.
Few Random Thoughts From The Show --
-- Ricochet and Carmelo Hayes had a pretty excellent little match. It was probably as close as you're likely to see in the WWE system to something attempting to approach the flippy-dippity-doo bullshit of something like a Lucha Bros match. But they told enough of a story and didn't go wildly off the rails, so it kept my interest. The only dumb point, that I absolutely had to laugh my balls off at, was Ricochet and Hayes coming to a stalemate with strikes and clotheslines, and then both springing off in opposite directions, and then double-downing on a springboard, turn-around flying forearm strike. What the fuck was that? It makes good sense to put Hayes over, since he's going to be staying in NXT for the time being and Ricochet just seems to in there for a short stop.
- The Four-Way Tag was good. Pretty Deadly are a modern day "gay panic" tag-team and putting Lash Leroux.... err... Legend in there with them doesn't make them seem any less fruity. Gallus are a couple big dudes with no discernable personality, as best I could tell. But they're solid. The Smoking Gunns 2.0 with Wannabe Sunny are a big 'ol... meh. They seem like the kind of team that should be working Impact Wrestling or AEW Dark. Their whole act screams low rent and they're both so green they look like they stand outside in the sun to eat. The Creed Brothers are a modern day Steiner Brothers (and yeah, I know we have a legit Steiner) but without the loveable goofball personality of Rick or the potential batshit crazy insanity of Scotty. They've got a long way to go, but they've got a long time to get there. I see a potential alliance with The Creeds and Bronn Breakker -- maybe some kind of modern day Varsity Club. As far as Damon Kent turning on them? Meh? Who cares? He's just another green jabroni. If Roddy Strong had turned heel on them, you'd have something.
- Women's Triple Threat was your typical Triple Threat stuff. Don't watch a lot of NXT UK, so I wasn't familiar with the Japanese chick. But she seemed good. Blair Davenport is named after furniture and looks a lot like alleged sex pest Bea Priestly. Mandy Rose looks like the kind of woman teenage me would've gotten arthritis of the wrist and hand over, but I still don't buy one iota of her offense. She's got an ass that won't quit, but I don't think she could break an egg with a jackhammer.
- C&C Wrestle Factory vs. Nikki ASS and Do The Dew Drop Was about what I expected, just a little bit longer. Nikki needs to drop the damn superhero thing. Its done. Just do back to being a dangerous psycho killer bitch. And let Doudrop be Piper Nevan again. Of course, the bigger girls control The American Ninja Midget and her friend, but Toxic Attraction interferes, fucks over the heels (heels vs. heels? Yay?) And C&C win. It was pretty good stuff, but The Super villain and the fat chick who never wins were never strong contenders. It was an obvious conclusion.
- Breakker and Bate was fantastic stuff. Its just, even though Tyler Bate is one tough dude and looks strong as a Goddamn ox and twice as stubborn, nobody ever doubted Breakker was winning this one. Bronn Breakker has all the markings of a "Triple H Guy" and all its going to take is Bronn working out and lifting some weights with Triple CFO a few times and we've got a Wrestlemania Main Event challenger for Roman Reigns. Until then, keep him in NXT, keep the belt on him, keep him strong, and keep letting have solid outings like this and strong wins over credible opponents, and you've got a good template for the NXT main event scene -- Bronn Breakker vs. Challenger of The Month -- until Bronn's ready for a call up to the bigs.
Mandy Rose not being booked for the show tonight and Instagramming THAT picture of herself is the best work she's ever done.
Nice to see a few of the folks from Worlds Collide hang around to follow up on tonight's episode. Also, a handful of banger matches tonight, too.
Nikki/Doudrop getting a win over Toxic Attraction was unexpected and I'm not mad about it. I like them both and would be A-OK with their tam staying on NXT and in its tag title scene.
Lee vs. JD was very good. I NEED Lee versus Ricochet somehow, though. "Devil Inside", I see what you did there.
Perez vs. Meiko was damn good and Perez's best showing yet. Meiko is so fucking badass. Was surprised to see it end clean and then Jade showed up, figured she'd be out earlier to screw Perez.
Ricochet vs. Trick was solid and I am very pleased to see Ricochet and Hayes might not be done yet.
Frazer vs. Axiom was killer and I'm stoked for more of their series.
Skipped the main event 'cuz I didn't care and skipped to the end to see Bate get the pin and JD attack him. That's all fine enough, i guess.
Meiko has literally been wrestling since the mid 90s! She's an absolute beast in the ring. Would definitely recommend you check out some of her matches at some point. She has just an absolutely stellar match with Asuka floating around on YouTube somewhere, in addition to an awesome match with Pete Dunne!
I don’t mind her in the ring but have to agree!!!
I forgot to mention...
AIN'T NOTHING CUTER THAN A BOY AND HIS SCOOTER.
Quincy! Next Week!
MMD. mth mancrush developmental. Dexter has been called up now it’s Quincy’s turn!I forgot to mention...
AIN'T NOTHING CUTER THAN A BOY AND HIS SCOOTER.
Quincy! Next Week!
But yeah excited about the gimmick too.
It's not always a mancrush. Quincy, like Jiro, is just a fun, colorful wrestler and we all need some joy in our life.
I'm waiting on Odyssey Jones to show up again one day. He and Quincy together would be some super heavyweights.
I like when people refer to Doudrop as "the fat chick" Fucking hilarious. Like the guy who wore the I'm a better dad than chris benoit shirt....Really setting the bar high for yourself lad.
That segment where Quincy was touching themselves while Ricochet worked out was classic.
Haven't seen Quincy Jones yet, but he sounds like NXT's version of Sonny Kiss.
Which is about the last thing anybody needs.
Why's that?
But Sonny Kiss is fucking awesome.
Relatable. I didn't see it, though, but NXT's got a pretty hot locker room with Wes Lee, Trick, Carmelo, Pretty Deadly, Xyon, etc.
Because we don't need any more gay panic wrestlers doing gay shit to other men.
There's nothing wrong with being gay. There's nothing wrong with being proud of it. But what there is wrong is having a gay wrestler whose entire gimmick is just that he's a big, gay wrestler. It trivializes being gay for other gay folks, by making the one openly gay dude into some kind of freak show act.
Sonny Kiss is the worst example of a gay wrestler ever, if you're a gay person. The dude? Dudette? Slams their ass into men's faces, prances and prisses around like a show horse, and just makes the whole damn gay culture look bad.
Why can't we get a gay wrestler who's just a dude? But he's a dude who dates dudes? Maybe his boyfriend can be his manager or his tag-team partner? Why do all the major gay wrestlers have to be freak show acts who have to be so "out and proud" all the time, its embarrassing?
Last edited by Spudz Mackenzie; September 7th, 2022 at 7:45 PM.
Also, Sonny Kiss sucks.
They can't work, their offense fucking sucks, and they look more like they should be on Ru-Paul's Drag Race than a pro-wrestling TV show.
They mention WWE quite a lot on Rupaul's Drag Race. I think there's a lot in common with pro wrestling and drag.
Now listen, you shits. I don't want the lot of you folks here to go off on 'Ol Spudz for coming across as "homophobic" or that I "hate gay people". Because I don't. I just don't understand why gay wrestlers and the presentation of same hasn't moved passed the likes of "Exotic" Adrian Street or Rico Constantino.
Its a bunch of men in their underwear playing characters and inventing fake, bullshit drama.
Spudz kind word of advice….
Stop!
*Sighs* Fine...
lol and you even EDITED your weird rant.
Being gay is what it is. I think people see something and because that person is gay it amplifies whatever negatives you have in your head.
It's like the Moxley-Effy situation. I had no clue Effy was a gay dude. I just thought that whole bit was some weird Steve-O shit which is 99% of GCW. IDGAF if Effy and Mox is gay, straight, man, woman, that shit was whack and disgusting. But so was Mark Henry and Mae Young birthing a fuckin hand.
And why is Rico getting labeled gay?? Was David Bowie gay? Spudz you gotta be like 65 years old lol.
@mth sorry man I was actually being a smartass about Quincy Jones. That segment was fucked up. Again, gay straight man woman super diva whatever the fuck, no thanks. I don't want to see Alexa Bliss standing behind Roman Reigns doing that and vice versa. Big Quincy Jones fan, we need more diverse black folks in wrestling that aren't fucking Paige.
But you are spot on about these good looking lads especially Ricochet I can see why Kitana was on his nuts that guy has the best body in all of wrestling. Only 2nd to Rene Dupree and maybe Texas Tornado.
lol I just realized I keep calling Quincy Elliot quincy JONES the fuckin producer. Eh, kinda the same when you reallllyyyy think about 2pac fans.
Rico spent a few years, after he was done being Billy and Chuck's personal hair dresser/manager, doing his own weird Adrian Street gimmick with that blonde Tough Enough chick who couldn't wrestle as his version of Miss Linda.
Yeah but I still think it's a stretch.
If you really want this character you mentioned to happen it needs to be about a relationship. What straight wrestler out there has a gimmick where it's just that they're straight? Lol. To break the barriers even more you do a relationship angle. A positive one where a wrestler saves another and a romance spawns from it.
Just having a wrestler come out and being all Karamo Brown doesn't really do anything. Cool, they're gay, do people sit around and randomly go "Man I'm glad Seth Rollins dresses like a super alpha male" Oh wait. Dude it's 2022 we're not in the 60's. Quincy, Sonny Kiss, Pat Patterson, who gives a fuck.
Other than Los Lotharios?
Pardon me, I mean "The Lethal Lovers Los Lotharios"
I'm not sure why that announcing change annoys me as much as it does, but here we are.
Do they come out and say "We're straight!" No, it's irrelevant.
CM Punk used to tell Adam Copeland "I'm straight, Edge"
I liked the colorful log but I hated the music. This logo is pretty awesome we just need to go back to the heavy metal music.
That logo is awesome.
I liked the colorful log but I hated the music. This logo is pretty awesome we just need to go back to the heavy metal music.
Also yet more gold for the bloodline with Solo Sikoa the new NA champ but on the main brand. It’s amazing the NA championship has actually been treated more importantly than the NXT title, really is the A championship. Intriguing to see if he defends on both Smackdown and NXT. Could be cool.
Interesting comment. I don't really see it but would like to hear more.That logo is awesome.
Also yet more gold for the bloodline with Solo Sikoa the new NA champ but on the main brand. It’s amazing the NA championship has actually been treated more importantly than the NXT title, really is the A championship. Intriguing to see if he defends on both Smackdown and NXT. Could be cool.
Here's my question--we've seen quite a bit of talent from NXT doing double duty on the main roster and vice versa. Is Solo a fixture on the main roster? It's one thing to be a Dolph Ziggler or Ricochet and go down, elevate some people and then come back. It's another when we're seeing Toxic Attraction and now Solo doing their thing. We also saw years ago DIY and Black/Ricochet pulling double duty but it really didn't go anywhere.
Well the fact Solo is on the main roster and now has it for one. Also and maybe this is just me but you always get the wild and woolly matches like the ladder matches with multiple combatants.
It’s not a knock on how the NXT championship has been treated nor Bron as a champion by any means but the multiple challengers for the NA championship and those matches often steal the show for me more often than the NXT championship matches. Makes it seem really worth more fighting for me.
I do think what hurts the NA championship is the lack of storyline depth. It really is treated like a secondary title, not a knock, as you rarely see World championships in the multi-man ladder match scenarios or the short 2 week feuds and title changes we see with the IC, US, and NA titles.
So on one hand I can agree that sometimes the NA matches do steal the show but on the flipside, I don't think they put much effort into making that title the "A championship" because there really haven't been any good storylines attached to it, pretty much since the beginning. I honestly can't think of one North American title feud that was good. Match quality I can agree with but you could probably argue that the IC title has had better match quality than the WWE title but which one is more important?
I'm also curious about Solo's status. I mean Dolph was on the main roster when he won the NXT championship but I'd argue that it didn't really make it more important. That has more to do with where Dolph was on the main roster. Solo hasn't done anything on the main roster, he's Sylvan right now so we'll see. He won a title that hasn't really been showcased beyond high spot matches.
Storyline wise you could maybe say that for the NXT title. Bron/Ciampa was great but then there’s been awful stuff like that stuff with Gacy and then JD. Hope they can turn the corner with that.
Also agree that maybe a bit of a lack of storyline depth with some matches there but there has been good stuff like with Grimes basically having to win or lose and even some nice continuity here with Solo coming back to challenge Melo. Plus in general Melo owned that title and really made it seem cherished. He could’ve gone after the big one but really he wanted to make the NA title bigger.
I wonder if Solo's involvement on the main roster is meant to just fill in time Roman is not on screen. I was surprised he won last night, just figured he was gone and this might have been a new face and new challenger on the show last night.
I definitely think that NXT are super high on Breakker and Hayes. Probably why they haven't mixed it up yet. Keep them apart until it's time to put the title on Hayes. That's what I see happening. I see Breakker and Hayes as a title feud Shawn and the rest feel is the big match to make. The dominant NXT champion v. the dominant North American champion only it's not title v title obviously.
I will say this...Never been a big of Hayes. I like Trick though, but Hayes doesn't really stand out at all. I'm not sure what they see in him at all and maybe they're not as high on him as I think they are and that's why he hasn't really been involved in anything else. BUT I do know Shawn likes him alot, as well as Jordan.
I was surprised too which makes me think that either his main roster run is going to be short lived, or he's going to bounce back and forth until he drops the NA title. It would make zero sense to have the North American and Interncontinental titles on Smackdown forever.
Was hoping Axiom would've been the challenger. I like how the new folks in charge are bringing about surprises but it feels like it's a lot right out of the gate. I thought throwing Solo into a match with Drew one week only for him to be back in NXT a few days later was silly but he's where he should be right now.
I didn't realize Axiom was that dude A-Kid.
Can't remember his name, but that video of that guy with long hair and Axiom from Worlds Collide was hilarious. "You never wrestled in NXT UK"
I'm still laughing about it and that thing aired 2 weeks ago.
Found the video. Nelson Frazier and Axiom
Another thing: Julius Creed is a lot of fun to watch. Works great in a tag team but if the guy was on his own I think he could do really well on the main roster.
Love this Quincy Jones character. Fabulous banzai drop too, Yoko would be proud
The yellow is back, hell yeah.
Quincy is a fabulous addition to the NXT roster. I had my doubts this would work but seems endearing to the live crowd. Fun character like the jacket guy.
He needs to slow it down because his timing looks a little dangerous where he just deadlifts a motherfucker lol. Creed Brothers are the shit.
That's some cool gear the Pretty Deadly have. They remind me of the Beverly Brothers for some reason.
Probably drinks a half dozen Red Bull before the show
I get that same vibe. Or like the new Midnight Express with Bob Holly and Bart Gunn. I could see this team on Smokey Mountain Wrestling or WCW Saturday Night winning a few jobber matches but then getting destroyed by Harlem Heat.
Tag title cage match was excellent. Pretty Deadly initially got my attention because of their flamboyance/obnoxiousness but damn if they haven't secured it with their in ring ability, the boys can go. Creed Bros. continue to impress with them seemingly trying to do a holy shit spot or two every match now. Very pleased PD kept the belts 'cuz I love them and it makes sense to progress the Diamond Mine implosion angle.
Fallon/Lash wasn't much to talk about but was fine.
TA cutting the same damn promo every week is getting a bit much at this point. Alba stepping up is cool. Have an Inferno match, heh.
ALL HAIL THE SUPER DIVA. Loved Quincy's debut. The entrance was iconic. The gear was rad. Got shades of Goldust, Viscera, Yokozuna in there, lots of homages. Crowd was feeling it. Dancing with the ref post match cracked me up. Will be curious to see how things go when he gets into an actual feud but I am on board.
The Grimes/Gacy feud has been crawling along such that what happened in/after the tag match didn't feel like much when it should have seemed like a bigger deal. The most interesting part was when Gacy was helping him out in the match, they should have run with them as a team for a bit maybe? I don't know, whatever, it doesn't totally suck but I'm tired of babyface Grimes and hope that maybe this thing will zag and he'll turn and join Schism yet.
Women's tag match was fine because Zoey can go and Kiana's business woman gimmick cracks me up.
Big Body Javi is such a funny nickname when the dude is average sized. Walker calling him a prick every week was pretty amusing, too. So this whole thing culminated in a fun, feel good bit here that was pretty enjoyable. Hank the everyman is a likeable approach. Will have to see if he can carry the momentum into other feuds.
I had Solo's appearance and title win spoiled by a headline so that sucked. the match also felt pretty rushed, I think they could have clipped a few things earlier on to give it some more time and drama. But it's pretty interesting. I just read something about Trips wanting to cross over NXT and the main roster more to synergize or whatever you want to call it, so haing Bloodline member Solo on SD with the belt and being in NXT jives with that info.
New logo? I didn't mind the bright colors and shit, just thought the 2.0 bit could have faded. Will be curious to see if the whole aesthetic is overhauled. I know there are spoilers out for the next week (or two?) but I'm gonna do my damnedest to avoid them.
After all that speculation over Solo and the NA Championship, he just gets stripped of it saying he wasn’t voted in. Kinda meh but at least we get a tournament and ladder match out of it.
Good episode this week though. Did not expect Chase U to beat Melo/Williams. Oro Mensah dude is impressive.
Bate/McDonagh was a solid main event though was pulling for Bate. Deflated that JD won until Dragunov turned up!! Hell yeah!!
Dragunov!
Might have to catch that.
OHMYGAWD THE BLACK AND GOLD IS BACK!!1 overreacted/assumed the internet last week. Nah, fam, they just took the 2.0 off the logo, calm down.
Solo getting stripped of the belt was the least interesting thing they could've done. Would've had him hold it until Halloween Havoc and lose it in the ladder match. Having said that, love me some ladder matches so I am excited for it evens so.
Fazer/Axiom 2 was very good but you had to assume Fazer was getting the win to make there be a third match, so that kind of took some drama out of it.
Kemp's heel stuff is being done pretty well but it also makes me worry Roddy's coming back as a face and that's blech.
Nile/Paxley vs. TA was short and a bit sloppy. Nile's threatening aura has dissipated a fair bit over time.
Dyad vs. Blade/Enofe was quite good.
Very disappointed all we got of Quincy was a brief-as-hell recap of last week. Hoping he qualifies for the ladder match.
Jade/Choo was good while it lasted but it was pretty short. Disappointing to see Choo follow up the big win over Stratton by losing here but I'm cool with a feud with Lash.
Chase/Hayes was good and I legit said, "holy shit!" when Chase got the upset pin.
Sanga is awesome and Wagner sucks so you can guess how I felt about their match. I don't know what they see in Wagner.
Mensah seems pretty rad, quite liked his in-ring style/moves. Match with Waller was good. Bloody eyed Crews was strange. I was excited for Apollo's return to NXT but honestly have not been feeling this whole vision gimmick he's been doing.
I did not watch the main event as I don't particularly care for either guy. I assumed JD would win and was right though Dragunov showing up was a surprise. I warmed up to him during his previous run on non-UK NXT so it's alright that he's here.
My love for NXT was defibrillated when they announced the 2.0 was being dropped and so I decided to give the highlights a look over on the Youtubes. It's rare to see a brand regress in this way and it being a 100% good thing on paper. I'm just so glad Vince is gone and there seems to be some light at the end of this long ass tunnel. Here are my thoughts on what I caught:
- Frazer VS. Axiom: I love the chemistry of these two. I'm not in the know of where/when/how this feud started, but I definitely want to see these guys go again. Frazer seems like an empty pallet outside of his amazing wrestling ability so it'll be interesting seeing his progression. Would be cool to see them form a tag team once this is all said and done. Fuck it, change Frazer's name to Sigma or something.
- Toxic VS. Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley: I swear they need to come up w/ better names if I'm ever to remember who these people are. Tatum Paxley? Why not just call her Tutam Laxpey? This match looked sloppy as hell, which is a bummer because I do like Gigi. Ivy Nile is someone I've been very intrigued by, and her skills have totally grown since her Diamond Mine days. Jacy Jayne, last I saw her, has always been atrocious nearly killing herself or just being clueless all around. I dunno, either everybody seemed way off or the construction of the match was too much. It was like everyone was confused what was going on and then they finished it.
- Schism: I do not care about anything involving these 3.
- Choo VS. Cora: Cora seems to have come out of her shell now that she's a heel, and here for it. She really looks like AJ Lee too. Choo's attire is such an upgrade from when she debuted and that'll be a full package in no time. I thought her character was stupid after she was out of her Mortal Kombat sensei thing, but now she seems to have a path in front of her in terms of what her character is all about.
- Chase U VS. Hayes/Williams: Evidently, Chase can go, which is hindered by how he still looks like a manager. Switch up his look and strap a rocket to him and Bodhi, who I also like. Gosh, I really am a visuals guy because the first thing I flock to is ring attire.
- Sanga VS. Von Wagner: Sanga's still in his baby phase so he'll grow into a tough redwood in time. He's one dude I'm keeping my eye on. Von Wagner, he's hopelessly boring as fuck. I don't know who he is or what he is, but he is the opposite of entertaining. Forgot Stone was still there, he can fuck off too.
- Grayson VS. Oro Mensah: Oro's name makes me think he's a member of mensa. Getting this out of the way now... get the boxer shorts off Grayson, they're silly. By get them off him, I mean replace them with something else hehe. Apollo's here again and he's gotta bleeding eye. Cool. It's better than nothing. Or having a nice smile. Or being a Nigerian price.
- JD VS. Bate: Tyler's always great. I know he's a little guy just like JD, but JD has never ever wow'd me. As a total package, he looks like a grumpy 5th grader.
NXT has a lot... a lot... to work on. But new life has been jolted into the brand, and I'm rooting for the little engine that could (and did) to make it back up the hill again.
Oh Chase can definitely go. He had a banger with Vinci:
TBD. The last batch of stuff (including next week's episode) was taped in advanced. While this simple adjustment you outlined could be it, it does seem abnormal of them to tape in advance without having a plan in place in relation to potentially change the look and feel of the presentation.
Fair point. I suppose after the pretaped episodes, they could be debuting a whole new set up and aesthetic. In fact, that's probably the reason they were pretaped. *slaps forehead* I've got no problem being wrong on this.
Last edited by mth; September 25th, 2022 at 12:22 AM.
NXT has been going downhill since Robert Roode beat Nakamura. It was made even worse when the top tier were Ciampa, Gargano, and Adam Cole. The ignorance that so many fans show when talking about developmental is only made worse when they put it out in public.My love for NXT was defibrillated when they announced the 2.0 was being dropped and so I decided to give the highlights a look over on the Youtubes. It's rare to see a brand regress in this way and it being a 100% good thing on paper. I'm just so glad Vince is gone and there seems to be some light at the end of this long ass tunnel. Here are my thoughts on what I caught:
- Frazer VS. Axiom: I love the chemistry of these two. I'm not in the know of where/when/how this feud started, but I definitely want to see these guys go again. Frazer seems like an empty pallet outside of his amazing wrestling ability so it'll be interesting seeing his progression. Would be cool to see them form a tag team once this is all said and done. Fuck it, change Frazer's name to Sigma or something.
- Toxic VS. Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley: I swear they need to come up w/ better names if I'm ever to remember who these people are. Tatum Paxley? Why not just call her Tutam Laxpey? This match looked sloppy as hell, which is a bummer because I do like Gigi. Ivy Nile is someone I've been very intrigued by, and her skills have totally grown since her Diamond Mine days. Jacy Jayne, last I saw her, has always been atrocious nearly killing herself or just being clueless all around. I dunno, either everybody seemed way off or the construction of the match was too much. It was like everyone was confused what was going on and then they finished it.
- Schism: I do not care about anything involving these 3.
- Choo VS. Cora: Cora seems to have come out of her shell now that she's a heel, and here for it. She really looks like AJ Lee too. Choo's attire is such an upgrade from when she debuted and that'll be a full package in no time. I thought her character was stupid after she was out of her Mortal Kombat sensei thing, but now she seems to have a path in front of her in terms of what her character is all about.
- Chase U VS. Hayes/Williams: Evidently, Chase can go, which is hindered by how he still looks like a manager. Switch up his look and strap a rocket to him and Bodhi, who I also like. Gosh, I really am a visuals guy because the first thing I flock to is ring attire.
- Sanga VS. Von Wagner: Sanga's still in his baby phase so he'll grow into a tough redwood in time. He's one dude I'm keeping my eye on. Von Wagner, he's hopelessly boring as fuck. I don't know who he is or what he is, but he is the opposite of entertaining. Forgot Stone was still there, he can fuck off too.
- Grayson VS. Oro Mensah: Oro's name makes me think he's a member of mensa. Getting this out of the way now... get the boxer shorts off Grayson, they're silly. By get them off him, I mean replace them with something else hehe. Apollo's here again and he's gotta bleeding eye. Cool. It's better than nothing. Or having a nice smile. Or being a Nigerian price.
- JD VS. Bate: Tyler's always great. I know he's a little guy just like JD, but JD has never ever wow'd me. As a total package, he looks like a grumpy 5th grader.
NXT has a lot... a lot... to work on. But new life has been jolted into the brand, and I'm rooting for the little engine that could (and did) to make it back up the hill again.
I'm not so sure I'm as soft as some of you who started crying when they changed the look for the 4th time in 5 years and added "2.0" to it.
If people are too stubborn to accept NXT as it is as a developmental program, they knew it going in what would be happening. NXT, black and gold, 2.0 whatever. To me it's always NXT and it could be NXT Squared or NXT Cubed and it's still the same. Is it different because there are no immediate superstars from day one? Well yeah, some seem to overlook the purpose of the brand.
To me this is like watching your local promotion with a bunch of nobodies to the majority of people. Will they suffer a little because they're not buying every big name available and stashing them in NXT? Sure will, but I'm enjoying the programming and developments. Anybody who complains it sucks because it's not their old NXT know what they were in for.
Hot sauce is the best.
I wasn't overly enthusiastic about this week's episode and found myself only half paying attention a few times.
Henley/Rose dragged and I didn't care as Rose's win was obvious.
Shame about Tony's injury.
Sol Ruca needs some polish but I liked her athleticism and flippity-dos.
Gave no shits about Gacy/Grimes. Thought we might see red hoodie as they've been appearing at house shows but nope.
Carter/Lyons was pretty decent if a little short.
Dragonuv/Quinn was pretty good. Seems they remember Quinn every few months when they need someone to lose a brief feud. Seems like he's going to do that again with Elliott now.
Creed/Kemp was odd. Considering the rage Brutus had, he shouldn't have been going for headlocks and whatnot. Should have been more of a brawl/fight than a wrestling match. Kemp going buck wild is pretty good, though.
I did not watch the main event 'cuz I don't care about either team.
Speaking of athleticism and flippity-dos, where is Tiffany?
I think she's alone now.
My wife and I were asking that same question during the show. Wendy beat her and she hasn't been seen since. Weird.
Is there anyone around?
Oh, also I just saw that red hoodie was actually in the crowd during Gacy's match.
You have to wonder what on earth that means.
State of the Commonwealth was fine if a bit too long. Would've been cooler if the Brutes showed up unannounced.
Hayes vs. Oro was OK but seemed like they weren't quite clicking 100% at times.
Really disappointed Wagner beat Chase to qualify. Chase being ni the ladder match with Bodhi and Thea helping him out could have produced some very entertaining moments/spots (Thea doing a crossbody off the ladder to a bunch of dudes or Bodhi sacrificing himself on a big bump to save Mr. Chase) but instead we get big boring-ass Von who will likely be doing nothing special.
Legend vs. Choo was decent. Legend does seem to be improving, which is good, as she seems like she could be a huge star in the future. Nice to see Choo get some momentum back.
Odd to advertise a six-woman and then switch it up on the show itself into a different, more important match. Expected the faces to win and am cool with it.
Crowd didn't seem as into the Jade/Perez encounter as much as I'd have expected. Maybe because of the Waller Effect being a bit of an awkward framing device? Seemed like two things were going on at once with Waller trying to do his thing at the same time as them trying to exchange words. The shit with Crews and the bloody eyes and whatnot is fucking dumb. Crews is now not only a psychic but also...I dunno, a spooky boogeyman, too? It's so odd.
Bit of a shame Hudson's a jobber now. Dude should go join Maximum Male Models. the post-match exchange between Creed and Kemp was wakward as they kept stopping to wait for each toher to say their line that was supposed to be interrupting them. Storyline is decent enough, though.
Was nice not to see Quinn job yet again, as I expected he was going to. Happy to see Quincy seemingly getting a story going, too.
They did a thing with red hoodie! Nice. Much as I don't love Gacy and his whole deal, it's gotten a bit better with the Dyad unmasked and this happy face button stuff and red hoodie. This stuff with Grimes needs to be over with, though.
Main event was really good but got a bit cluttered and fell like it fell apart a bit because of it with the finish.
Worst….decision….ever! Really don’t see what they see in Wagner whereas Chase is over, had some momentum then they pull the rug out from under him.
Also yeah this Crews stuff is bad too.
I think there are some glaring negatives that appeared after Triple H had to step away. Whether these are Shawn choices or not I think there are guys Von Wagner, the stuff with Chase U and Joe Gacy is really dumb. I get that it's developmental but you're still putting this on USA.
I imagine they think Robbie E is helping Von Wagner get over but this just feels very Ruthless Aggression era where they were showcasing bigger guys from OVW that weren't exactly the best talent in developmental.
I'm still waiting for something from Von Wagner. They have really thrown this guy around. The bros shit with O'Reilly who was equally boring didn't help, and having him as a face too. At least they could have had him work with someone who has personality. Some have multiple, O'Reilly is lucky to have any. Wagner reminds me of early years Bradshaw as Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw. Generic big man look, and not towering/monster big man but just tall and kind of there.
Von Wagner has no redeeming qualities
He's just a bigger guy and that's it. If that's even a redeeming quality. I guess if you look at it like guys who are larger than life are appealing, sure. He's green, could evolve. He'll be someone that if he truly wants to be part of the business would probably thrive in Europe, Japan, Mexico but not in the WWE.
I was hoping when Wagner turned heel it might open up some personality but it didn't. They also dropped Stone's comedic side which was his best stuff and now he offers nothing to the act, as well. Who knows, though, like ND said, maybe Wagner's the next Lance Archer...
He really needs a caveman gimmick. He looks more like a neanderthal than Triple H, and I didn't think that was possible.
I'm shocked Rob Stone has lasted this long. Dude has never managed anyone worth a dam. Wagner's really the only talent he's been with that has even been showcased as more than a jobber to the stars. Why wasn't he used to manage the models??
Why are his (Von) arms so short?
What a match and series decider between Axiom and Frazer. Mildly surprised Frazer ended up winning instead of Axiom but still the match was fantastic. Lots of fantastic spots and counters.
Don't have the time to watch NXT anymore, but I've always been high on Frazer.
Will watch Halloween Havoc though.
Don't feel like writing a full show assessment so just a couple points:
Axiom/Frazer was a banger. A few wild moves in there. I figured Frazer was winning, either guy would have been fine.
The tag triple threat was also super good. I really liked the move on the outside where Briggs tossed the dude into the ropes and clotheslined him. Blade/Enofi winning made me pop.
Sonya showing up was a nice surprise.
I liked Booker on commentary
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