-Sean Legacy and Dorian Van Dux are not at all established as a tag team in NXT, but they brought it against The Vanity Project this week in an NXT Tag Team Championship match. This thing was fast-paced and packed with action. All the credit in the world to Vanity Project. These guys are wonderful heels. They fly around when they bump and are pristine in making their babyfaces look strong. They retained the titles and of course they did. No reason to take the belts off of them at this point and maybe not until they are set for a main roster debut.
-The friendship storyline between Tavion Heights and Myles Borne is starting to click a bit. My guess is that Heights will still viciously turn on Borne at some point, but with little backstage interactions like the one from this week, they are taking the time to showcase the friendship, so that the vicious attack means more when it happens. Smart booking.
-I get what they are trying to make happen with Saquon Shugars. He’s on the redemption arc and nobody will join him because of all the nasty stuff he did as part of the DarkState faction. Here’s the thing — he didn’t even really leave that faction. They kicked him out. If they hadn’t, it’s safe to assume he’d still be in it right? This is a small storyline inconsistency, but an impactful one. Fans don’t seem to view him as the sympathetic babyface he’s trying to be.
-Ok, on the weekly pass or fail analysis for Shiloh Hill — it’s a fail. The laughing and the fog? Like, what the hell? This type of nonsense is a misunderstanding of what Hill’s personality and character really are. It leaned weird and creepy instead of odd, but likable.
-So, Tate Wilder is a risk taker? That’s the gimmick? Ok. Wilder had a decent little match against Naraku this week. If nothing else, he held his own. That gimmick, though? I don’t know. Not sure there is much depth there.
-Speaking of Naraku, he’s getting a rematch for the NXT Championship next week against Tony D’Angelo in a street fight. This match is more enticing than their first. It actually feels like a rivalry and a feud thanks to the last few weeks of storyline. A perfectly fine championship match to do on TV.
-Zaria continues to roll. She retained her NXT Women’s North American Championship in a fatal four-way match this week and the entire thing was designed to make her look strong. Lizzy Rain, Izzi Dame, and Nikkita Lyons all wrestled a strong match. They very much complimented and emphasized Zaria.
-Jackson Drake was money once again. He hasn’t been around the top championship in NXT, but by this time next year, he will be. The guy can do the backstage nonsense with Vanity Project, but has a mean streak in the ring that stands out.
-It’s odd that we haven’t seen Reina Volcan in the ring yet, after making her debut and taking out Tatum Paxley. The vignettes are solid, but a major selling point for her is her size and look compared to everyone else in the NXT women’s division. Fans need to see that, so they can react to it. That major selling point is hidden away in the vignettes.
-I hope we’re not getting a Shawn Spears push. I VERY much hope we aren’t getting the return of the “Perfect 10.” Spears is as one-note as it gets in NXT. It may sound a little harsh, but it’s a testament to the depth that NXT has right now in terms of prospects. There are other acts on the roster that need the television time more than he does.
-Match of the night honors go to the women in the main event. Lola Vice, Kelani Jordan, and Kali Armstrong worked a heck of a match that had a sense of urgency behind it. It was a classic WWE-style triple threat in terms of formatting, but the action around that format was athletic and crisp.
-Lola Vice got the win and is now the number one contender for Kendal Grey and the NXT Women’s Championship. They had a really good first title match together, so running it back again makes all the sense in the world.
What letter grade do you give this week’s episode of WWE NXT? Let us know in the comments!
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