-Damn. Well call me impressed. A pretty damn good opener this week between DarkState and the ragtag team of Saquon Shugars, Romeo Moreno, and Noam Dar. Remember, Shugars couldn’t find partners last week until he found these guys … they didn’t help very much. Joking about the booking aside, this was a fun match. Tons of action and some decent selling by both sides.
-I still don’t see it with Shugars. Hell, I don’t see it with Dion Lennox and DarkState either. They are getting an opportunity here, but have not been able to grab the audience. Week in and week out this rivalry trots out there and it doesn’t appear that fans care all that much. There is a feud ending match coming up between Shugars and DarkState, but I can’t imagine there will be much follow-up for these guys after it. They haven’t shown enough to continue getting the time they do.
-Segment of the night goes to the promo between Lola Vice and Kendal Grey. That’s how you do babyface vs. babyface. These two women didn’t run the other down, but they spoke from their own angles on why they wanted to be champion and added in some little digs here and there. With both women putting that out there and on the line, it created proper drama for the match. NXT Underground is the perfect stipulation for where this little feud is. A definite reason to watch NXT on August 4.
-Keep. Giving. Keanu. Carver. Wins. That’s it. Carver can be an important act for the show, but needs the booking with him.
-Yeah, I don’t need anymore Shiloh Hill and Danhausen segments. Two reasons. First, Danhausen doesn’t need to be everywhere. Let the audience want him instead of constantly delivering him for something odd. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Second, remember what I always say about Hill. Quirky, not goofy. That’s the line he needs to walk and this week he was too much on the goofy side.
-That’s a pretty definitive win for Jaida Parker over Nattie this week. Parker needed it badly. She essentially beat Nattie with her own Sharpshooter submission. Nattie didn’t tap out because Nikkita Lyons tossed in the towel, so look for them to go back to this match at some point. The match was fine, but the issue is that fans like both Nattie and Parker. Neither have been defined all that well and the entire feud is a bit flat because the audience isn’t fully behind or against either woman.
-Anyone else tired of the whiny Kelani Jordan schtick? I’m a bit of a hypocrite on this right now because I’ve been begging her to find her heel voice since she turned heel. She has. It’s just this whiny gimmick that doesn’t have a high ceiling. Admittedly, she’s going for this exact reaction, so good on her? It’s better than a nothing reaction. This heel act, while it works to get some heat, it doesn’t present as main event level material.
-Oh god. No. No, no, no. Shawn Spears won a match? Damn, Niko Vance. Tough spot.
-A better than solid debut for Reina Volcan. The NXT production crew shot her well and she looked great earning a squash win. Volcan as a monster heel against Kendal Grey for the NXT Women’s Championship is money. Just will take a little time to get there.
-Tony D’Angelo and Naraku had a fine street fight. Nothing more than that, though. D’Angelo needed to secure the clear win in this one and he did. Not great if you’re Naraku. He was brought into NXT at the highest level possible and he felt out of place from the beginning. Based on the outcome of this match and the surprise at the end of the show, it looks like a trip down the card is in the cards for the man formerly known as EVIL.
-As for the surprise? Hell yeah. Mike Santana is in NXT now and he carries himself like a guy that can carry the brand for awhile. Strap him up and that means what it means for Tony D’Angelo.
What is your opinion of Mike Santana in NXT? Future champion? Face of the brand? Let us know in the comments!
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