-Smart choice to start the show with Oba Femi addressing the attack on him by the mystery group at Vengeance Day over the weekend. It makes Femi look like a bad ass babyface champion, but reinforces that the new group are going to be top tier players on the show.
Moose arrives
-Moose jumping in and facing off with Oba Femi was a big surprise and a fun one. Stuff like this makes the partnership between NXT and TNA worthwhile and a Moose vs. Femi match is something that people will want to see. Plus, Moose is a good opponent for Femi to face during his title run. If presented right, Moose can come across as a TNA legend that Femi can roll through and beat.
-Jaida Parker vs. Karmen Petrovic vs. Kelani Jordan was a fine match with a wild outcome. Petrovic is getting a push I guess? With Stephanie Vaquer as NXT Women’s North American Champion, Parker and Jordan make more sense as a challenger. Petrovic may get there, but she’s leaps and bounds behind the other two at this point.
-Well, hey, I’m not wrong about the endgame for Zaria and Sol Ruca. I may be wrong about how quick that endgame will arrive. With vignettes airing last week on them growing as a team and getting another win this week, it seems like NXT is playing the long game. I’m still waiting to see the chemistry show itself with this team, but the way you make the most of a Zaria heel turn down the road is by putting work in and telling the story of them as a team prior. That’s what is being done. Thumbs up.
Ricky Saints
-Ricky ……. Saints???? Yeah, that is going to rub people the wrong way. I’m fine with it, though. Remember, Bron Breakker is going to be a main event act in WWE. If that works, anything can. It’s just a name. Now, that said, Saints looked good out there. He fits at this level and NXT has done a nice job of making him feel like a big deal. Walking in the door and teaming with Je’Von Evans against Ethan Page and Wes Lee is a fine spot.
-Shawn Spears with a win? Might as well. Spears appears to have taken over his group as it’s central figure. That is a mistake, because you know … it’s Shawn Spears. That said, the group is so mid-card and the talent in it is so far from being anything relevant that it works. Tony D’Angelo vs. Spears is the end of the road and this all worked fine to get there.
The Chase U moment
-It seems like NXT is building a big reunion type moment for Andre Chase and Chase University. Chase is so good at playing the down on his luck babyface and garners the right sympathy from the audience. They’ll get their moment and it’ll be big when it happens. With that as the central story, Eddy Thorpe got another win too. Thumbs up.
-Matt and Jeff Hardy on NXT next week will draw some eyes and the match with Fraxiom looms, but too much of them hurts their marketability.
-A stacked main event. Guilia, Jordynne Grace, and Stephanie Vaquer on one time showcased the embarrassment of riches that NXT has with it’s women’s division. Grace looked fantastic and those babyfaces taking care of business against Fatal Attraction was the right booking.
Retribution 2.0
-The mystery group vandalized and took out Robert Stone to end the show. I’d give the angle a C+. It still feels a lot like Retribution. That faction has such a stink on it that they have to continue doing whatever they can to shake it if this is the way the new faction wants to operate.
What did you think of this week’s episode of NXT? Let us know in the comments!
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