-With Ava leaving WWE last week, Robert Stone is the new Interim General Manager of NXT. So says Shawn Michaels! Stone is fine. He’s replacing Ava, but it’s not like Ava was a wizard GM or anything like that. The interim title that Michaels gave him is something to watch. It leaves the door wide open for someone else to come in and take that gig.
Jordan finds heel personality
-Izzi Dame vs. Lola Vice vs. Thea Hail was a fun match. Nothing special in terms of action, but it juggled a few storylines. This was the first time, maybe ever, that we saw some genuine heel personality out of Kelani Jordan. The attack on Vice with the ladder very much helped pull it out. I still think she’s better off on the babyface side of things, but this is a step in the right direction.
-Sol Ruca is the worst best friend ever. The story right now between her and Zaria is clearly supposed to make Zaria look unreasonable and unlikable opposite Ruca. The thing is, Ruca plays up the dissent between them in a way that’s unlikable herself. There’s a dismissiveness to how she reacts and it doesn’t paint her as the one that clearly deserves sympathy. That said, Ruca is a stand out worker in NXT right now. She won’t be on the show much longer.
Good, not great from D’Angelo
-I wouldn’t say Tony D’Angelo hit a home run with his promo this week. It wasn’t a total stinker either. D’Angelo logically articulated why he was doing what he was doing to the roster since returning, but there was an emotional detachment to it that I didn’t like. So, TBD on this one. D’Angelo is going on a journey now and we’ll have to see where that goes.
-Geez … Elio LeFleur has already been relegated to the WWE Speed division of NXT. Yikes … not great for him and the match this week against Charlie Dempsey wasn’t great either.
-A pretty good TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship match this week between the Elegance Brand and Zaruca. Essentially, it served the purpose to further the Sol Ruca and Zaria storyline, but the Elegance Brand looked good within that.
-Do you guys care about the recently created team of Stacks and Lexis King? Yeah, me neither. These guys have both had too many character changes in the last two years. The audience just doesn’t know how to connect with or who they are right now.
Jacy!
-Obviously, I can do without the parade of contenders walking out to the ring for a short promo and making a claim on a championship. It’s painfully overdone. Looking past that, Jacy Jayne cut a strong promo this week. Izzi Dame and others have had mic time in the ring over the last couple weeks and seemed to forget that an audience was present. Jayne didn’t. She was confident, well-spoken, and used their reaction to drive a lot of what she said and how she said it. Thumbs up.
-Throughout the show, NXT did a nice job of making the main event ladder match for the NXT Championship feel like a big deal. Contenders in the match had some promo time and the cut-ins to others getting ready in the locker room during other matches framed that one as can’t miss.
Joe Hendry climbs to the top of NXT
-As for the match? Don’t miss it. There was a ton of action by some true up and coming male stars in the WWE developmental system. Everyone did their part, but the standout performer was Keanu Carver. He continues to bring big-time intensity that creates a sense of danger and violence around what he’s doing. The finish with Joe Hendry and Ricky Saints both pulling on the title belt and swinging back and forth with it wasn’t well-executed. It looked overly staged and like they were dancing back and forth with the belt. Hendry works as NXT Champion. He cut a really good promo where he dropped the schtick and acted like a wrestler that wanted to win. If he can walk that line, he’ll be in good shape.
What did you think of this week’s episode of WWE NXT? Let us know in the comments!
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