-I didn’t expect NXT to scream from the mountaintop, “you won’t recognize anyone on the show this week,” but that’s essentially what they did when Shawn Michaels, Matt Bloom, and Robert Stone were caught talking as the show started. They didn’t actually say that, but basically. And it was the right move too. There’s nothing wrong with telling your audience what they’re going to see and there was a concerted effort to let viewers know that things on the show would look different after all the post-WrestleMania NXT call-ups.
An NXT revolution
-And look different it did. Not only did a new batch of stars debut on television, but other stars that had been on TV already, were positioned in different spots. The brand has been flipped upside down and that’s kind of the point. Triple H is smiling somewhere — and not just because his new WWE deal has lots of zeros in it.
-Myles Borne continues to roll through the DarkState faction. He beat Saquon Shugars this week in what was a fine, but unspectacular match. Borne is a strong fighting babyface champion for the show and will be good in the chase for the NXT Championship at some point too.
-The DarkState faction is cracking. Does anyone really care? Clearly, they are breaking up the group, but at this point I don’t see a standout singles star in the middle of that madness.
EVIL has arrived
-I’m not really sure what to make of EVIL being in NXT. On one hand, he’s a talented guy, who certainly can wrestle at the level of Tony D’Angelo and the NXT Championship. On the other, all I see when I watch him is “House of Torture nonsense,” which makes me want to huck the laptop out the window. D’Angelo vs. EVIL is the top feud on the show it seems. Not sure I ever thought I’d be writing that sentence.
-Tatum Paxley and Shiloh Hill are two talents that have a high upside away from one another. Together? Not so much. Here’s to hoping we aren’t getting prepped for some kind of romantic storyline between the two.
-Maybe I’m crazy, but Birthright is the weakest faction in the history of pro wrestling, right? They look like total goofs out there and cannot be taken seriously. Pull the plug, HBK! Pull the plug!
Sorry Izzi
-Lola Vice badly outperformed Izzi Dame this week, though both are supposed to be viewed as on the same level as one another. Dame has not shown that she has a feel for what she’s doing out there. She can memorize lines and wrestle meticulously planned matches, but there isn’t a flow to what she does. Vice needs to work on that too, but with her, it doesn’t stand out as glaringly as it does with Dame. Dame is in the top title picture here, but she isn’t winning that belt anytime soon.
-Lizzy Rain? Hell yeah. A strong win in her debut match against Nikkita Lyons, but an ever stronger presentation. Rain looked ready to be that character and the audience bought her. The Thunderstruck kick is a perfect finisher. Rain has tremendous upside as long as she can give the gimmick some nuance.
-Oh god, Kelani Jordan is going to win the WWE Speed Championship isn’t she. Sorry, Kelani, but I promise, you don’t want this.
Yes, AI is here to stay
-And now the moment everyone’s been talking about. The weird AI video that detailed the bizarre and Thanos-like destruction of Sol Ruca on behalf of Zaria. This looked awful. It looked every bit the AI project it was. Ruca didn’t look like Ruca and Zaria didn’t look like Zaria. It was bad. AND this doesn’t have to be an indictment on AI in pro wrestling. Like every other business, pro wrestling is working to figure out where it fits.
-Shiloh Hill got a huge win in this week’s main event against Ricky Saints. If you read this column, you know I’m a fan of Hill, but he’s got to stop with the tooth Hulk Hogan comeback bit. It’s so forced and gross. A serious wrestler on Raw won’t be working that kind of thing into matches on Netflix. It’s silly and there is a better Hill character for NXT to use when he’s more quirky and less goofy. This win tells you that Hill is going to be a featured guy at least for the near-future on NXT. Time to see what he’s got.
What did you think of this week’s episode of WWE NXT? Let us know in the comments!
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