-Not a bad showing from Kelani Jordan and Wren Sinclair to open the show this week. Remember how down on Jordan as a heel I was about a year ago? Props to her. She’s come a long way.
-The bigger feud at play is Jordan against Kendal Grey. They’ve done a pretty good job building that up. At this point it can anchor an episode of NXT.
Shiloh Hill? Meet ceiling
-Well, Tristan Angels feuding with Shiloh Hill makes sense. Thumbs up there. More silliness from Hill this week, though. The show is dumbing down what could be a nuanced and layered character. Putting a ceiling on Hill.
-Not the worst DarkState promo we’ve ever seen. They had a lot to explain this week after kicking Saquon Shugars out of the group on last week’s show. The reason they articulated was logical and all three remaining guys came across as total jerks in the delivery. The thing is, I didn’t see anything new here from DarkState. They have someone to work with now, but once that wraps up, they seem headed for exactly where they were. The group doesn’t have a gimmick. If you can tell me what they are, please do so in the comments. It’s hard to connect with fans without that and these guys haven’t found a way to do it yet.
-I don’t know if I have it in me this week to rant and rave about the Speed Championship again. This thing is the worst part of NXT each week and it’s starting to feature some decent, young in-ring talent. Why saddle those guys with the stench of this belt?
Truly developmental
-Yeah, I don’t want to be mean, but Layla Diggs can’t be on television again for a little bit now. Diggs wasn’t good. She was behind on spots and seemed totally lost in the ring. NXT is a developmental show, so performances like this one from Diggs will happen from time to time. She’s not ready.
-Jaida Parker didn’t help Diggs much at all. Parker wrestled the match as a babyface. Not sure what was going on there, but it didn’t work — especially with Natalya out there and that future match on the line.
-So, Naraku is the protecter of Tony D’Angelo? That was strange. The idea is to line up fresh, new talent as challengers to D’Angelo’s world title. In theory? Good idea. In practice, it’s slowing down D’Angelo’s momentum as champion. The potential challengers like Kam Hendrix aren’t bad, but they are so undefined, they feel too much like a batch of randoms. Naraku would have fixed that problem for D’Angelo, but apparently they’re friends.
-It looks like we’re headed for a Dion Lennox vs. Myles Borne match. I like the match, but Lennox isn’t a strong enough challenger to derail a Borne run that’s been a fun watch.
-NXT. Tristan Angels. Shiloh Hill. A pageant? Damn it.
A good sign for Lola Vice
-A really strong main event this week between Lola Vice and Izzi Dame for the NXT Women’s Championship. Dame’s best match yet and it’s not close. That’s a good sign for Lola Vice.
What did you think of this week’s episode of WWE NXT? Let us know in the comments!
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