-Yeah, I liked the hot start to the show with the brawl between Tony D’Angelo and Tavion Heights. An interesting way to begin things that was different than normal. I guess, I’m still coming around on D’Angelo as champion. Because he’s NXT Champion, he needs to have a top guy aura for the show and he doesn’t yet. There are lots of talent on the show that are holding down new spots and it’ll take some time to adjust. It starts with D’Angelo and it would be good if he found “it” a little quicker.
Parker and Nattie?
-Huh. A nice win for Kali Armstrong, but at the expense of Jaida Parker? Not sure how I feel about that. The Parker gimmick is all about confidence, so it’s strange to see her not believing in herself. At the same time, Parker as a Natalya protege is intriguing and gives Parker a much higher ceiling in WWE. If this is the story that needs to play out to get there, it’s worth it.
-If William Regal and Fit Finlay are going to be a part of this Birthright faction thing, I admit, I’m a little more interested. Still, it’s not a great sign for the talent in the faction if their Dad’s are all more intriguing than they are.
-Naraku instead of EVIL? Fine with me. They are making a big deal out of Naraku’s first match next week. He’s got the NXT machine behind him at the moment.
A perfect fit
-Myka Lockwood is a perfect heater for Jackson Drake and the Vanity Project faction. A money pairing. Drake got a win this week over Jasper Troy. Makes sense. Drake and Vanity Project have much bigger potential at this point in time. They need the booking momentum behind them.
-Excuse me, Tristan Angels? Umm the drawing board is waiting for you. Is this gimmick working for anyone? There isn’t anything outwardly wrong with it, but it just is like 8 million other heel gimmicks out there. Nothing stands out about him right now.
-It’s looking like they are setting up Zaria vs. Tatum Paxley for the NXT Women’s North American Championship. Smart. The Zaria and Sol Ruca feud wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but Zaria has a little momentum coming out of finishing it with a big win. A title program is the right next step. Lizzy Rain and Nikkita Lyons are hovering, but my guess is they will just get beat by Zaria in a contender match.
More from Lola
-Well, you just knew this win for Izzi Dame over Lola Vice was coming. With Dame owning that victory, she’s now in line for a title shot. The match was fine. Like D’Angelo, I’d like to see Vice find a stronger presence as the top women’s star on the show.
-Hey! DarkState got a win. It kinda felt like they dropped the internal strife story between them this week. Maybe this week was tossed in as a chapter to throw fans off the scent, but as I said last week, does anyone care?
-The “first day on the job” interview from, Emily Agard, a new NXT backstage correspondent was excellent. Keanu Carver not only presented like a star, but he spoke really well too. He was relatable, but maintained the intensity that is central to his gimmick. More of this.
-As for Agard? If her role is going to be bringing these types of hard hitting interviews to the show each week, I’m in that.
-Shiloh Hill gets the big win over Ricky Starks last week and the only follow-up this week is a selfie video? He needed more. That said, this promo was better than previous mic work we’ve seen recently from Hill. He was odd and a little funny, but not silly. That’s a balance he’s going to have to maintain.
-The Tony D’Angelo vs. Tavion Heights main event was fine. Not great, but good enough. Why did D’Angelo shake Heights’ hand at the end? Both guys wanted to kill each other when the show started.
Who is Will Kroos?
-Will Kroos got a huge moment after the main event when he dropped Tony D’Angelo. Is this a thing now? Kroos has a bit of a vibe to him, but he certainly needs to eventually tell the audience what he’s about. Taking out the new babyface champion is an odd call for him too. Kroos is a babyface right?
What did you think of this week’s episode of WWE NXT? Let us know in the comments!
Subscribe to the Brass Ring Media Newsletter HERE.
Follow Zack Heydorn on Bluesky @zackheydorn.bsky.social.